For an initiative billed as being publicly driven, the Common Core States Initiative has benefited enormously from the generosity of the private philanthropy of Bill and Melinda Gates. How much? About $150 million worth.
Take a look at this list of grants, obtained from their foundation’s Web site. Note not only the amounts but the wide range of organizations receiving money. Universities. Unions. State education departments. Nonprofits. Think tanks. The grants were given for a range of reasons, including developing materials aligned to the standards and building support for the standards.
You can see how invested the Gates Foundation is in the success of the Common Core. What kind of Core support do these grants buy from the organizations that receive them?
If you want to see what each grant is for, click here and you can access each grant description. At the bottom of the list are a few descriptions of specific grants.
| WestEd | 2013 | College-Ready | US Program | $30,000 |
| LearnZillion, Inc. | 2013 | College-Ready | US Program | $965,525 |
| University of Kentucky Research Foundation | 2013 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,000,000 |
| Delaware Department of Education | 2013 | College-Ready | US Program | $400,000 |
| National Paideia Center Inc | 2013 | College-Ready | US Program | $659,788 |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | 2013 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,615,655 |
| The Achievement Network | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,002,252 |
| Kentucky Department of Education | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,903,089 |
| Colorado Legacy Foundation | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,748,337 |
| Fund for Public Schools Inc | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,815,810 |
| Council of Chief State School Officers | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $475,000 |
| BetterLesson, Inc. | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,527,240 |
| The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $99,997 |
| JUMP Math | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $698,587 |
| Center for Curriculum Redesign Inc. | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $198,000 |
| Pennsylvania Business Roundtable Educational Foundation | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $257,391 |
| American Federation Of Teachers Educational Foundation | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $4,400,000 |
| University of Arizona | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,416,901 |
| American Enterprise Institute For Public Policy Research | 2012 | Global Policy & Advocacy | US Program | $1,068,788 |
| State Education Technology | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $500,000 |
| Student Achievement Partners Inc | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $4,042,920 |
| Baton Rouge Area Foundation | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $500,000 |
| National Governors Association Center For Best Practices | 2012 | Strategic Partnerships | US Program | $37,674 |
| University of Michigan | 2012 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,999,999 |
| The College-Ready Promise | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $300,000 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $2,889,132 |
| Scholastic Inc. | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $4,463,541 |
| New Venture Fund | 2011 | Global Policy & Advocacy | US Program | $378,000 |
| Learning Forward | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $999,795 |
| The University of the State of New York | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $600,000 |
| Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Inc. | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $350,000 |
| Americas Promise-The Alliance For Youth | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $500,000 |
| Hillsborough County Council of PTA/PTSAs | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $25,000 |
| Military Child Education Coalition | 2011 | Global Policy & Advocacy | US Program | $149,965 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc. | 2011 | Postsecondary Success | US Program | $4,618,652 |
| Council of State Governments | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $369,623 |
| Khan Academy Inc. | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $4,079,361 |
| National Writing Project | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,095,593 |
| National Indian Education Association | 2011 | Strategic Partnerships | US Program | $500,000 |
| Council Of The Great City Schools | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $4,910,988 |
| Council of Chief State School Officers | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $9,388,911 |
| Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $198,206 |
| Creative Commons Corporation | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $812,955 |
| Louisiana Department of Education | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $7,351,708 |
| Colorado Legacy Foundation | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $9,707,210 |
| Kentucky Department of Education | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $9,125,277 |
| American Federation Of Teachers Educational Foundation | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,000,000 |
| Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction | 2011 | Community Grants | US Program | $75,000 |
| Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,024,695 |
| National Association of State Boards of Education | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,077,960 |
| National Governors Association Center For Best Practices | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,598,477 |
| Reasoning Mind, Inc. | 2011 | College-Ready | US Program | $742,996 |
| MetaMetrics, Inc. | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,468,005 |
| New Visions for Public Schools, Inc | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $8,149,935 |
| Pennsylvania Department of Education | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $526,960 |
| The University of the State of New York | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $892,500 |
| Kentucky Department of Education | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,000,000 |
| Georgia Department of Education | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,980,892 |
