The Education Fund, a nonprofit organization founded in 1985, is now part of the Miami Lakes business community, located at 6713 Main Street, Suite 240. The new headquarters offices were made possible through the generosity of The Graham Companies.
Since its inception the nonprofit has been working to improve student achievement by maximizing every child's potential, to ensure every child graduates and to provide every opportunity for success which will strengthen the health of the community's economic and civic future.
The Education Fund's mission is to design and implement initiatives involving community members in helping improve schools. The organization works closely with teachers, parents, administrators and community and business leaders to increase student achievement through programs that reach all Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). The school improvement initiatives undertaken by The Education Fund have been nationally recognized. In the past 23 years over 1,150 projects have been funded.
The programs created and led by The Education Fund run the gamut of small grants for teachers to large-scale school improvement initiatives like the Impact II program which is the only district-wide program to help all M-DCPS teachers share and replicate best classroom practices.
Most recently, The Education Fund held a grant award reception which awarded cash grants to teachers for developing and implementing instructional projects to motivate and challenge students to learn. The mini-grants ranged from $300 to $1,000.
All funds are raised from the private sector, with the major fundraising event being the annual For the Love of Art Charity Auction held every spring. Student and teacher art pieces are sold at a silent auction, attracting over 500 collectors, gallery owners, civic leaders and art enthusiasts. In 2013 the auction raised more than $900,000 to support visual art programs in M-DCPS.
Under the stewardship of Linda Lecht, who has been with the organization since 1987, The Education Fund has grown from a two-person staff with an $80,000 budget to over a dozen staff members and assets of $2,000,000.
For more information visit www.educationfund.org or to volunteer call 305-892-5099.