This book will be a collection of brief case studies on foundations that raise funds and provide support to public school systems to enhance their programs and impact. It will not include parent-teacher associations (PTAs) or parent-teacher organizations (PTOs), which typically raise funds for an individual school. Rather, the foundations studied will be those that support school districts. It will not focus on individual charter schools, although some district-wide foundations do support charters as well as traditional public schools. It will not include private foundations that make grants to public schools (e.g., Gates) but rather foundations created for the specific purpose of raising funds to supplement public funding of school systems. The focus will be on the operation and impact of the foundations, rather than philanthropy more generally.

Michael J. Worth is a Professor of Nonprofit Management and former Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs at the George Washington University. While vice president, he planned and directed two comprehensive campaigns. He was previously Director of Development at the University of Maryland. He has written other books, including Leading the Campaign (2017) and, with co-editor Matthew T. Lambert, Advancing Higher Education: New Strategies for Fundraising, Philanthropy, and Engagement (2019).

Sanjay K. Pandey is Shapiro Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University. Professor Pandey's scholarship focuses on public policy and public administration, and deals with questions central to leading and managing public organizations. Professor Pandey's scholarship has been recognized with numerous awards.

Holly Kamm Wahl, MBA was appointed by the Commissioners as the Town Manager of the Town of Oxford, Maryland and provides direct oversight of the town's day-to-day operations, including all governmental functions and services, carrying out legislative actions of the Commissioners. As of 2025, Ms. Wahl was in the final dissertation phase of obtaining her Doctorate in Public Administration & Public Policy at the George Washington University.