Charter School Growth Fund

The Charter Fund Inc., doing business as the Charter School Growth Fund,[1] is a Broomfield, Colorado-based[2] nonprofit philanthropic venture capital[3][4] fund that supports the growth of public charter schools. CSGF "invests in the highest-performing charter school operators, allowing small schools to expand into multi-school networks.

Charter Fund Inc. dba Charter School Growth Fund

Type	Private
Industry	Venture capital
Founded	2006
Headquarters	Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.
Area served	North America
Key people	Board of Directors: Kevin Hall Greg Penner John J. Fisher Allan Golston Michael W. Grebe Mason Hawkins Carrie Walton Penner James Rahn Stacy H. Schusterman
Website	chartergrowthfund.org

Funding

In 2011, the fund received a $1.25 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[5] Between 2001 and 2010, the fund has received annual grants from the Bradley Foundation which totalled $16.5 million. The foundation increased their support to $3 million in 2012.[6] The fund also received $101.6 million from the Walton Family Foundation.[7]

Investments

Dreambox Learning was acquired by CSGF in 2010. Dreambox was heavily funded through venture capital contributed by Reed Hastings, John Doerr, Deborah Quazzo (founder and managing partner at GSV Advisors), and GSV Capital.[8][9][10]

Governance

• Kevin Hall, President & CEO
• Greg Penner, co chair[11][12]
• John J. Fisher, manages Pisces, Inc., the Fisher family’s investment portfolio (Fischer is founder of Gap Inc.)[13] majority owner of the Oakland As, and chairman of the KIPP Foundation, the nation’s largest charter school management company.[14]
• Allan Golston, president of the United States Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Michael W. Grebe, president and CEO of the Bradley Foundation, board of directors BMO Harris Bradley Center,[15] former general counsel to the Republican National Committee and was the Republican National Committeeman for Wisconsin from 1984 to 2002. He was a delegate to Republican National Conventions from 1984 to 2000. In 2010, he chaired Scott Walker's campaign for governorship of Wisconsin.
• Mason Hawkins
• Carrie Walton Penner, daughter of Walmart chairman Rob Walton and granddaughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton[16]
• James Rahn, president of the Kern Family Foundation founder of the nonprofit Educational Enterprises Inc. (EEI), a Wisconsin-based organization[17]
• Stacy Schusterman, daughter of Lynn Schusterman and Charles Schusterman the founder of Samson,[18] the largest privately held company of crude oil and natural gas in the United States.

See also

• Alliance for School Choice
• Bradley Foundation
• Broad Foundation
• DreamBox (company)
• Koch Family Foundations
• Rocketship Education
• Walton Foundation

References

1. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (November 2011). "HOW WE WORK - GRANT". gatesfoundation.org. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
2. Auge, Karen (March 25, 2012). "Walton Family Foundation awards Denver $8M for school reform". Denverpost.com. The Denver Post. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
3. "DreamBox Learning Acquired by Charter Fund in Partnership with Education Philanthropist and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings". Retrieved August 12, 2016.
4. Andrus, Alex. "Venture Capitalism Meets Charter Schools". Philanthropy Roundtable. Philanthropy Roundtable. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (November 2011). "HOW WE WORK - GRANT". gatesfoundation.org. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
6. Davis, Matt (October 14, 2013). "Charter School Growth Fund: You'r Bradley's Highest Funded Grantee". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
7. Rich, Motoko (April 25, 2014). "A Walmart Fortune, Spreading Charter Schools". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
8. Wan, Tony (Dec 17, 2013). "Netflix' Reed Hastings Leads $14.5M Series A1 for DreamBox". edSurge. Retrieved Mar 26, 2014.
9. Cook, John (Dec 17, 2013). "Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, VC John Doerr invest $14.5M in DreamBox Learning". Geekwire. Retrieved Mar 26, 2014.
10. "Venture Capital News: DreamBox Learning Inks $14.5M in Series A1".
11. "This Quiet Walton Heir is an Uber Education Policy Wonk".
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-06-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. Williams, Tate (September 17, 2014). "Fisher Philanthropy: The Three Gap Heirs Are Giving Away a Fortune". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
14. Ovide, Shira (November 23, 2011). "What Would Your Family Do With $7 Billion?". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
15. MO Harris Bradley Center. "BMO Harris Bradley Center". BMOHarrisBradleyCenter.com. BMO Harris Bradley Center. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
16. Drier, Peter (March 2, 2013). "Why Are Walmart Billionaires Bankrolling Phony School 'Reform' In LA?". billmoyers.com. Public Affairs Television, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
17. "James C. Rahn, The Kern Family Foundation". Inside Philanthropy. 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
18. Ovide, Shira (November 23, 2011). "What Would Your Family Do With $7 Billion?". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2015.

External links

• http://chartergrowthfund.org/