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Check out news, notes, and publications that illustrate CSFP’s mission in action.
PHILADELPHIA – Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) welcomes two new members to the organization’s Board of Directors. Ricky Liss and Zeke James join CSFP and will be charged with overseeing the organization and advancing its mission for the future. Board members serve three-year terms. CSFP is thrilled to have such respected and knowledgeable individuals join our efforts and guide the organization. Ricky Liss: Ricky is the founder and managing partner of Liss & Marion, P.C., a successful regional law firm. In addition to his law practice, Ricky is a co-founder of and General Counsel for Hightop Real Estate and Development...
CSFP holds an early surprise celebration followed by Lottery Day, notifying thousands of Philadelphia families of their children’s scholarships PHILADELPHIA, PA – Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP), Pennsylvania’s largest and most diverse Pre-K-8th grade scholarship program, held its annual Family Surprise Day to surprise11 families with the news that their children have been selected to receive Pre-K-8th scholarships. The event was held on December 8th, prior to Lottery Day on December 12th. This year’s Family Surprise was held at the Independence Blue Cross River Rink Winterfest. Families were invited to join CSFP representatives for holiday fun at the River Rink,...
There is no singular education solution that meets the needs of every child, especially our youngest learners. When you put students in the center of the conversation, the answers to the question, “How do we improve educational outcomes?” become far more expansive. Parents and caregivers should be able to make school decisions based on their family’s needs and without limiting educational success due to financial barriers. Philadelphia’s children deserve access to all of the available options. Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia provides needs-based, partial scholarships for up to three children in a family to attend quality, safe, K-8th grade...
For the first time since 2022, CSFP scholarship award amounts have increased, giving higher scholarship values for families to attend schools of choice. Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) has officially opened its 2025 – 2026 application season and will award scholarships to families this year at increased amounts. This is the first time in two years that CSFP has increased its tiered amounts. CSFP will award 2,000 new scholarships to eligible students this year, while continuing to support prior recipients. “Education is personal and every family deserves the opportunity to access high quality schools, especially in the early years. Under-resourced...
Local Harvard alumni selected Patricia Wilson Aden, Maddy Booth, and Keisha Jordan to attend weeklong leadership program in Boston, MA Last week, three local women and nonprofit leaders went to Harvard Business School to attend a weeklong immersive workshop titled Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. Patricia Wilson Aden, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Maddy Booth, CEO of Vetri Community Partnership, and Keisha Jordan, President and CEO of Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia joined 157 other leaders from across the globe to address the pressing challenges facing today’s nonprofit organizations. Participants gained skills needed to take decisive action...
Students who utilize choice are seeing positive educational outcomes at a higher rate than peers PHILADELPHIA – In a report released today, Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP), an education non-profit providing under-resourced Philadelphia families with financial access to K-8th grade tuition-based schools, details stark evidence that city students who utilize private school choice outperform their public school peers in both math and reading on standardized tests. These results are significant in light of the fact that CSFP family median household income is lower than Philadelphia’s, and 70% of CSFP scholarship recipients live in Philadelphia’s lowest achieving public school neighborhoods. CSFP has 150+...
Over four years, the donation will fund hundreds of K-8th grade scholarships for students PHILADELPHIA – Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) has received a four-year commitment from Philadelphia Insurance Companies Foundation (PHLY) totaling $200,000. This latest gift is the first multi-year commitment to CSFP from the insurance company’s philanthropic arm, and brings the company’s total investment in scholarships to more than $2 million. In 2023, PHLY’s gifts supported more than 800 scholarships, and the company’s long-time support over the past 11 years has funded over 1,100 K-8th grade scholarships in total. “The funds from the PHLY Foundation will directly benefit...
Jennifer K. Burns joins Philadelphia education non-profit in newly created role PHILADELPHIA – Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) today announced the organization has hired Jennifer K. Burns as its first-ever Chief Advancement Officer, a position created to build relationships; enhance organizational reach and perception; and oversee annual fundraising and marketing strategies. Burns will lead CSFP’s development initiatives, with a key focus on the ongoing execution of the Breaking Barriers Campaign, which launched in 2022 with the goal of raising $100 million to serve more students with scholarships that follow them through 8th grade. “Jenn has a demonstrated track record...
Philadelphia families were surprised with the exciting news during the non-profit’s annual Lottery Day celebration at Independence Blue Cross PHILADELPHIA – Thousands of Philadelphia families were surprised this week with the news that their children will receive scholarships from Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) for the 2024 – 2025 school year. On December 14, volunteers, corporate partners, parents and staff from CSFP and Independence Blue Cross (IBX) gathered at IBX’s corporate headquarters for CSFP’s annual Lottery Day celebration. Attendees called thousands of families to tell them their children will receive financial support to attend a K-8th grade tuition-based school of...
The Connelly Foundation provided $1.2M towards capacity building, marking the largest operations gift received to-date PHILADELPHIA – Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) is pleased to announce that the organization has been awarded a 3-year, $1.2 million capacity building grant from the Connelly Foundation. This multi-year gift is the first of its kind for CSFP and enables the organization to build capacity and sustainability through marketing, technology, program evaluation, professional development, and functional expenses through 2027. CSFP continues to be a catalyst for education equity in Philadelphia with its ambitious five-year, $100 million Breaking Barriers Campaign for transformational growth to provide...
On October 25, 2023, CSFP’s President and CEO, Keisha Jordan, joined the House Appropriations and Education Committees to provide testimony on the benefit of scholarships. The full tour was covered by PA Capital Star in a piece titled “Pa. education tour takes up school vouchers conversation in Philadelphia“, and CSFP’s full testimony can be found below. Greetings Chairman Harris, Chairman Schweyer, and members of the Appropriations and Education Committees. Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about education reform in Pennsylvania. About Children’s Scholarship Fund PhiladelphiaMy name is Keisha Jordan, and I am the President and CEO of...
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