Providing access & opportunities for learning & enrichment
Every person should have access to quality educational opportunities and learning experiences in order to foster a productive citizenship and healthy democratic society.
Making an impact since 2014
The Scripps Family Fund for Education and the Arts was created in 2014 as a private family foundation to support the philanthropic vision of its founders, Sebastian and Barbara Scripps. The founders believe that every person should have access to quality educational opportunities and learning experiences in order to foster a productive citizenship and healthy democratic society.
Mission
We believe that a productive democratic society is based on a broadly educated and
well-informed population. We seek to improve the prospects of economically
disadvantaged populations with a focus on infants through young adults in
Connecticut and beyond by investing in organizations that provide learning,
enrichment and inspiration to promote self-sufficiency and life success.
Approach
The Scripps Family Fund for Education and the Arts (“SFFEA”) makes grants to organizations in support of programs that serve a full range of ages. Grants are directed at new initiatives, program support and expansion, and capacity building. SFFEA aims to support ideas that might be difficult to fund otherwise and seeks to leverage its grant making by focusing on opportunities that help organizations increase the populations they serve, broaden their effectiveness and impact, and improve financial sustainability. SFFEA does not generally make grants to endowments or for general operating support.
Additionally, in 2021, SFFEA launched a quick grants initiative to increase funding for the foundation’s mission to support learning, enrichment, and inspiration for economically underserved children and adults. This program makes grants of up to $10,000 to organizations for general operating, program, and scholarship support, with an effort to support smaller, grass roots organizations. These quick grants are national in scope with an emphasis on Connecticut and other states with connections to SFFEA.
SFFEA considers funding opportunities on an invitation-only basis and does not accept unsolicited proposals.
Other initiatives
Wheels to Learning
Wheels to Learning is a program that provides transportation funding for field trips for Windham County, Connecticut public schools.
The Foundation continues to explore and fund other new initiatives to support its mission.
Updated March 2025