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As the new century unfolds, O hio stands at a crossroads. O ver the past 20 years, our state and local leaders have worked to improve student, school and system performance. W e have seen progress in some areas, but our education system falls far short of preparing all students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Many companies establish a corporate foundation to further their philanthropic objectives because of this vehicle’s distinct advantages. Corporate foundations can foster increased brand recognition, customer loyalty and goodwill, and improved employee morale. They enable consistent levels of giving in years both lean and fl ush by building up reserves when company profi ts are high. Moreover, corporate foundations can engage in charitable activities such as scholarship programs, hardship and emergency grants to individuals, and international giving that would not be tax deductible as charitable donations or charitable expenditures if handled directly by the company.

Has Ohio’s student, school and system performance changed fast enough and deep enough to help Ohio thrive as the global economic shift continues? Most in Ohio’s philanthropic community would reply, “No.” Based on data and policy analysis, Philanthropy Ohio believes the state has lost ground in four major education areas over the last six years.

Studies examining the role of philanthropic foundations in advancing social change have primarily focused on the impact of foundations’ financial resources, but few scholars have analyzed how foundations also leverage social mechanisms to advance and legitimate desired change. We conceptualize philanthropic foundations as agents of change, known as institutional entrepreneurs, to illuminate the social mechanisms they employ in pursuit of institutional change.