The Invest in Education Coalition (formerly the Coalition for Opportunity in Education) is a nonpartisan, advocacy organization that supports education policy reform, especially as it relates to private donors providing resources to students, scholarship organizations, and teachers for their expenses. ¹

Lobbying

During the 2015 legislative session, the Coalition for Opportunity in Education spent more than $5 million lobbying state government to promote education policy reforms. ² The Coalition’s primary focus was the New York state Education Investment Tax Credit, ³ which would incentivize qualified education donations to public schools, education funds, and scholarship organizations, and for teaching supplies. ⁴

Funding

The Invest in Education Coalition is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While the Coalition does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the American Federation for Children ($75,000 in 2014) ⁵ and the Paul and Karen Levy Family Foundation ($25,000 in 2015). ⁶

While the Coalition reported no revenue for 2019, it reported revenue of $1.35 million in 2018 and $1 million in 2017. ⁷

People

Michael Strianese is the former CFO and COO of the Invest in Education Coalition and the current CFO and COO of the Northeast Charter Schools Network. ⁸

Luke Messer is the president of the Invest in Education Coalition. Messer is a former Republican U.S. Representative from Indiana, where he sat on the Committees on Education and Labor, Financial Services, Budget, and Foreign Affairs. Messer is the former chair of the Republican Policy Committee and a co-founder of the Congressional School Choice Caucus. Messer is the former president and CEO of School Choice Indiana. ⁹

Anthony de Nicola is the chair of the board of the Coalition and trustee at the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. ¹⁰ De Nicola sits on the boards of the Partnership for New York City and the Robert Toigo Foundation. ¹¹

Darla Romfo sits on the board of the Coalition and is the president of Children’s Scholarship Fund. ¹²

Thomas W. Carroll is the former president of the Coalition. Carroll is the former executive director of the New Yorkers for Independent Action PAC, former president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability and the Empire Foundation for Policy Research, and the founder and former chair of the Brighter Choice Foundation. ¹³

1. Invest in Education Coalition Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ), 2019, Part III, Line 28.
2. “Invest in Education Coalition.” Follow the Money, 2022. Accessed February 27, 2022. https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?eid=18930889.
3. “Coalition Supporters.” Invest in Education. Archived from the original May 2, 2015. Accessed February 27, 2022. http://web.archive.org/web/20150502221010/http://www.investined.org/pages/coalition-supporters.
4. “Senate Passes Education Investment Tax Credit to Give Parents More Options In Their Child’s Education.” New York State Senate, January 21, 2015. Accessed February 27, 2022. https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-education-investment-tax-credit-give-parents-more-options.
5. American Federation for Children Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014, Schedule I, Part II.
6. Paul & Karen Levy Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2015, Part XV, Line 3a.
7. Invest in Education Coalition Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part I, Line 8..
8. “Michael J. Strianese.” LinkedIn, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-j-strianese-6449174/
9. Murphy, Peter. “Invest In Education Coalition Hires Luke Messer as President.” Invest in Education Foundation, January 19, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2022. http://investineducation.org/invest-in-education-coalition-hires-luke-messer-as-president/.
10. Murphy, Peter. “Invest In Education Coalition Hires Luke Messer as President.” Invest in Education Foundation, January 19, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2022. http://investineducation.org/invest-in-education-coalition-hires-luke-messer-as-president/
11. “Anthony J. de Nicola.” Welsh, Carson, Anderson, and Stowe, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.wcas.com/firm/team/anthony-j-de-nicola.
12. Murphy, Peter. “Invest In Education Coalition Hires Luke Messer as President.” Invest in Education Foundation, January 19, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2022. http://investineducation.org/invest-in-education-coalition-hires-luke-messer-as-president/.
13. “Thomas W. Carroll.” LinkedIn, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-w-carroll-b4a27140/.