Chief Development Officer

The KIPP Foundation has appointed Ben Cope as chief development officer, effective November 1, 2023. Reporting to the CEO, Shavar Jeffries, and serving as a key member of the senior leadership team, Cope will define strategies to enhance  the fundraising capacity of the Foundation, maximizing its ability to provide KIPP schools with the resources to ensure more students across the country receive the high-quality education they deserve.

Cope is a seasoned nonprofit executive with nearly two decades of experience in education reform and philanthropy. He currently serves as the chief external affairs officer for KIPP New Jersey and Miami and since 2005, his leadership has had significant impact on the overall growth and expansion of these prominent regions. Cope’s passion for education reform began early in his career through his involvement with Teach For America and KIPP DC, for which he was a volunteer while working as a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for Senator Ted Kennedy.

In the last 18 years, Cope and his team have raised more than $150 million for KIPP expansion efforts to serve over 10,000 students in Newark, Camden, and Miami, as well was leading an $80 million five-year campaign effort to more than double KIPP’s impact in New Jersey, far surpassing the campaign’s original $65 million goal. Throughout the course of his tenure, Cope has overseen every aspect of the regions’ development operations; significantly grown the development team and boards; and increased overall fundraising productivity and results. A thought leader among the KIPP network, Cope has also served as a consultant to colleagues in KIPP Massachusetts, providing strategic fundraising consulting, political guidance, and campaign feasibility counseling.

Cope earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Colorado College and a masters in business administration, with a concentration on nonprofit entrepreneurship, from the University of Maryland.

Jack Gorman led this search with Nicole Poe and Sandeep Kaur.