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The decision by a dozen major education grantmakers to team up on an initiative designed to dovetail with the federal grant competition is being seen by supporters as a chance to maximize the power of public and private resources to help transform K-12 education.

But it鈥檚 also renewing concerns that the Obama administration and the philanthropic sector are becoming too intertwined鈥攊n ways that could crowd out support for worthy reform ideas not favored by the federal government.

The initiative鈥檚 April 29 unveiling came as school districts, schools, and nonprofit organizations were gearing up for this week鈥檚 application deadline for a slice of the competitive $650 million federal fund, dubbed i3. More than 2,000 applications were expected.

The from the U.S. Department of 91制片厂视频 and private philanthropies indicated that the foundations were providing $506 million in 2010 to 鈥渓everage鈥� the federal i3 fund, making more than $1 billion available to help expand promising innovations, including a portion the foundations will use to meet the 20 percent match required under the federal program.

The philanthropies have developed a shared online registry, called the , to help connect the districts, schools, and nonprofit groups applying for the federal grant funds with the 12 philanthropies.

But there are important caveats.

The new collaborative is not a pooled fund of grants; each foundation retains control over its contribution and decides how it will award funding. Nor is it a commitment of additional money from the foundations鈥攖he $506 million represents the total they had planned to commit this year to what they consider education innovation.

In fact, some of the money has already been committed to particular grantees and projects, though the grantmakers have not indicated how much is in that category and how much they will reserve for i3 matching grants.

In any case, foundation officials say the initiative holds great promise.

鈥淭his is about being smarter and leveraging all of the funds available. This gives us greater visibility and greater focus,鈥� said Bibb Hubbard, a program officer at the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the philanthropies. 鈥淭his potentially could improve the way foundations collaborate.鈥�

Who Sets Priorities?

Some observers, however, say there may be reason for worry about the development, which comes in an environment in which they suggest philanthropic organizations and the 91制片厂视频 Department have already been collaborating to an extent that may well be unprecedented.

鈥淩ecent days have brought fresh evidence ... of foundations鈥� banding together in part to do the government鈥檚 bidding in K-12 education reform,鈥� Chester E. Finn Jr., the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, writes in his think tank鈥檚 weekly 91制片厂视频 Gadfly newsletter for May 6. He argues that the plan may crowd out private dollars that otherwise support ventures the government 鈥渃annot or would not touch.鈥�

Mr. Finn, who was a senior education official in the Reagan administration, adds that many philanthropies 鈥渟eem more and more willing to let the Obama administration set their priorities, not least because they yearn鈥攑hilosophically, culturally, and perhaps politically鈥攖o help this administration succeed.鈥�

But Peter Cunningham, an assistant secretary at the 91制片厂视频 Department, sees the situation differently.

鈥淪ome people say the foundations are driving the federal government鈥檚 agenda, and others are saying the federal government is driving the foundations鈥� agenda,鈥� he said. 鈥淣either is true. Where [our agendas] converge, we work together. Where they don鈥檛, we don鈥檛.鈥�

The 12 foundations, which aren鈥檛 disclosing their individual commitments, are: the Carnegie Corporation of New York; the Annie E. Casey Foundation; the Ford Foundation; the Gates Foundation; the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation; the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; the Lumina Foundation for 91制片厂视频; the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; the Robertson Foundation; the Wallace Foundation; and the Walton Family Foundation.

(The Carnegie, Gates, Hewlett, Mott, and Wallace philanthropies currently provide grant funding to 91制片厂视频, the publisher of 91制片厂视频 Week.)

Targeted Efforts

The $506 million from the grantmakers will be directed into three areas of 鈥渋nnovation鈥� focused on the classroom, school models, and sustainability. (See inset box.)

An undetermined amount will also be available for matching funds for the i3 grant recipients, but likely no more than $130 million overall. The rules for the 91制片厂视频 Department鈥檚 i3 program require districts to secure a 20 percent private-sector match, or a waiver, in order to win the federal aid. That鈥檚 equal to $130 million from the private sector, far less than what the dozen foundations have committed to spend on innovation efforts.

U.S. Secretary of 91制片厂视频 Arne Duncan praised the foundations鈥� initiative as a 鈥渉istoric, collaborative effort,鈥� even as the department stressed that matching funds for i3 wouldn鈥檛 come just from those grantmakers.

