Education

Promoting equity in educational opportunities

From kindergarten to college, from afterschool programs to summer learning, from literacy to teacher pipeline, the Maddox Fund partners with education initiatives that advance student achievement because knowledge and education are transformative.

Check back in Fall 2022 for more information about our grant applications.

PENCIL reading clinic

Did you know?

Dan and Margaret graduated from high school, but college was economically out of reach for them. They understood how education creates paths to opportunity and wanted to create a way for low-income youth to realize their dreams.

Featured education partners

Grant Year
2018
Grant Amount
$12,000
More info
Program Area
education
Program Description

The ability to read and write effectively is the bedrock upon which all learning is built. The ENHE Literacy program seeks to bridge the achievement gap among low income students and their wealthier peers by providing year-round literacy support to students and their parents, including an intensive six-week summer program.

Grant Year
2018
Grant Amount
$10,000
More info
Program Area
education
Program Description

KIPP Through College is a strategic “K-16” partnership with KIPP alumni, families, and community partners. KTC’s mission is preparing KIPPsters for success in high school and college by supporting high school graduation, preparing for college costs, building college knowledge, and supporting the college application process, career exploration and college success.

Grant Year
2018
Grant Amount
$15,000
More info
Program Area
education
Program Description

Summer 2018 scholars will be taught using the Children’s Defense Fund literacy curriculum. They will also engage in enrichment activities led by Nashville area video/web professionals and create a live-to-tape video broadcast and podcasts for presentation via Nashville Freedom Schools’ website and Facebook page, featuring firsthand interviews with Civil Rights giants living in Nashville, with scholars’ contributing original scripts, music, poetry, commentary and spoken word.

Grant Year
2018
Grant Amount
$10,000
More info
Program Area
education
Program Description

United4Hope brings together faith-based organizations and public schools to see Nashville’s students thrive and our communities transformed by serving in four primary roles: student support, family engagement, staff encouragement, and in-kind contributions. The primary focus is on supporting MNPS Reading and Math Literacy initiatives and social-emotional support programs.

Conexion Americas logo
Grant Year
2018
Grant Amount
$25,000
More info
Program Area
education
Program Description

The “Escalera: Taking Steps to Success” College Access & Success Program promotes economic mobility for immigrant and refugee youth by increasing educational attainment and access to information about professional careers. 280 Glencliff, Overton, Cane Ridge, and a 4th high school (TBD) will participate in Early Escalera (9th-10th) and Escalera (11th-12th).

Grant Year
2018
Grant Amount
$15,000
More info
Program Area
education
Program Description

St. Luke’s Youth Education Program educates, empowers and equips 105 pre-K-8th graders with the education and skills they need to be successful. Through partnership with Preston Taylor Ministries and an emphasis on literacy and social and emotional learning, St. Luke’s provides quality care and education opportunities for Nashville students.

Jen Bailey is the Executive Director of the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund, bringing her deep experience in community-based leadership, philanthropy, and movement-building to the organization.

Jen is the Founder of Faith Matters Network, a national Womanist-led organization accompanying spiritually-grounded leaders on their journey to heal themselves and their communities. Since its inception, Faith Matters Network has served over 25,000 leaders through its programs and initiatives. She is Co-Founder of The People’s Supper, a global initiative that has hosted over 2,000 gatherings in 135 communities to foster conversation and collective healing across lines of difference.

Committed to advancing social change through philanthropy and nonprofit leadership, Jen serves on the boards of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the Fetzer Institute, and The Healing Trust, where she is the Board Chair.

An Ashoka Fellow, New Pluralist Field Builder, Aspen Ideas Scholar, On Being Fellow, and Truman Scholar, Jen holds degrees from Tufts University and Vanderbilt University Divinity School, where she was awarded the Wilbur F. Tillett Prize for accomplishments in the study of theology. Her work has been featured by On Being with Krista Tippett, CBS This Morning, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more. She is also the author of To My Beloveds: Letters on Faith, Race, Loss, and Radical Hope (Chalice Press, 2021).

email Jen: jen@maddoxfund.org