Friends Council on Education
Friends Council on Education is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based public charity that supports a national network of Quaker schools serving PreK–12 students. The organization describes itself as the only national association dedicated to Friends schools and says it brings together 76 schools across seven U.S. regions.
Friends Council on Education at a glance
In short: Friends Council on Education gave $154K across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $13K), mostly in Pennsylvania. 9% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $154,020
- -11.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 12
- -14.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $12,835
- +3.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $11,813
- Total assets
- $20,034,180
- +8.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 9% first-time grantees (1 of 11, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Pennsylvania (82% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Friends Council on Education
- Review Cycle
- The listed Ravdin Fund deadline for spring 2026 funding was March 3, 2026, and has passed. The website says the 2026–2027 application season will open in fall 2026.
- Deadline
- The listed Ravdin Fund deadline for spring 2026 funding was March 3, 2026, and has passed.
- Contact
Mailing address: 1507 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: (215) 241-7245
Website: https://friendscouncil.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Friends Council on Education funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Westtown School ($36K). Together the top 10 received $143K.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($5,840), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
65 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 64 grants of 65 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The organization describes its network as national, with 76 Friends schools in seven regions of the United States. Its National Friends Education Fund provides tuition aid to Quaker children in Friends schools across the country. The Ravdin Fund is described as supporting eligible small Friends schools; no narrower geographic restriction is stated.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Friends Council on Education open to new grantees?
9%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 11 grantees (9%) were first-time recipients. With only 11 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 9 points. First grants averaged $5K; repeat grants $14K. How we count
Medians: $5K first-time, $13K repeat.
- 82% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−13%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $128K (2019) to $227K (2021). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $154K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Westtown School West Chester, PA | Financial Aid | $35,995 |
| Friends Central School Wynnewood, PA | Financial Aid | $17,325 |
| Friends Select School Philadelphia, PA | Financial Aid | $17,210 |
| Abington Friends School Jenkintown, PA | Financial Aid | $12,600 |
| Germantown Friends School Philadelphia, PA | Financial Aid | $12,600 |
| Wilmington Friends School Wilmington, DE | Financial Aid | $12,600 |
| George School Newtown, PA | Financial Aid | $11,025 |
| Friends School Mullica Hill Mullica Hill, NJ | Financial Aid | $9,450 |
| Newtown Friends School Newtown, PA | Financial Aid | $7,875 |
| Buckingham Friends School Lahaska, PA | Financial Aid | $6,300 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
The filing type is Form 990 (a public charity).
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $20,034,180 | $1,269,375 | $1,191,657 | $154,020 | 12 | $402,398 |
| 2024 | $18,444,452 | $1,159,342 | $999,874 | $173,470 | 14 | $400,926 |
| 2023 | $13,403,403 | $1,167,622 | $1,033,519 | $190,800 | 13 | $387,368 |
| 2022 | $11,735,453 | $1,059,563 | $883,727 | $177,400 | 12 | $345,328 |
| 2021 | $11,570,635 | $1,018,362 | $905,889 | $227,300 | 14 | $323,763 |
| 2020 | $9,634,959 | $943,934 | $933,034 | $145,100 | 10 | $316,124 |
| 2019 | $8,873,594 | $1,531,313 | $1,009,993 | $127,800 | 10 | $281,223 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization’s mission, as stated in its 2023 filing, is to provide leadership in bringing Friends schools together, nurture their Quaker life and identity, strengthen their support network, and promote Friends education through consultations, programs, and publications. The filing also describes support for professional growth among trustees, school heads, administrators, and faculty.
The filing describes professional development in areas including school governance, peace education, service learning, community building, Quaker values, and leadership development. It also describes grants for student financial aid and creative, student-centered, values-based projects, along with publications on related topics.
The organization’s website says the National Friends Education Fund provides tuition aid to Quaker children in Friends schools. Its Ravdin Fund supports small Friends schools with 250 or fewer students by helping cover consultant expenses related to fiduciary responsibility, long-range financial planning, fundraising, and stewardship of financial resources.
In 2023, Abington Friends School received a grant. The school describes its mission as providing Quaker-based education to students from age 3 through 12th grade.
Grantmaking
The 2023 filing reports $190,800 in grants across 13 grants, an average of approximately $14,677 per grant. The filings report no grants in 2024 or 2025. A 2023 recipient was Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, which received $14,300. Its 2025 filing, the latest on this page, reports 12 grants totaling $154,020.
The organization’s website says small Friends schools with financial need may apply directly to Friends Council for a Ravdin Fund grant, with the head of school’s approval. Grants are available up to $1,000, and the school is required to seek a 20% donor match. The website lists March 3, 2026, as the application deadline for spring 2026 funding; that deadline has passed. It says the application season for the 2026–2027 school year will open in fall 2026.