The i3 grant competition, financed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, puts $650 million in economic-stimulus funding up for grabs for schools, districts, and nonprofit organizations that want to scale up ideas for improving education. Three tiers of awards, ranging from $5 million to $50 million, will be offered, with the biggest awards going to the proposals that show the best records of success and the most potential for expansion. (鈥淔inal 鈥榠3' Rules Keep Private Match, Evidence Hurdles,鈥� March 17, 2010.)

For foundations, the ability to piggyback on a federal grant program鈥攁nd get a big return on a 20 percent match鈥攊s a huge driver behind the effort.

鈥淭he philanthropic community is quite energized,鈥� said Ali Webb, a program officer at the Kellogg Foundation, in Battle Creek, Mich. 鈥淲hen you can take a 20 percent grant and leverage 80 percent from the federal government, that鈥檚 a really good day in philanthropy.鈥�

The Kellogg Foundation, which focuses on improving schools in rural America, is also setting up a separate grant stream to help provide matching funds to rural school districts because such districts may not have easy access to foundations and other private-sector partners. Toward its $25 million goal, Kellogg is kicking in $4 million, and the Walmart Foundation $5 million. Kellogg is also soliciting other donors.

One-Stop Shop

As part of the new foundation collaborative, the grantmakers have established an online registry, dubbed Registry i3, where applicants can upload their own grant-proposal information, and foundations can use a search engine to go shopping for reform ideas and partners that they want to fund.

Michele Cahill, a vice president at the Carnegie Corporation, in New York City, said her foundation and others could decide to jointly match a particular i3 winner. Also, they might support proposals that don鈥檛 win the federal competition.

鈥淲e may find some that are powerful, and we can push the limits of risk further than the government can at this point,鈥� Ms. Cahill said.

She also emphasized that the participating philanthropies aren鈥檛 losing any autonomy in the arrangement.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the foundation sector is doing the government鈥檚 bidding at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he foundation sector has a long history of independence, and that鈥檚 being preserved.鈥�

Meanwhile, the i3 collaborative soon may be larger.

鈥淭here has been substantial interest by some other foundations to participate,鈥� said Ms. Hubbard,from the Gates Foundation, and efforts are under way to develop a process through which additional grantmakers might join.

Some critics have asked since early in the Obama administration whether the philanthropic community鈥攆rom which Secretary Duncan has drawn several key hires for the 91制片厂视频 Department鈥攊s tied too closely to the department and the decisions it makes. For instance, the Gates Foundation has provided planning grants to states in the competition for federal Race to the Top grants. And foundations themselves voiced concerns during the public-comment period for the i3 grant rules that they might become de facto gatekeepers for applicants. (鈥淥fficials Urged to Retool Draft 鈥榠3' Rules,鈥� Dec. 2, 2009.)

Sandra Abrevaya, a department spokeswoman, stressed that the foundations would have no role in selecting the i3 winners. What鈥檚 more, she said, applicants don鈥檛 have to secure their matching funds until after the department selects the winners, a change from the original rules proposed that was meant 鈥渢o reduce the risk that foundations could influence鈥� the applicant pool.

Still, such a partnership between philanthropy and the federal government can have its drawbacks, said Frederick M. Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.

鈥淥n one hand, this may be much ado about nothing. On the other hand, I worry about the signal it sends,鈥� he said.

For one, he argues that some individuals or groups might be less willing to openly criticize federal actions or policies they feel are misguided if they perceive that major foundations are closely tied to the department and its agenda, for fear of alienating potential funders.

Robin J. Lake, the associate director of the Center on Reinventing Public 91制片厂视频 at the University of Washington Bothell, said she鈥檚 concerned that the foundation collaborative could lead to missing out on some important reform ideas.

鈥淚f people are trying to use all the same criteria and all the same 鈥榩riors鈥� coming into this, there鈥檚 also some potential that they miss something that could really be innovative,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here is some value to a little bit of chaos when you鈥檙e making bets on things that might 飞辞谤办.鈥�

But Ms. Hubbard of the Gates Foundation sees the i3 fund as having created a unique opportunity.

鈥淔oundations have been funding these kinds of innovations for a long time,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e felt that by taking advantage of the moment where there is this additional $650 million, that we could really accelerate impact.鈥