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

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

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/