For the National Friends Education Fund, the website says families submit an application to their Monthly Meeting for the clerk’s signature and then ensure the signed application reaches the school. Eligibility and award steps differ by location and are described in the fund’s application materials.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Matthew H. Bradley as treasurer, Toni Graves Williams as clerk, and Kirk Smothers as secretary. It lists Dana Weeks, Crissy Cceres, Kiri Harris, Kenneth Aldridge, Kathryn Park Cook, Karyn Robinson Payton, and Karen Cumberbatch as directors.
Friends Council on Education is led by Drew Smith, Executive Director since 2024 (on filings since 2019); 2 of 26 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Drew Smith
Executive Director
Executive Di → Executive Director, 2024
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$141K (2019) → $169K (2025)
Alex Hanson
Executive Director-Friends Collaborative
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$106K (2025)
Dana Weeks
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Earl Sissell
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jay Rapp
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karen Cumberbatch
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Whitney Thompson
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brenda Crawley
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Celeste Payne
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bryan K. Garman
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karyn Robinson Payton
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kathryn Park Cook
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kiri Harris
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Margaret Sayers
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Anne Houtman
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christopher Kerr
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dorothy Lpez
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kenneth Aldridge
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michelle Holland
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Beth Johnson
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christian Acemah
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Crissy Cceres
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Maggie Chiles
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kirk Smothers
Secretary
Director → Assistant Cl, 2022
Assistant Cl → Secretary, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matthew H. Bradley
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Toni Graves Williams
Clerk
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (29)
- Former: James W. Clay (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: Shu Shu Costa (2019–2024) — Treasurer
- Former: Matthew Micciche (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Toni Graves Williamson (2020–2024) — Clerk
- Former: John McKinstry (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Samuel Houser (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Darrell Cotton (2022–2024) — Director
- Former: Yvette Bonaparte (2023–2024) — Director
- Former: Jane K. Fernandes (2019–2023) — Director
- Former: Michael Hanas (2019–2023) — Secretary
- Former: Chris Kerr (2022–2023) — Director
- Former: Christopher Kimberly (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Debbie Zlotowitz (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Katie Smith Sloan (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Margaret Sayres (2022) — Director
- Former: John Baird (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Matt Glendinning (2019–2021) — Clerk
- Former: Rebecca Zug (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Sisi Kamal (2019–2021) — Assistant Cl
- Former: Wilson Felter (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Tandem Friends School (2021) — Director
- Former: Westtown School (2021) — Director
- Former: Chris Kimberly (2020) — Director
- Former: Sam Houser (2020) — Director
- Former: Brenda Esch (2019) — Director
- Former: Juan Jewell (2019) — Director
- Former: Lee Payton (2019) — Director
- Former: Nancy Donnelly (2019) — Director
- Former: Thomas R. Gibian (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $169K, to Drew Smith (Executive Director). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Friends Council on Education
How much does Friends Council on Education give each year?
Friends Council on Education gave $154K across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $173K across 14 grants.
What is Friends Council on Education's typical grant size?
Friends Council on Education's median grant in 2025 was $11,813, and its average grant was $12,835, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Friends Council on Education that year got $5K on average.
Where does Friends Council on Education give grants?
Friends Council on Education gives mostly in Pennsylvania: 82% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest states were Delaware (8%) and New Jersey (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Philadelphia, PA (2 grants) and Newtown, PA (2 grants).
Does Friends Council on Education give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 12 grants with a stated purpose on Friends Council on Education's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Financial Aid" (10 grants).
Who are Friends Council on Education's largest grantees?
Friends Council on Education's largest 2025 grantees include Westtown School ($35,995), Friends Central School ($17,325) and Friends Select School ($17,210), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($5,840), which are not listed by name. Together they received 46% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Friends Council on Education?
Friends Council on Education reported $20.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.3M.
What does Friends Council on Education fund?
The organization’s mission, as stated in its 2023 filing, is to provide leadership in bringing Friends schools together, nurture their Quaker life and identity, strengthen their support network, and promote Friends education through consultations, programs, and publications. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Friends Council on Education?
Friends Council on Education has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check friendscouncil.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Friends Council on Education's EIN?
Friends Council on Education's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 23-1352147. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 28, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 23, 2026)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 13, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS January 21, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS January 10, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 28, 2023)
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Friends Council on Education's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Friends Council on Education funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/friends-council-on-education-morg_c9522fc85c9b4a23a58ebf634d41ce2c
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_231352147_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Friends Council on Education funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/friends-council-on-education-morg_c9522fc85c9b4a23a58ebf634d41ce2c},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-12. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Friends Council on Education's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Friends Council on Education down — hundreds of funders to go?