DV Journal

(From a press release)

Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) has received a four-year commitment from the Philadelphia Insurance Companies Foundation (PHLY) totaling $200,000. This latest gift is the first multi-year commitment to CSFP from the insurance company’s philanthropic arm and brings the company’s total investment in scholarships to more than $2 million. In 2023, PHLY’s gifts supported more than 800 scholarships, and the company’s long-time support over the past 11 years has funded over 1,100 K-8th grade scholarships in total.

“The funds from the PHLY Foundation will directly benefit hundreds of new CSFP scholars and we are immensely grateful for PHLY’s support,” said Keisha Jordan, President and CEO, Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia. “For years, our teams have worked together to grow this impactful relationship and being chosen to receive the Foundation’s multi-year gift underscores our mutual commitment to empower Philadelphia students and their families to prioritize quality education.”

In addition to the Foundation grant, PHLY’s support of CSFP has come in many forms: annual contributions through the Pennsylvania Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs, event sponsorships, volunteer engagement, and most recently a membership to the thought leadership organization, the Satell Institute. PHLY’s philanthropic support will continue to enable hundreds of otherwise under-resourced Philadelphia students to attend safe, quality tuition-based schools that best meet their needs.

“The difference Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia is making for students is undeniable and PHLY is proud to continue supporting this important work,” said John Glomb, President and CEO, Philadelphia Insurance Companies. “CSFP’s work is in line with our company’s values of educational empowerment and we are committed to helping provide Philadelphia children with access to safe, quality education.”

Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) is a privately funded program whose mission is to provide financial access for students from under-resourced Philadelphia families to safe, high-quality, tuition-based schools. It is the largest and most diverse provider of scholarship support for grades K-8 in Pennsylvania. CSFP currently serves more than 6,100 children in K-8th grade enrolled at more than 150 area tuition-based schools, who are receiving a maximum of $3,200 per child, per year. CSFP scholarships are all need-based and awarded by random lottery. To learn more about CSFP’s Breaking Barriers Campaign goals and priorities, visit.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies designs, markets, and underwrites commercial property/casualty and professional liability insurance products incorporating value added coverages and services for select industries. The Company is rated “A++” (Superior) by AM Best Company and “A+” for counterparty credit and financial strength by Standard & Poor’s. In business for over 60 years, PHLY is nationally recognized as a member of Ward’s Top 50, one of the Best Places to Work in Insurance, and one of the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America. The organization is strategically located across the United States to provide superior service. For more information, please visit.

What would you do to help your children succeed? Would you advocate for them, pushing to change the broken systems that keep them away from the tools they need to succeed?

It’s a question many Pennsylvania parents face daily as they reckon with their children’s futures and the broken public school system that they’re stuck in. Now, parents are speaking out.

Their message is clear: Educational opportunity isn’t just for the wealthy, and school quality shouldn’t be dictated by an antiquated Zip code system. Every child deserves an excellent education, and parents should be able to select the environment best suited to their children’s needs.

It sounds like common sense, but unfortunately, for thousands of Pennsylvania families trapped in failing public schools, this opportunity is out of reach. And for Philadelphia mothers like Tamika Nwalipenja, educational opportunity isn’t just a convenient perk; it’s a lifeline for her children.

A mother of five, Tamika understands the limitations of the Philadelphia public school system well. Her older children attended William D. Kelley School. The Pennsylvania Department of Education rated William Kelley as one of the commonwealth’s lowest-achieving schools, with fewer than five percent of students proficient in math, fewer than a quarter reading at grade level, and more than half chronically absent.

And though Tamika loved many teachers at William Kelley, she knew her children needed better than this assigned school.

“[William Kelley] just didn’t compete with the other schools,” said Tamika. “I knew that my son was highly intelligent—both he and my daughter—and I wanted them … to have other options.”

Year after year, Tamika sought help through Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP), which provides under-resourced families with scholarships to attend private or parochial schools. Thankfully, after years of effort by Tamika, CSFP awarded scholarships—funded by the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs—to her two youngest children to Gesu School, a highly rated private Catholic institution serving economically disadvantaged youth. Because there is more demand for these scholarships than funding available, due to arbitrary caps imposed by the state, they must be given out via lottery.

“Every day, I’m grateful we were picked for that lottery, and we were able to receive that support financially for our children,” said Tamika.

Tamika’s kids got out. But when it comes to accessing school choice programs based on lotteries, success isn’t guaranteed. Many children are never selected.

Pennsylvania parents and their kids deserve better—and there are two clear solutions. The first is to dramatically increase the EITC and OSTC scholarship programs from which Tamika’s children benefited, so that there are no more waiting lists. This includes fully funding the Economically Disadvantage Schools fund – which gives supplementary scholarships to help families like Tamika’s. The second is Lifeline Scholarships. By offering an Education Opportunity Account to any student assigned to a district school in the bottom 15 percent of performance metrics, Lifeline Scholarships empower parents to choose which school best serves all their children’s needs. Lifeline Scholarships ensure that those who can’t afford tuition don’t leave children in schools that don’t fit their needs.

It’s time these Lifeline Scholarships receive the legislative support they deserve.

Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to expand education opportunities for Pennsylvania families and advocated for Lifeline Scholarships. Now, he’s caving to pressure from his own party, backtracking on his repeated promises and threatening a line-item veto of his own bipartisan agreement.

But the fight is far from over, it’s merely moving to the next phase. A final budget agreement still requires enabling legislation from the State Senate, where President Pro Tempore Kim Ward has vowed to make Lifeline Scholarships – and the expansion of current tax credit programs – her top priority.

“It’s very important for all of our children to be able to be educated properly in a safe environment—a place where they feel loved,” Tamika said. “And if the Lifeline Scholarships can support my family and other families as well, then please … find the resources that are available so that our families can benefit.”

Tamika is right. These scholarships are the lifeline that underserved Pennsylvania kids desperately need. Our elected officials must take a good look and realize that these kids are more than just a line item—and their futures shouldn’t be jeopardized by the stroke of Shapiro’s pen.

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