Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP), the Connelly Foundation, and the Philadelphia Police Foundation have come together to form a new scholarship program, the Children of Police Scholarship (COPS) Fund. The program will provide K-8th grade scholarships to children of Philadelphia police officers injured in the line of duty. Read more about this exciting new partnership.

Two state tax credit programs, EITC and OSTC, were held up by the 2015 PA state budget impasse. This impacted hundreds of nonprofits, CSFP included, across the state, and imperiled the educational services of thousands of PA children. Read more about how those credits were finally released.

On Christmas Eve, Governor Wolf directed the DCED to release the tax credit approval letters for the EITC and OSTC program, freeing millions of dollars in tax credits to educational nonprofits across the state. The release was a welcome surprise for many–read more.

Read and learn more about the expansion of educational choice programs in areas across the United States, including Pennsylvania. Ina Lipman speaks of the budget impasse currently affecting Pennsylvania and hundreds of organizations and recipients.

A grandmother seeking ways to help her daughter pay $4,000 in private school tuition for three children says her prayers have been answered. “We were struggling where we were,” said Marcia Lee. Read more about the Lee family and what winning the scholarship has meant for their family.

CSFP and five other great nonprofits: Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern Pennsylvania (BBBS SEPA), Philadelphia Futures, Free Library of Philadelphia Need in Deed, and Summer Search Philadelphia, organizations in Greater Philadelphia, stand to lose $150 million in educational funding if no budget is passed before year’s end. ‪#‎ScholarshipsNotPolitics‬

Two seeming rivals, NEA President Becky Pringle and Jacqueline Hume Foundation Executive Director Gisele Huff, are working together on a vision that will re-imagine American education. Read on to see how their collaboration highlights the multi-faceted approach needed to improve our schools and the ways in which disparate groups are coming together, despite rivalries, in this New York Times Opinion piece.

Lubin L’aventure & Seyna Mushington, two CSFP parents, speak about the budget impasse affecting organizations across Pennsylvania, including Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia- “All we want to do is for our kids to stay in schools we love. Governor, please don’t sacrifice their futures for political leverage.”

What do you think of when you hear the term “school choice”? Roxanne Patel Shepelavy of The Philadelphia Citizen profiles a CSFP family and examines what private school can mean for Philadelphia children.

Nathan Benefield, Vice-President of Policy Analysis for the Commonwealth Foundation, criticized Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf for using the budget impasse as a reason to not approve corporate tax credits that go to fund student scholarships. He insisted that the dispute over the budget does not have to be solved for these credits to be approved and move forward. Benefield stated that time is running out to get these funds in place.