The Children's Scholarship Fund (CSF) is a national 501(c)(3) charity funded exclusively with private dollars. It was founded in 1998 by Ted Forstmann and the late John Walton to provide need-based scholarships to low-income children in grades K-8.
The Children''s Scholarship Fund aims to maximize educational opportunity for children from low-income families by offering them partial tuition assistance to attend private and parochial schools.
Programs
We provide partial tuition assistance for low-income families to send their children to private schools in grades K-8. We focus on the earlier grades to ensure a solid educational foundation. Since our inception, more than 111,000 children have benefited from our scholarships across the United States as part of our mission to expand choice in education. Currently almost 29,000 children are using CSF scholarships. These children are attending the school of their parents' choice through the generosity of our donors, the efforts of our partner programs across the country and the sacrifices made by the families themselves, who pay-on average-50% of their children's tuition.
Additional Comments from the Organization
CSF was recently voted one of America's 100 Best Charities by Worth magazine. By fostering a strengthened role for parents in the education of their children, CSF is heeding what common sense and experts have been telling us for years: when it comes to educational achievement, the single most important ingredient is committed parents. By allowing parents the fullest possible range of educational options, and requiring them to share in the cost, CSF is making a direct investment in parental responsibility and involvement.
The goal of CSF is to assist as many families as we can to obtain the maximum available options for their children's education. Although CSF has no political or religious leaning of its own, it is our desire to support the diverse range of academic, social, cultural, religious, and linguistic aspirations that low-income parents have for their children. CSF scholarships help families with fewer means provide an education for their children that meets their needs, and is consistent with their values.
And parents believe their commitment to their children's education is paying off. A 2001 nationwide study of Children's Scholarship Fund by Harvard's Paul Peterson revealed high levels of parental satisfaction?much higher than their peers in public school who had applied for a scholarship but did not win one. Another study by Prof. Peterson shows that in our programs in Washington, DC, Dayton, Ohio, and New York City, black students using scholarships score higher in math and reading than their peers in public schools.
GOALS AND RESULTS
Accomplishments for Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2008
We
consider the positive impact our scholarships will have on our recipients and
their families (through improved education quality, better high school graduation
rates and better earning potential) as they grow up to be the major long-term
success of the program. We also consider three other long-term measures of
success: expanding our base of supporters, empowering parents to be more
involved in their child’s education, and strengthening the inner-city private
schools our families choose so there are more educational options for all. The
more money we can raise to increase the number of scholarships we award, the
bigger and more widespread our success will be.
In 2008, CSF was awarded 4-star status for the second time in a row by Charity Navigator for fiscal responsibility and efficiency.
CSF is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. Since 1998, CSF has awarded more than $315 million in scholarships to more than 96,000 children to attend private elementary schools.
Objectives for Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2009
Secure funding to extend all current scholarships.
Continue to make more scholarships available to low-income families whenever and wherever funding is available.
FINANCIAL DATA
Revenues and Expenses: Fiscal Year Ending August 31, 2008
REVENUE
Contributions
$29,561,123
Government Grants
$0
Program Services
$0
Investments
$355,820
Special Events
$0
Sales
$0
Other
$2,200
Total Revenue
$29,919,143
EXPENSES
Program Services
$28,479,655
Administration
$357,799
Other
$405,578
Total Expenses
$29,243,032
Net Gain/Loss
$676,111
Balance Sheet: Fiscal Year Ending August 31, 2008
Note: The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot long survive, but the types of assets and liabilities also must be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
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