Fast Growth of Jeb Bush Nonprofit Fuels 2016 Speculation

The education-overhaul charity led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has rapidly ramped up fundraising in recent years and is viewed by some political observers in the state as a springboard for a 2016 presidential run, according to the Center for Public Integrity and news Web site BuzzFeed.

The Foundation for Excellence in Education, which Mr. Bush founded in 2007, collected $244,000 in its first year. By 2009, its revenue was $2.8-million, and by 2011, nearly $8.5-million. The group supports school choice and ending teacher tenure and has received financial backing from an array of conservative foundations and charter-schools proponents.

Florida political operatives told BuzzFeed the charity’s donor list and rapidly expanding staff, which includes veteran campaign strategists, could provide the infrastructure for a presidential run, which the two-term governor has not ruled out. A foundation spokeswoman said its team “has grown solely to better support our reform mission.”