Leadership for Educational Equity Foundation

About Leadership for Educational Equity Foundation

Leadership for Educational Equity Foundation centers its giving on a single purpose: fostering and facilitating increased civic leadership for Leadership for Educational Equity members. The largest recent grant in the file, $16,129,710 in 2025, went to Lee Inc for that purpose, showing how much of the foundation’s support is built around LEE’s own charitable and educational activity. Two earlier grants reinforce the same pattern: $12,390,908 in 2024 and $9,517,566 in 2023, both to Leadership for Educational Equity in New York for civic engagement, community participation, and volunteerism among members with a focus on education and public policy. The foundation’s grantmaking is tied to leadership development and civic participation rather than a broad issue portfolio. Its active programs point to that structure: paid fellowships in policy and advocacy, a policy advisor fellowship, and a member scholarship for community-focused projects. Beneficiary types include Leadership for Educational Equity members, leaders in education and public policy, and community volunteers or participants. The result is a funder that supports leadership pipelines, member engagement, and practical civic work through grants connected to LEE’s network and programs.

What Leadership for Educational Equity Foundation Funds

Policy and advocacy are a core part of the foundation’s approach. The Public Policy Fellowship is a full-time, paid nine-month placement for mid-career LEE members, and the Policy & Advocacy Summer Fellowship offers an eight-week paid placement with cohort-based training and professional development. The Policy Advisor Fellowship adds a shorter, part-time virtual option for early-career members serving senior leaders or elected officials. Educational equity appears through the foundation’s member-led work and scholarships. The Change Challenge Scholarship supports community-focused projects, and in 2025 LEE awarded multiple members this scholarship to fund community impact projects. The existing focus areas also include education policy and public policy engagement, which aligns with support for leaders working across schools, advocacy, and civic participation. Civic leadership development is the thread connecting these programs. The foundation’s summary describes a mission to foster and facilitate increased civic leadership, and its focus areas include civic leadership development, civic engagement and volunteerism, and elected leadership support.

How Leadership for Educational Equity Foundation Gives