| Center for Teaching Quality, Inc. | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $395,836 |
| Alliance for Excellent Education, Inc. | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $3,200,004 |
| Education Commission of the States | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $799,221 |
| Albuquerque Public Schools | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $500,000 |
| Khan Academy Inc. | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,464,667 |
| School District of Philadelphia | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $500,000 |
| Cleveland Metropolitan School District | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $497,752 |
| Cristo Rey Network | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $556,006 |
| Research for Action Inc | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,309,409 |
| Purdue University | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $1,453,832 |
| Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, Inc. | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $151,431 |
| Forsyth County Schools | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $151,200 |
| New York University | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $40,282 |
| Council Of The Great City Schools | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $100,000 |
| Council of State Governments | 2010 | College-Ready | US Program | $399,953 |
| Common Core Inc. | 2009 and earlier | College-Ready | US Program | $550,844 |
| James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy Foundation, Inc. | 2009 and earlier | College-Ready | US Program | $5,549,352 |
| Alliance for Excellent Education, Inc. | 2009 and earlier | College-Ready | US Program | $551,336 |
| National Association of State Boards of Education | 2009 and earlier | College-Ready | US Program | $450,675 |
| Thomas B. Fordham Institute | 2009 and earlier | College-Ready | US Program | $959,116 |
| The Education Trust | 2009 and earlier | College-Ready | US Program | $2,039,526 |
| Military Child Education Coalition | 2009 and earlier | Global Policy & Advocacy | US Program | $269,998 |
Here are some specific grants:
The Aspen Institute
January 2013
to support the Aspen Institute’s Urban Superintendents Network, develop resources to integrate Common Core State Standards and educator effectiveness policies and practices, and use lessons from the field to inform national policy
$3,615,655
24
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Washington, District of Columbia
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/
—
Scholastic, Inc.
November 2011
to support teachers’ implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics
$4,463,541
37
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
New York, New York
http://www2.scholastic.com
—
American Federation Of Teachers Educational Foundation
June 2012
to support the AFT Innovation Fund and work on teacher development and Common Core State Standards
$4,400,000
24
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Washington, District of Columbia
http://www.aft.org
—
The NEA [National Education Association] Foundation for the Improvement of Education
October 2012
to build and enhance teacher voice in the development and implementation of the teacher and leader Professional Growth and Effectiveness System and the Common Core State Standards
$99,997
8
College-Ready, Global Policy & Advocacy
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Washington, District of Columbia
http://www.neafoundation.org/
—
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc.
October 2011
to partner with other foundations to support a project fund supporting state-led efforts aligning higher education placement requirements with college readiness assessments developed through the Common Core assessment consortia
$4,618,652
44
Postsecondary Success
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
New York, New York
http://www.rockpa.org
—
Khan Academy Inc.
July 2011
to develop the remaining K-12 math exercises to ensure full coverage of the Common Core math standards and form a small team to implement a blended learning model
$4,079,361
17
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Mountain View, California
http://www.khanacademy.org/
—
Council Of The Great City Schools
June 2011
to promote and coordinate successful implementation of the new common core standards in major urban public school systems nationwide
$4,910,988
37
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Washington, District of Columbia
http://www.cgcs.org
—
Council of Chief State School Officers
June 2011
to support the Common Core State Standards work
$9,388,911
36
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Washington, District of Columbia
http://www.ccsso.org
—
Kentucky Department of Education
June 2011
to provide organizational support to the Kentucky Department of Education related to implementation of the Common Core State Standards & teacher development and evaluation systems
$9,125,277
35
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Frankfort, Kentucky
http://www.kde.state.ky.us
—
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
February 2011
to provide teachers and school leaders with supports to implement the Common Core State Standards at the district, school, and classroom levels
$3,024,695
35
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Alexandria, Virginia
http://www.ascd.org
—
National Association of State Boards of Education
February 2011
to build the capacity of State Boards of Education to better position them to achieve full implementation of the Common Core standards
$1,077,960
24
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Arlington, Virginia
http://www.nasbe.org
—
New Visions for Public Schools, Inc
November 2010
to support the Common Core/Career and College initiative (C4) effort designed to improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness through key strategies
$8,149,935
35
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
New York City, New York
http://www.newvisions.org
—
University of Arizona
June 2012
to produce content to illustrate the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
$3,416,901
36
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Tucson, Arizona
http://www.sps.arizona.edu/
—
University of Michigan
March 2012
to build resources to help teachers develop their practice and teach the Common Core State Standards
$1,999,999
24
College-Ready
GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
United States
Ann Arbor, Michigan
http://www.umich.edu