VELA Education Fund

The VELA (candle in Spanish) Education Fund (or VELA) is an education advocacy group founded in 2019 to fund “non-traditional learning” by the Walton Family Foundation and the Charles Koch Institute, each of which donated $5 million in start-up funding. It also claims to promote “permissionless innovation” by investing in entrepreneurs, students, parents, educators, and community leaders who use micro schools, homeschool co-ops, and after-school programs. 1

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Education Policy
Website: vela.org
Formation:

2019

President:

Meredith Olson

Location: Glencoe, IL View on map
Tax ID: 84-4185046
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $21,403,298 Revenue: $18,940,669 Expenses: $11,450,200

Contents

    Partnership

    The VELA Education Fund is listed as a partner of Stand Together, an advocacy network founded by Charles Koch that consists organizations which allegedly fund education reform efforts. 1

    Activities

    The VELA Education Fund has previously collaborated with the Clayton Christensen Institute and the ReWired Group to produce a 2024 study “Families on the New Frontier: Mapping and Meeting the Growing Demand for Unconventional Schooling” that promoted research on how to advocate and advance “alternative forms of schooling.” 2 3

    Grants and Scholarships

    In 2022, the VELA Education Fund granted roughly $10,706,082 in grants to several recipients including a $10,000 grant to One Room School House while providing $1,792,500 in scholarships. 4 5

    VELA provided $4.48 million in grants in 2022. Organizations receiving up to $50,000 Next Step awards included Black Homeschoolers of Birmingham, a group that will replicate its model in Montgomery, Alabama; Burbella Learning Academy; Bridges to Science; and Rock Tree Sky and Bridge. Grants up to $250,000 went to organizations including Canary Academy, Moduto, Soaring Education Services, and Microschool Builders. 6

    In 2021 VELA made six grants to organizations including Black Mothers Forum, Weird Enough Productions, Smart Girls HQ, and Free Forest School. 7

    In 2020, VELA made grants to 11 organizations including Arizona Council for American Private Education, HighSchool for Recording Arts, Home School Legal Defense, Nevada Action for School Options, and Youth Entrepreneurs. 8

    Funding

    The VELA Education Fund has raised a total of $51,939,550 between 2019 and 2023 through grants from several organizations including Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, which donated $1 million in 2023, and the Texas-based Miles Foundation. 9 10 11

    People

    Meredith Olson is the president of the VELA Education Fund. 12

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $21,403,298 $18,940,669 $11,450,200 View
    2023 $13,520,815 $18,518,008 $13,589,002 View
    2022 $8,295,380 $16,079,595 $14,996,723 View
    2021 $4,855,969 $13,247,569 $9,974,271 View
    2020 $1,305,580 $4,570,982 $3,418,383 View

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 9

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Elizabeth SelingCHIEF OF OPERATIONS$367,017
    Lindsay KellyDIRECTOR-BRAND AND COMMUNICATIONS$206,040
    Lauren GrevelDIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS$170,600
    Ashley HoDirector of Product Strategy$139,388
    Shaina BeltonDIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY$112,997

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $17,729,867
    • Number of Grants: 7
    • Number of Funders: 6

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $7,915,0002021 The Seminar Network IncGeneral Operating Support
    $5,000,0002021 Walton Family FoundationTo catalyze and raise awareness of innovative, out-of-system approaches to education, especially those supporting historically underserved communities.
    $3,064,8672020 The Seminar Network IncGENERAL OPERATING
    $1,000,0002024 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $500,0002022 M.J. Murdock Charitable TrustProgram Support – To support educational innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the Pacific Northwest
    $150,0002022 Stanley M Herzog Charitable FoundationGeneral Purposes
    $100,0002021 Greater Houston Community FoundationPUBLIC BENEFIT

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $2,925,500
    • Number of Grants: 12
    • Number of Recipients: 12

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $700,0002020 National Parents Union IncSUBGRANTS FOR PANDEMIC RELIEF
    $465,0002020 4Point0 SchoolsSUBGRANTS FOR PANDEMIC RELIEF
    $445,0002020 Camelback VenturesSUBGRANTS FOR PANDEMIC RELIEF
    $400,0002020 Home School Legal Defense AssociationSUBGRANTS FOR PANDEMIC RELIEF
    $205,0002023 Multiple EUROPE (INCLUDING ICELAND & GREENLAND) RecipientsGENERAL OPERATING
    $154,5002020 Youth Entrepreneurs IncSUBGRANTS FOR PANDEMIC RELIEF
    $150,0002020 Griptape Org IncGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $150,0002020 Teton Science Schools IncGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $100,0002020 Arizona Council for American Private EducationGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $81,0002020 National Microschooling CenterGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $50,0002020 Hudson Lab SchoolGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $25,0002020 High School for Recording ArtsGENERAL OPERATIONS

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    Contact Us

    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “Vela Education Fund Invests in the Entrepreneurs Who Are Transforming the Future of Education from the Ground Up.” VELA Education Fund Catalyzes Innovation in Education. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://standtogether.org/vela-education-fund/stories/education/vela-education-fund-catalyzes-innovation-in-education.
    2. Christensen Institute. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Family_microschools.pdf
    3. “Vela.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/company/velaorg/.
    4. [1] “VELA Education Fund”. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2023. Schedule I, Part II, Line (a)1, Part III, line (a)1
    5. Schooladmin. “Grant News from Vela.” A One Room Schoolhouse, December 13, 2022. https://aoneroomschoolhouse.com/grant-news-from-vela/.
    6. Fund, VELA Education. “Vela Closes out 2022 with $4.48 Million in Funding for Education Entrepreneurs.” VELA, February 7, 2024. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://vela.org/close-out-2022/.
    7.  Vela Education Fund – Crunchbase Investor Profile & Investments. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vela-education-fund
    8. “VELA Education Fund”. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. Schedule I.
    9. “VELA Education Fund”. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2023Part II. Section A, line 4.
    10. “Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation”. Return of a Private Foundation. Form 990-PF. 2023. Supplementary Information, line 3a.
    11. “Vela.” The Miles Foundation. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.milesfdn.org/vela.
    12. Meredith Olson. Linked In. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-olson-96548b/