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ABOUT US: History
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CFY began with a meeting in the late 1990s of two New Yorkers—Dan Dolgin, a lawyer and private investor, and Elisabeth Stock, a former White House Fellow and MIT graduate. Independently, they became convinced that the home holds the greatest untapped potential for improving school children’s academic and life-long success. Compared to the classroom or the after-school center, the home has received the least attention from policy makers and educators. It is where children spend the greatest amount of time (only 13% is spent in the classroom) and where children interact with the adults most interested in their success—their parents or guardians. The pair realized that a home computer packed with engaging educational software not only offered children an important tool for discovery and understanding, it also drew their parents into what they were learning. They joined forces and began CFY's operations in 1999, with Mr. Dolgin serving as its board chair and Ms. Stock as its President.
Since 1999, CFY has built a solid foundation from which to grow. Over these eight years we have successfully:

  • Increased the number of families served

    from 230 per year to more than 2,300 per year.

  • Replicated our program

    in 28 schools in New York City, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

  • Improved the impact of our home learning centers

    by building relationships with top educational software companies, including Riverdeep/Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology and Scholastic.

  • Expanded our program offerings

    by creating additional training workshops for parents and delivering professional development for teachers.

  • Grown our funding base (cash and in-kind) from $10K to $4 million

    while securing significant government financing, increasing the number of corporate and foundation donors, receiving individual donations from more than 1,000 contributors, and growing our computer solicitation operation to more than 12,000 computer donations from 200 donors.

  • Built a research department of such high regard

    that the Educational Testing Service (ETS) sought us as a partner. CFY’s research department has published its findings in multiple papers and regularly presents them at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conferences and elsewhere.

  • Developed a strong and efficient management team

    with expertise in three areas often not found together: education, low-income community development, and technology. This combination of expertise gives CFY unique insight into helping children learn at home. Furthermore, both our staff and national board have demonstrated experience in financial management, nonprofit administration and organizational development.