History

History Quote New

“Without CSFP, I would not be able to go to my school.” -CSFP award recipient Spongmay

CSFP was born out of a national model, Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF National), started by Ted Forstmann and John Walton. In 1999, CSF National held its National Lottery Day to fund K-8th grade scholarships for under-resourced families. After receiving over one million applications, 40,000 scholarships were awarded nationally. Philadelphia families received 1,200 of these scholarships. In 2001, upon seeing the great demand by Philadelphia families (over 40,000 applications were received for these 1,200 scholarships), CSFP was created as its own, separate 501(c)(3). CSFP is the only PA-based partner program of CSF National.

The CSF Solution

Watch this video to learn about CSF’s role in helping close the achievement gap.