California · Nonprofit
Learning Policy Institute
Learning Policy Institute (California) receives grants from 39 organizations whose IRS filings report $113,282,309 to it, the largest being SANDLER FOUNDATION ($29,100,000). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $11M
- Funders on record
- 39
- Grants received
- $113M
- Net assets
- $31M
What Learning Policy Institute does
Mission
The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) conducts and disseminates independent, high-quality research to improve learning for all children. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, LPI connects policymakers and stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels with the evidence and strategies needed to strengthen the education system from preschool through college and career.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
Early Childhood Education. LPI research informed policymakers' efforts to provide universal access to high-quality early learning. Reports examined California's progress toward universal prekindergarten, integration in early childhood education, and coaching as a strategy for strengthening the early learning workforce. Educator Quality. LPI developed tools to assess the cost of teacher turnover and the extent of teacher shortages in each state. LPI published reports examining successful teacher residencies, state and federal policies to support residencies, and how teacher preparation predicts teacher performance assessment results. In the area of school leadership, LPI conducted research on state approaches to developing educational leaders, preparing leaders for deeper learning, and the California School Leadership Academy. Equitable Resources and Access. LPI partnered with the National Conference of State Legislatures to support adequate and equitable state school finance reform. LPI also published briefs on the progress of English Learners in California and the costs of universal school vouchers. Whole Child Education. LPI authored a comprehensive guide on redesigning high…
$13,826,338 spentof which $878,051 as grants$460,876 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $13,826,338.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $14M to $35M (+146%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 10%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
82% of Learning Policy Institute’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Barbara Chow
Board Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 18 funders, grant income rose $8.6M → $14M.
9 of 39 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of Learning Policy Institute’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 39 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
Learning Policy Institute has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 26% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
47% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Learning Policy Institute.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 35% · 2018 46% · 2019 29% · 2020 31% · 2021 29% · 2022 53% · 2023 21% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
59% of Learning Policy Institute's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 74% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
70% of Learning Policy Institute's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $23M arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
Learning Policy Institute is better cushioned than half of the 4,065 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,065 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding Learning Policy Institute receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $187k on record.
- CENTRAL ADMIN SERVICES$187k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like Learning Policy Institute
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
56%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Learning Policy Institute: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Learning Policy Institute?
- Learning Policy Institute (California) receives grants from 39 organizations whose IRS filings report $113,282,309 to it, the largest being SANDLER FOUNDATION ($29,100,000). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Learning Policy Institute have?
- IRS filings report 39 organizations giving $113,282,309 in grants to Learning Policy Institute, 29 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Learning Policy Institute?
- SANDLER FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $29,100,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Learning Policy Institute find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 39 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing