CSF is the only national K-8 scholarship organization in the country. Since our inception, CSF has served more than 111,000 needy children. This year, we are helping almost 29,000 children in 35 partner programs across the country.

CSF knows that despite recent public education reforms, privately-funded choice is still the only way for thousands of children to have immediate access to a safe environment where they can get a quality education. In fact, a child who finishes 8th grade in a private school is twice as likely to graduate from high school and attend and graduate from college.

CSF recognizes the intrinsic value and crucial importance of parents in the education of their own children – they are the child's first educators. By giving families the opportunity to choose the right school for their child and having them pay a portion of the tuition, CSF parents are fully invested in the efforts and successes of the school. If a CSF parent is not happy with the school, they can transfer their scholarship.

CSF scholarships also allow families to choose schools which better represent their own values and beliefs. As John E. Coons, professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law, recently noted, "schools teach a rich lottery of values, and to the extent that this is true, the child of the not-so-rich parent takes moral pot luck."

CSF scholarships are awarded based on the family's need, rather than the child's grades or test scores.

CSF scholarships are always partial – no one gets a "full ride." Families must always pay a minimum of $500 a year, although most end up paying significantly more.

CSF donations are highly leveraged. A local donor's gift is matched by the national Children's Scholarship Fund, and a national donor's gift is leveraged by gifts from the local program where it is directed. Then the families themselves match the donation through their own contribution.

CSF scholarships raise the public awareness of the need for reform, the value of choice, and the need to mobilize support among the urban poor for better educational options.