Endowment / Foundation

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Foundation for Educational Funding

Foundation for Educational Funding is a foundation based in Lincoln, US. It manages approximately $168 million in assets across 10 funds, primarily focused on...

Foundation for Educational Funding logo

Foundation for Educational Funding

Foundation for Educational Funding is a foundation based in Lincoln, US. It manages approximately $168 million in assets across 10 funds, primarily focused on North America.

General information

Firm type

Endowment / Foundation

Location

Region

North America

Country

United States

City

Lincoln

Corporate office

Lincoln, NE, United States

Principals

Liz S. Koop

Founder, President and CEO

Sector focus

Education

Frequently asked questions

Who runs investment decisions at the Foundation for Educational Funding?

Liz S. Koop is the named President and CEO, with ultimate authority over foundation operations. Kenneth Koop, her spouse, holds a Senior Vice President position at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, which likely provides advisory input on portfolio construction, though no formal investment committee or outsourced chief investment officer relationship is disclosed in public records. Daily treasury functions may sit with the broader EducationQuest Foundation finance team in Lincoln.

What is the relationship between Foundation for Educational Funding and EducationQuest Foundation?

Liz S. Koop serves as President and CEO of EducationQuest Foundation, and the two entities share Lincoln headquarters. The Foundation for Educational Services is also mentioned in regulatory filings as a parent or closely related structure. In practice, the organizations appear to operate as a consolidated college-access platform: EducationQuest provides free planning services, while the Foundation for Educational Funding likely holds and deploys the scholarship endowment assets.

Does the foundation make grants or operate its own scholarship programs?

The foundation operates its own scholarship programs rather than functioning as a pure grantmaker. The 'Learn to Dream' initiative, run jointly with Union Bank & Trust, is the signature direct-scholarship vehicle. Grantmaking to external organizations is not documented, suggesting the foundation prefers direct program delivery — placing scholarships with individual students through its own infrastructure rather than funding third-party nonprofits.

What is the foundation's Nebraska commercial real estate exposure?

The foundation owns the EducationQuest Headquarters building at 1300 O Street in downtown Lincoln, a commercial property that generates income for the endowment. Additional commercial real estate holdings are noted in Nebraska, though specific addresses and valuations are not publicly available. This direct real-asset sleeve sits alongside whatever financial portfolio the permanent endowment maintains, making the foundation a small-scale direct owner-operator in Lincoln commercial property.

What is the historical connection to Nelnet?

Nelnet, the publicly traded student-loan servicing company (NYSE: NNI), is also headquartered in Lincoln and represents a historical relationship through the student loan industry. Senior leadership at the foundation previously worked at Nelnet before the organization's college-access focus emerged. The ties are institutional and geographic — both entities occupy adjacent roles in Nebraska's education-finance landscape — but no current contractual or fiduciary relationship is publicly documented.

Profile maintained by using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.

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