SOURCE OF WEALTH: Dell, Apple
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Community Development
OVERVIEW: Eric Harlsem and his wife Rani Clasquin give through the KLE Foundation, which made around $805,000 in grants in a past year. KLE seeks to provide quality educational opportunities to underserved communities. The couple, via their foundation, recently gave a $16 million grant to IDEA Public Schools to expand its charter network in Austin.
BACKGROUND: Eric Harlsem graduated from Caltech in 1967 and received an M.S. from University of Wisconsin Madison in 1968. He was senior vice president for product development and CTO at Dell Computers. He was senior vice president and general manager of Apple’s Desktop Division.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: In 2016, Harslem and Rani, through KLE Foundation, made a $16 million grant to IDEA Public Schools to expand its charter network in Austin. Harslem and Rani are both the grandchildren of immigrants and grew up in modest homes. Harslem has said the foundation funds “evidence-based programs that get results.” STEM and English are high priorities, with other support for literacy and job skills. The couple has supported Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, RE(Public) Schools, Austin Achieve Public Schools, University of Texas Foundation, and Texas State University in support of the Mathworks Endowment at Texas State University – San Marcos. They have also heavily supported Charter School Growth Fund in Colorado, with $1 million going to the nonprofit in 2019.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: The family has supported Austin Community Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin, and People’s Community Clinic.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the family to remain focused on education.
CONTACT:
The KLE Foundation accepts one-page LOIs via kle@elks.ws or the address below:
KLE Foundation
P.O. Box 163991
Austin, TX 78716
