About the Foundation

A strategic investment platform for public education in Orange County.

We connect private philanthropy to proven student outcomes across all 28 districts.

What we do

Bright Futures Foundation is a strategic investment platform for public education. We identify the highest-impact opportunities across all 28 Orange County school districts, invest where outcomes are proven, and hold every dollar accountable to results.

We act as a bridge between public education and private philanthropy, between schools and community nonprofits, between classrooms and the private sector. We don't operate programs or duplicate existing services. We vet, invest, connect, and measure.

Our mission
Strengthen public education across all 28 Orange County school districts by aligning private philanthropy with clearly defined student needs, ensuring every student is equipped to be future ready.
Our vision
The Bright Futures Foundation exists to make public education in Orange County the centerpiece for statewide education. When the Foundation works, educational outcomes and student success are transformed.

Why we exist

What's been missing is a connector willing to align resources around what actually works — and hold everyone accountable for the results.

Student outcomes continue to decline while the system grows more resistant to change. Orange County has everything it needs to prove public education can work differently: the philanthropic capital, the institutional expertise, the community will.

That's why the Foundation exists.

Core values

01

Students come first

Every investment decision traces back to a student outcome. Full stop.

02

Success looks different for each child

Future-ready is not a single path. We invest in many pathways to dignity and opportunity.

03

We don't do it alone

The Foundation is a connector, not a savior. Everything we do happens with partners.

Executive director

David Blair

Inaugural Executive Director, Orange County Schools Bright Futures Foundation


David Blair serves as the inaugural Executive Director of the Orange County Schools Bright Futures Foundation. A product of Orange County's public schools and now a parent raising the next generation in the same community, David brings a deeply personal connection to the Foundation's mission, and more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience to carry it forward.

Before joining the Foundation, David spent over a decade serving youth across Orange County, building and strengthening partnerships with donors, educators, corporate sponsors, and civic leaders to expand college access, career readiness, and youth engagement programs reaching thousands of young people across multiple cities.

David's commitment to community extends well beyond his professional roles. He is actively engaged in community and civic leadership through local chambers of commerce and serves on the boards of multiple organizations dedicated to bettering Orange County. He has completed both the Philanthropy Leadership Institute and the Developing Annual Sustainability program through Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

A classically trained vocalist and former opera singer, David brings the same creative energy and ability to connect with an audience to his work in philanthropy — whether he's on a stage, in a boardroom, or standing beside the students and educators this Foundation was built to serve.

Board of directors

The Foundation is governed by a board representing higher education, philanthropy, private industry, civic institutions, and public education — with independent leadership at its head.

Officers
  • Bill Sanderson Chairman of the Board
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  • Gregory Rolen, Esq. Secretary (Ex Officio) Orange County Department of Education
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  • David Giordano Treasurer (Ex Officio) Orange County Department of Education
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Board of governors
Governance structure

The Foundation operates as an independent 501(c)(3) organization. The Orange County Department of Education holds Ex Officio positions on the board — Secretary, Treasurer, and one seat on the Board of Governors. The Chairman of the Board and 11 of 14 total members are independent, representing higher education, philanthropy, private equity and investment, industry, and civic institutions.

Partner with us

When you invest with Bright Futures Foundation, every dollar is accountable, every outcome is measured, and every partner sees exactly what their investment produced.

Explore partnership