History

The Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) was established as an independent charitable trust in 1987 by Cardinal Roger Mahony with initial support from a core team of prominent business and community leaders in Los Angeles. CEF’s mission is to provide tuition assistance to the most financially deserving students attending Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Its purpose is to make a quality Catholic education accessible to students in need because it lays the foundation for academic achievement and develops values for family, community, and service.

CEF’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) provides $1,000 per student in grades Pre-K to 8 and $2,000 per student in grades 9 to 12 each academic year and is the core program and foundation of CEF. Students receiving tuition awards qualify on the basis of financial need, using 115% of the Federal School Lunch Program guideline as a threshold.

The other CEF programs and activities are donor-designated and include the SOS (Save Our Students) Program, Visual Arts Program, Sports Equipment Program, and the Big Yellow Bus Program.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has been directing and sponsoring schools since 1865 and is the oldest, largest, most effective non-public school system in California. All Archdiocesan schools are dually accredited through Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as well as Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA), and enroll students in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.