Communities coming together to ensure every child has access to quality education and opportunities, regardless of zip code.
The Equitable Schools Fund is a movement. Read the ESF Team’s “Our Why” statement.
Today in San Diego’s Coastal North County, a child wakes up to attend a well-resourced school, where community fundraising supplements limited public funding–made possible by the more than $750 average suggested donation per student per year of private fundraising from the community–creating opportunities for enrichment classes, sports programs, and modern facilities. Meanwhile, in Southeast San Diego, a child prepares for school in an underfunded environment where teachers, staff and community members work tirelessly, sometimes just to the meet basic needs of their students, due to longstanding inequities in government funding.
These inequities aren’t simply a reflection of local circumstances but are the result of broader systemic challenges. While public policy reform is essential to achieving long-term equity, community support can also play a crucial role in closing the immediate resource gap, helping ensure that students across San Diego have access to vital resources and opportunities that enrich their learning experiences.
As San Diegans, we have a collective responsibility not only to advocate for policy changes but also to support schools in underfunded areas with donations. These contributions empower schools to meet the needs of their students and community, and create a more equitable educational environment for all.
Ready to Take Action?
Every action you take is a way to stand together and declare that our current system isn’t working—making you part of a collective movement demanding equitable schools for all.
Every donation, large or small, helps build the equitable future our students deserve.
Join our passionate team of volunteers working together to build and grow the Fund.
Connect as a PTA, school, organization, or business to support our community-led movement.
Stay updated on the Equitable Schools Fund and get invites to our events by joining the ESF mail list.
Learn more about the ESF
Read recent news stories about the Equitable Schools Fund.
Meet the team of volunteers powering the Equitable Schools Fund.
Better understand how ESF funds are invested.
Check out photos from recent ESF events across the community.
Expand the items below to learn more about why the Equitable School Fund is so critical.
Inadequate public funding with no avenue for private fundraising support
Because public dollars for schools are susceptible to government budget fluctuations and a school’s absenteeism rates, San Diego’s K-12 public schools are faced with inadequate public funding. For schools in well-resourced communities, the funding gaps are easily and consistently filled by private fundraising from the community through PTAs and School Foundations. However, for schools in under-resourced communities, like Southeast San Diego (SESD), there are typically no formal PTAs or School Foundations (due to a variety of systemic barriers to establishing and operating these entities)–and therefore no avenue for private donations–further exacerbating inequities in our education system.
Called on to provide far more
To truly serve and meet the needs of their students–most from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, many dealing with housing insecurity, and a significant proportion being English language learners–schools in underserved communities are called on to provide far more than schools in affluent communities.
The lack of stable funding coupled with greater student and community needs at schools in underserved communities leads to massive disparities in student outcomes, which shows up in literacy and math competency rates.
It’s an education system that is failing, not due to students or families or the schools themselves, but due to systemic inequities and disparities in the way we value one child’s education, and future, over another.
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Our Year One Highlight Reel
Where does the ESF funding go?
In partnership with San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), the Equitable Schools Fund directly invests in select schools in Southeast San Diego through the Community Schools Initiative–a well-established national initiative for under-resourced schools that provides an evidence-based pathway to lifting all students and communities.
While the Community Schools Initiative is partially funded by government grants, there are restrictions on the use of funds, and funding is limited and likely to sunset soon, so there remain significant unmet needs–needs which are filled by the Equitable Schools Fund. Funded projects include afterschool sports programs, student recognition initiatives, teacher/parent engagement events, and basic needs clothing and food pantries, among others.
What is a Community School?
To learn more about the Community Schools Initiative, check out the videos below as well as the following resources:
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ESF in the News
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Photos from the latest ESF Events
Data and statistics are from 2022-2023, courtesy of Ed-Data (a partnership of the California Department of Education, EdSource, and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team/California School Information Services – www.ed-data.org) and the California Department of Education’s DataQuest (dq.cde.ca.gov).