Catalyst Portfolio Announces First Grant Recipients

DonorsTrust recently launched the Catalyst Portfolio, a set of action-oriented grant-making funds aimed at helping donors maximize their giving in a targeted way. Housed at DonorsTrust’s sister organization, Donors Capital Fund, the Catalyst Portfolio launched with a pair of focused, actively managed philanthropic funds:

  • The Education Choice Implementation Fund supports organizations committed to increasing the supply of school options, helping families enroll their students, and helping to win the public narrative so families understand and can make best use of the choices available to them.
  • The Lightning Fund is a rapid-response vehicle for high-impact opportunities. These grants are targeted to think tanks, public-interest law groups, and cultural efforts taking advantage of a unique and potentially fleeting opportunity to advance liberty. 

Just as an index fund allows one to more easily invest in diverse companies and sectors, the Catalyst Portfolio enables donors to invest in a range of organizations united around our shared goals of advancing the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and personal responsibility.

These funds offer donors a simple way to support causes that matter to them, while relying on DonorsTrust to evaluate and choose the most promising projects to advance those goals.

Catalyst Funds offer another advantage: because they are not donor-advised funds, they can accept Qualified Charitable Distributions from your IRA if you are 70 ½ or older.

Now we are pleased to announce the first round of grants from the Catalyst Portfolio:

Education Choice Implementation Fund

  • The Primer Foundation received funding for its work to educate policymakers about the need to reform regulations governing schools. Current rules were designed for a time when schools all looked the same, but today they stand as hurdles to small, innovative schools getting off the ground. Primer’s work in multiple states will make it easier for education entrepreneurs to launch new schools.
  • EdChoice knows that the passage of school choice legislation is only half the battle. It was awarded a grant for its Legal Advocates program, which defends school choice programs against legal challenges and seeks to break down the remaining legal barriers in state courts.
  • Funding for the American Federation for Children Growth Fund will enable it to spread the word about state-level school choice and the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit in states that offer these programs. It will help families understand their educational options and how school choice programs can open opportunities for their children.
  • The Education Freedom Foundation will use its Catalyst grant to help small schools get started and existing schools to grow. This is critical so that the supply of private schools can meet rising demand from families.
  • The Alabama Policy Institute received a grant for its Opportunity Anchors program, which seeks to boost the supply of schools through partnerships with churches throughout Alabama. Church classrooms typically sit empty Monday–Friday, and this program will assist pastors with leasing their space or starting schools of their own. Alabama Policy Institute is committed to sharing lessons learned from this work with school choice states around the country.

Lightning Fund

  • Mountain States Policy Center is a multi-state think tank in the Mountain West. It has an opportunity to help influence the tax reform debate in the state of Montana. It received funding for the Flat. Fair. Montana. initiative, which will focus on educating Montana citizens about the economic benefits of adopting a flat income tax. If successful, the Center hopes that tax competition will open the door to tax reform in neighboring states as well.

Each of these initiatives represents a highly leveraged opportunity to advance policies and ideas central to our mission.

This is only the first round of grants to be made through the Catalyst Portfolio. We expect to hold another round of grantmaking in early 2027. We hope to do so with up to $2 million in donations to the Education Choice Implementation Fund and $500,000 to the Lightning Fund by year’s end.

We’ll be on the lookout for new opportunities to advance school choice and the broader liberty movement in the months ahead.

We invite you to join us.

You can support one or both funds through your DAF; directly with a check, stock gift, or online here; or through your IRA.

Together, we can help unlock educational opportunities for countless kids through the Education Choice Implementation Fund. And we can provide rocket fuel to organizations faced with a sudden opportunity to make a real difference through our Lightning Fund.

We are excited to have this opportunity to advance the liberty movement, and hope you will partner with us to help amplify our impact.

Catalyst Portfolio Announces First Grant Recipients

DonorsTrust recently launched the Catalyst Portfolio, a set of action-oriented grant-making funds aimed at helping donors maximize their giving in a targeted way. Housed at DonorsTrust’s sister organization, Donors Capital Fund, the Catalyst Portfolio launched with a pair of focused, actively managed philanthropic funds:

  • The Education Choice Implementation Fund supports organizations committed to increasing the supply of school options, helping families enroll their students, and helping to win the public narrative so families understand and can make best use of the choices available to them.
  • The Lightning Fund is a rapid-response vehicle for high-impact opportunities. These grants are targeted to think tanks, public-interest law groups, and cultural efforts taking advantage of a unique and potentially fleeting opportunity to advance liberty. 

Just as an index fund allows one to more easily invest in diverse companies and sectors, the Catalyst Portfolio enables donors to invest in a range of organizations united around our shared goals of advancing the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and personal responsibility.

These funds offer donors a simple way to support causes that matter to them, while relying on DonorsTrust to evaluate and choose the most promising projects to advance those goals.

Catalyst Funds offer another advantage: because they are not donor-advised funds, they can accept Qualified Charitable Distributions from your IRA if you are 70 ½ or older.

Now we are pleased to announce the first round of grants from the Catalyst Portfolio:

Education Choice Implementation Fund

  • The Primer Foundation received funding for its work to educate policymakers about the need to reform regulations governing schools. Current rules were designed for a time when schools all looked the same, but today they stand as hurdles to small, innovative schools getting off the ground. Primer’s work in multiple states will make it easier for education entrepreneurs to launch new schools.
  • EdChoice knows that the passage of school choice legislation is only half the battle. It was awarded a grant for its Legal Advocates program, which defends school choice programs against legal challenges and seeks to break down the remaining legal barriers in state courts.
  • Funding for the American Federation for Children Growth Fund will enable it to spread the word about state-level school choice and the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit in states that offer these programs. It will help families understand their educational options and how school choice programs can open opportunities for their children.
  • The Education Freedom Foundation will use its Catalyst grant to help small schools get started and existing schools to grow. This is critical so that the supply of private schools can meet rising demand from families.
  • The Alabama Policy Institute received a grant for its Opportunity Anchors program, which seeks to boost the supply of schools through partnerships with churches throughout Alabama. Church classrooms typically sit empty Monday–Friday, and this program will assist pastors with leasing their space or starting schools of their own. Alabama Policy Institute is committed to sharing lessons learned from this work with school choice states around the country.

Lightning Fund

  • Mountain States Policy Center is a multi-state think tank in the Mountain West. It has an opportunity to help influence the tax reform debate in the state of Montana. It received funding for the Flat. Fair. Montana. initiative, which will focus on educating Montana citizens about the economic benefits of adopting a flat income tax. If successful, the Center hopes that tax competition will open the door to tax reform in neighboring states as well.

Each of these initiatives represents a highly leveraged opportunity to advance policies and ideas central to our mission.

This is only the first round of grants to be made through the Catalyst Portfolio. We expect to hold another round of grantmaking in early 2027. We hope to do so with up to $2 million in donations to the Education Choice Implementation Fund and $500,000 to the Lightning Fund by year’s end.

We’ll be on the lookout for new opportunities to advance school choice and the broader liberty movement in the months ahead.

We invite you to join us.

You can support one or both funds through your DAF; directly with a check, stock gift, or online here; or through your IRA.

Together, we can help unlock educational opportunities for countless kids through the Education Choice Implementation Fund. And we can provide rocket fuel to organizations faced with a sudden opportunity to make a real difference through our Lightning Fund.

We are excited to have this opportunity to advance the liberty movement, and hope you will partner with us to help amplify our impact.

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