Quinta Brunson isn’t just championing Philly schools on ABC’s Abbott Elementary.
Through a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, the Emmy-winning TV star and show creator has helped raise $154,000 to fund field trips for local students.
The Quinta Brunson Field Trip Fund marks the nonprofit organization’s first fundraising campaign named after a notable figure or celebrity. The initiative was launched in December 2025 to eliminate the financial barriers that schools face when planning trips to museums, parks, and landmarks in the region.
With Brunson as the face of the initiative, Kathryn Epps, president and CEO of the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, said the nonprofit was able to drive up donations and be in position to reach its $200,000 goal by June 30.
“To raise $154,000 in a short period of time is impressive,” Epps said. “This represents a moment where we can reflect on the power of platform. [Brunson] was so gracious to lend her name to this fund, and this is showing what is possible.”
Epps said next month’s $200,000 goal will then allow the organization to endow the fund, ensuring these resources can be used annually to support educational trips in perpetuity.
The June deadline represents the end of the district’s fiscal year. Epps said it also gives Philly schools ample time to apply for field trip funding for the 2026-2027 academic year.
On the day of the fund’s launch, Brunson, a West Philly native and product of Philly schools, said the opportunities to explore local museums and parks broadened her horizons. And with support of the field trip fund, she hopes to give the nearly 117,000 students in Philly’s public schools the same opportunity to grow.
”Going somewhere new shows you that the world is bigger and more exciting than you believe, and it can shape what you come to see as achievable,“ Brunson said in a statement last year. “I’m proud to support Philadelphia students with experiences that remind them their dreams are valid and their futures are bright.”
Epps said similar initiatives are key in expanding current resources and funding to ensure local schools are “abundantly funded in the future.”
“Government funding has shown us over the years that it’s not enough, and our core purpose is to amplify those dollars by bringing corporate, philanthropic, and individual sectors to the table and have them join in to augment those dollars,” Epps said.
These efforts are increasingly significant as the district approaches year three in its five-year, $40 million fundraising goal, and wrestles with a $300 million deficit and pending classroom cuts.
Epps said with the success of the Brunson-sponsored fund, she hopes other notable figures who are passionate about public education step up to lend their names and resources so Philly students can realize any student they deem possible. “We won’t stop until we make that vision a reality,” Epps said.
For more information and to contribute to the fund, visit thefundsdp.org/fieldtripfund
