About Xq Institute
XQ Institute is sharply focused on transforming the American high school experience, making large directed investments in organizations that design, pilot, and scale new models of secondary education. They fund national research and intermediary organizations that set frameworks (e.g., Carnegie Foundation) as well as local school networks, district partners, and new school incubators that implement reimagined high schools. Grants emphasize design, implementation, and partnership with public systems rather than general operating support across unrelated causes.
Focus Areas
High school redesign and student-centered learning modelsDistrict–philanthropy partnerships for school redesign (e.g., DC Public Schools, NYDOE, state education systems)New school creation and incubators/charter networks (e.g., Da Vinci, New Harmony, Crosstown)Systems change through research and field-building intermediaries (e.g., Carnegie Foundation)Leadership development and academy-style school models
Who They Fund
public high school studentsdistricts and state education agencies (e.g., DC Public Schools, NYDOE, Kentucky, Illinois)
About Xq Institute
Xq Institute’s recent grantmaking is centered on one clear objective: reimagining the American high school experience. The largest awards in the file go to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, including $7,000,000 in 2023 and $6,933,052 in 2025 to support work to re-imagine and redefine the high school learning experience. That same theme runs through the rest of the portfolio, which pairs national field-building with direct support for districts, schools, and school networks that are redesigning secondary education. The foundation backs both research intermediaries and on-the-ground implementers. Carnegie Foundation, DC Public Education Fund, and Fund for Public Schools Inc. each appear multiple times among the recent grants, showing sustained support for system-level redesign efforts in places such as Washington, DC, New York, and Stanford-based research work. The grants also reach school-based models, including Washington Leadership Academy, Education for Change, New Harmony High Institute, Crosstown High School Inc, and Iovine and Young Foundation. Across these awards, Xq Institute favors large, directed grants tied to redesign, replication, and school creation rather than broad, unrelated philanthropy.
What Xq Institute Funds
A major line of giving supports district-led redesign. Xq Institute gave $4,986,763 in 2024 and $2,403,959 in 2025 to DC Public Education Fund for work to re-imagine and re-design DC Public Schools, and also funded Tulsa Public Schools with $520,000 in 2023 for similar district redesign work. The foundation also backs public school networks and school-level implementation. It gave $1,971,269 in 2023, $1,590,800 in 2024, and $643,875 in 2025 to Education for Change in Oakland for high school redesign, and $1,985,139 in 2023 plus $1,310,139 in 2024 to Washington Leadership Academy in Washington, DC. New school creation is another clear focus. Xq Institute awarded Iovine and Young Foundation $1,500,000 in 2023, $1,500,000 in 2024, and $1,000,000 in 2025 to support the creation of the Iovine and Young Center, and gave $1,331,500 in 2023 to Da Vinci Schools La County for high school redesign work.
How Xq Institute Gives
The typical grant is large: the 25th percentile is $107,525, the median is $250,000, and the 75th percentile is $1,500,000. The recent record shows repeated multi-year support to the same recipients, especially Carnegie Foundation, DC Public Education Fund, Education for Change, Fund for Public Schools Inc, Washington Leadership Academy, Crosstown High School Inc, and Iovine and Young Foundation. Xq Institute is a regular funder rather than a DAF or individual-giving vehicle, and the file shows grantmaking through directed program support rather than program-related investments.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$18.2M
Total Assets
$10.8M
Total Revenue
$69.4M
Total Expenses
$70M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $108K and $1.5M, with a median of $250K.
25th Percentile
$108K
Median
$250K
75th Percentile
$1.5M
Geographic Reach
National16 states funded
About 31% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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