$32 million in new grants; Overdeck family’s giving tops $500 million in education-focused philanthropy
In the second quarter of 2025, the Overdeck Family Foundation awarded more than $32 million through 52 grants aimed at accelerating improvements in academic and socioemotional outcomes for children across the United States.
The funding underscores their long-standing commitment to advancing data-driven, cost-effective educational solutions that scale impact while promoting equity and excellence.
The latest round of funding reflects the foundation’s dual focus: providing direct support to high-impact organizations and investing in research and field-building initiatives that unlock innovation, strengthen evidence, and enable sustainable growth.
Since its founding in 2011, the Overdeck Family Foundation has granted over $500 million to educational organizations and research initiatives, consistently targeting programs that combine rigorous evidence with scalable potential.
Among the new grantees this quarter are OpenSciEd, awarded $300,000 to develop an evaluation strategy for its widely used middle school science curriculum; Boys & Girls Clubs of America, receiving $250,000 to launch a STEM improvement cohort at 30 club sites; and AppleTree Institute, which received $200,000 to evaluate a low-cost version of its comprehensive early learning model.
Ensemble Learning was also added to the foundation’s portfolio, with a $200,000 grant to enhance professional development for educators serving multilingual learners.
Renewed and expanded commitments further strengthen the foundation’s investment in proven interventions.
Zearn received $6 million to increase usage of its math platform among elementary students, while LENA was awarded $5 million to scale its “talk pedometer” language development program to 115,000 children.
Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce initiative received $4 million to expand strategic staffing models that improve student outcomes and teacher satisfaction.
Other major grants include $2.25 million to Collaborative Classroom to scale its early literacy program SEEDS of Learning; $1.67 million to the Robin Hood Learning + Tech Fund to drive blended literacy adoption in NYC schools; and $1.5 million each to ASSISTments and OnYourMark to expand evidence-based math and literacy tools.
Additional investments supported Tools of the Mind, the Museum of Science in Boston, Achievement Network, Modern Classrooms Project, and the Center for Outcomes-Based Contracting, among others.
In parallel, the Overdecks continue to fund rigorous research that underpins evidence-based decision-making in the education sector.
Accelerate was awarded $4 million to support randomized controlled trials of tutoring models and AI-driven learning innovations.
Evaluation partners, including Mathematica, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, the University of Michigan, and Stanford’s National Student Support Accelerator, received grants to study the efficacy of professional development, curriculum tools, and staffing models.
These efforts are guided by the Overdecks’ belief in applying the principles of innovation, experimentation, and metrics-based performance—core tenets of John Overdeck’s professional career—to social impact.
John Overdeck is co-founder and director of the Overdeck Family Foundation and the co-founder and co-chair of Two Sigma Investments, LP, an investment management firm that follows the principles of technology and innovation to find value in the world’s data. Previously, he was a managing director at D.E. Shaw & Co. and a vice president at Amazon.
John received a B.S. in Mathematics (with distinction) and an M.S. in Statistics from Stanford University. He is Chair of the Institute for Advanced Study and National Museum of Mathematics, and serves as a trustee of the Robin Hood Foundation.
He is also a member of the Global Advisory Board at Khan Academy and Data Science Advisory Group at Stanford University.
Dan Overdeck is a Director of Overdeck Family Foundation and a radiologist in Fairfax, Virginia.
He graduated from Northwestern with a B.A. with highest distinction in Chemistry, received his M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, and completed his residency and fellowship training at the University of Michigan and Harvard University.
He is the Chief of Abdominal and Thoracic Radiology for his practice and for the dozens of facilities that they staff for the nonprofit INOVA health system in Northern Virginia.
He serves on the Executive Committee of his practice. He is currently also serving on the D.C. board of the Northwestern University Leadership Circle. He supports the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) of which he is also an alumnus.
Laura Overdeck is the co-founder of the Overdeck Family Foundation, as well as the founder and president of Bedtime Math, a nonprofit organization that ignites kids’ curiosity and learning by unleashing the fun in math.
She is an alumna and former trustee of Princeton University, where she earned a B.A. in astrophysics.
She also holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business and an honorary D.Eng. from Stevens Institute of Technology.
In addition to her leadership roles at Overdeck Family Foundation and Bedtime Math, Laura is a trustee of Khan Academy, Liberty Science Center, and The Pingry School, and serves on the advisory boards for Princeton’s Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY), and Governor’s School of New Jersey.
Anu Malipatil, Executive Director, is a founding team member of the Foundation, bringing 20 years of experience in K-12 education and the nonprofit sector.
Anu’s responsibilities include working with the trustees to set the foundation’s vision, goals, and priorities while also guiding the leadership team, which provides oversight of the team’s program, impact, and learning, communications, and people/operations workstreams.
The Overdeck Family Foundation aims to build a more equitable education system where all children—regardless of their background—have access to engaging, high-quality learning opportunities.
Their philanthropic strategy is characterized by a focus on outcomes, scalability, and the strategic use of research to drive innovation and system-wide improvement.
Through targeted investments and deep partnerships across sectors, John and Laura Overdeck are redefining how philanthropy can catalyze measurable change in education.
Their second-quarter 2025 grantmaking marks another chapter in a broader mission to support ideas and institutions that empower every child to unlock their full potential.