KnowledgeWorks Foundation

KnowledgeWorks Foundation

Founded in Cincinnati in 2000, KnowledgeWorks Foundation operates as a nonprofit that combines direct philanthropic grantmaking with policy advocacy and on-the-ground school redesign. It is not a family office — its endowment sustains a mission to replace time-based grade levels with personalized, competency-driven learning systems. Major backers include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which committed over $7.4 million to the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a partner in high school redesign (per Altss research). The foundation clusters its deployment around three asset classes: direct grants to school districts, mission-related investments from its KnowledgeWorks Investments (KWI) endowment portfolio, and operating subsidiaries such as the New Tech Network in Napa, California. Investment types span seed-stage innovation grants, expansion capital for proven school models, and venture-style backing of education technology tools. Geographic reach concentrates on Ohio but extends nationally through the StriveTogether network, which began as a KnowledgeWorks subsidiary before spinning out as an independent partner funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. KnowledgeWorks manages an estimated $107 million endowment (Altss estimate) and maintains a lean central team in Cincinnati. It holds seats on the EDSAFE AI Alliance steering committee, shaping safe AI adoption standards for schools, and participates in Grantmakers for Education. Board member Tom Fry operates simultaneously as a Managing Director at Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, linking the foundation to later-stage social-impact co-investors. Recent activity: In February 2024, Vice President of Policy and Strategic Advancement Lillian Pace testified before the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on competency-based assessment models, reinforcing the foundation's federal policy footprint. The structural differentiator is a hybrid architecture that few peers replicate: an endowment-funded grantmaker that also houses operating programs (New Tech Network) and incubates independent nonprofits (StriveTogether). This allows KnowledgeWorks to prototype school models, deploy dedicated implementation staff, then spin out proven programs as standalone entities — a cycle that converts foundation capital into durable public infrastructure rather than one-time gifts.