Center for Education Reform

About Center for Education Reform

The Center for Education Reform’s grantmaking is built around prize-style awards that recognize and fund education models, including the Yass Prize and STOP Awards Initiative. Recent awards show a focus on schools, education nonprofits, and education innovators that fit a “best in class” standard, with repeated support for groups such as Arizona Autism Charter Schools and Khan Academy. The foundation also uses public competitions, including the Yass Prize, which the site describes as a $1 million prize with public application deadlines, and the With Justice for All MyEducationVideo YouTube Contest for students. Its recent awards are often sizeable and tied to specific projects or recognition cycles rather than broad operating support. The same recipient can appear in multiple years, which points to follow-on awards for prior winners and alumni. That pattern is visible in recipients like National Constitution Center and Aera Foundation Inc., each funded in both 2023 and 2024 at $1.5 million. Other awards support organizations working in charter schools, microschools, edtech, and school choice, alongside student-facing scholarship contests. The foundation’s own summary centers educational opportunity, freedom, and flexibility throughout U.S. education, with an emphasis on youth and innovation.

What Center for Education Reform Funds

In school choice and charter-school work, The Center for Education Reform funded Arizona Autism Charter Schools Inc. with $1,000,000 in 2023 and again with $1,000,000 in 2024, then followed with a $975,000 alumni award in 2025. That same pattern also appears with Neurodiversity Education Research Center, which received $1,000,000 in 2023 and $1,000,000 in 2024. For education innovation and entrepreneurship, the foundation awarded $1,000,000 to Edchoice Inc Grant in 2024 and $500,000 to Rapunzl Investments in 2024. Its support also reaches schools serving distinct student communities: Valiant Cross Academy in Montgomery received $1,000,000 in 2024, while Discovery Center of Springfield received $1,000,000 in 2024. The foundation also funds scholarship and recognition contests. The With Justice for All MyEducationVideo YouTube Contest gives student scholarships of $2,500 to $20,000, and the Yass Prize framework includes both a $1,000,000 prize and multiple STOP Awards for education providers.

How Center for Education Reform Gives