Deadline: 14-Nov-22
The 2023 Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) Seed Funding Application period is open and looking for leaders who want to expand their high-performing public charter schools by serving 250 to 1,000 additional students in the next two years.
The Fund selects ~10-15 finalists who will receive growth funding and become members of the annual Seed Cohort.
Benefits
-
Funding
- The Fund awards general operating grants of between $250,000 and $600,000 to help promising leaders open their next one to three schools. Once awarded, these grants are disbursed over a two- to three-year period.
-
Cohort-Based Learning
- Selected Seed leaders will join a cohort of their peers who lead public charter school networks in the early stages of growth. As a community, they participate in annual events including the Portfolio Retreat and smaller convenings.
-
Early-Stage Support
- The Fund supports charter leaders in overcoming the common challenges facing schools and networks that are beginning to grow. The targeted support they provide includes business planning, facilities insights, and access to the best resources from the CSGF portfolio.
-
Leaders Of Color
- The Fund seeks to significantly expand the impact of public charter schools led by entrepreneurs who have backgrounds similar to those of the students and families they serve. Within each cohort, there are unique learning, support and community-building opportunities, specifically for leaders of color.
Who They’re Looking For?
The Charter School Growth Fund supports nonprofit organizations that run some of the top public charter schools in their communities and are redefining what is possible in America’s public schools. Their portfolio members typically share the following traits:
-
Academic Excellence
- They have had strong academic performance for multiple years, as demonstrated by measures such as student academic growth, achievement on state tests relative to peers, sub-group performance and, when available, long-term student outcome data.
-
Ambition to Grow
- They typically have waiting lists and want to expand their impact by opening more schools. The “Seed” organizations the fund support seeks to open 1-2 more schools within the next two years, while their “Scale” strategy supports leaders who plan to launch 3+ more schools over a five-year period.
-
Commitment to Financial Sustainability
- They are committed to operating their schools on public funding and will not require significant philanthropy when they finish growing their networks of schools.
-
Strong Leadership Committed to Underserved Students
- School leadership teams have the capacity to build the skills and expertise needed to accomplish their ambitious goals. They share a commitment to serving students who have limited access to high-quality public schools in their communities.
Applicants Should Demonstrate
-
Proven Leadership
- A track record of three-to-five years of demonstrated success in a leadership role at a charter school or early-stage charter school network.
-
Academic Performance
- A record of operating schools that outperform the local school district on state-administered assessments and perform well compared to the average school in their state.
-
Commitment To Underserved Students
- A commitment to serving students from underserved backgrounds and working in communities with few high-quality public-school options. This includes, but is not limited to, low-income students, overage, under credited students, students with special needs, foster youth, and homeless youth.
-
Vision For Growth
- A desire to grow and serve 250-1,000 additional students, typically by adding between one and three schools in the next two years.
For more information, visit Charter School Growth Fund.
For more information, visit https://chartergrowthfund.org/apply-for-funding/