# KnowledgeWorks Foundation

KnowledgeWorks Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Cincinnati, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Cincinnati, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 312 Plum St, Suite 950, Cincinnati, OH 45202
- **Founded:** 2000
- **Assets under management:** ~$107M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** knowledgeworks.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/knowledgeworks-

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

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.

## Sectors

- EdTech
- GovTech

## People

- Robert Runcie — Board Member
- Tom Fry — Board Member, Managing Director at Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

## Questions

### How does KnowledgeWorks Foundation source its grant partnerships?

KnowledgeWorks operates less like a passive grantmaker and more like a systems-change partner. It co-designs multi-year district transformation projects with local school boards, then recruits co-funders such as the Gates Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to scale successful pilots. The subsidiary New Tech Network provides a pipeline of school implementations that the foundation can then evaluate and expand through policy advocacy.

### What relationship does KnowledgeWorks have with StriveTogether?

StriveTogether was originally established as a subsidiary of the KnowledgeWorks Foundation. It has since been spun out as an independent nonprofit focused on collective impact in education. The two entities continue to collaborate, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation has funded both.

### Does KnowledgeWorks make direct investments in edtech startups?

Yes, through its endowment portfolio (KnowledgeWorks Investments) it can make mission-related investments, including venture-style backing of early-stage education technology. However, the primary deployment vehicle remains grants to school districts and operating programs rather than a dedicated venture-capital arm.

### Which grantmaking partners shape KnowledgeWorks' funding priorities?

Recurring institutional funders include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation. These partnerships are program-specific — Gates funded the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative, while Walton supported national convenings on competency-based assessment.

## Related profiles

- [Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region](https://altss.com/profile/community-foundation-for-the-greater-capital-region)
- [Koret Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/koret-foundation)

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Last updated: 2026-06-28T01:54:24.394Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/knowledgeworks-foundation

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology