School Leader Lab Awarded $2 Million Grant from Lever for Change

The Yield Giving Open Call gift is the largest in School Leader Lab’s history.

MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving has announced School Leader Lab as one of Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees. School Leader Lab received $2 million.

The award granted substantial gifts to organizations working with people and in places experiencing the greatest needs in the United States.

School Leader Lab works with more than 400 executive-level leaders, principals, assistant principals, and teacher leaders in DC-area public schools impacting more than 50,000 students. 81% of leaders who participate identify as people of color. 80% of leaders who participate work in Title I schools, where principal and teacher turnover is the highest. We have worked with more than half of the LEAs in DC and offer leadership development cohorts with both charter and district leaders. Since our inception seven years ago, 89% of the leaders who participated in School Leader Lab programs have remained in school leadership, in contrast to the average leader retention rate of 79% in Washington DC. 

In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.

"We are deeply honored and humbled by this generous $2 million gift from MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving,” says Erica Beal, Executive Director of School Leader Lab. “This award is the largest in our organization’s history and will have an enormous impact on leaders and schools in the D.C. region. This grant is not just a financial boost but a vote of confidence in our vision, approach, and impact. We are immensely proud and eagerly anticipate the greater heights we will scale together."

“We envision a DC region where every child, no matter their background, is in a school system led by long-time, high-impact leaders who retain and develop teachers who honor their genius. We know that investing in leaders has a direct impact on student outcomes. From chronic absenteeism to continuing to recover from and surpass the academic losses caused by the pandemic, our schools have a lot to tackle. Having visionary leaders who make transformative impact is paramount. This gift is a major step in the right direction.”

The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations that were top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount. 

More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.