OVERVIEW: New Schools Venture Fund approaches education from the perspective of venture capital, investing in promising and effective solutions to pressing problems. Its funding initiatives address innovative schools, educational technology and diverse leadership.
IP TAKE: New Schools Venture Fund applies the principals of venture capital to its investments in education, selecting the most promising proposals from nonprofits, for-profit organizations and individuals for funding. This funder’s initiatives are innovative schools, educational technology and diverse leadership.
PROFILE: Based in Oakland, California, the New Schools Venture Fund (NSVF) was founded in 1998 by entrepreneur Kim Smith and venture capitalists John Doerr and Brook Byers. The organization models its investment in education on practices that are common to the world of venture capital; projects and ideas are subject to rigorous research, and the most promising receive funding. NSVF’s funding initiatives are innovative schools, learning solutions, diverse leadership, and racial equity.
NSVF’s innovative schools initiative aims to redesign existing schools and launch new public and public charter schools to meet the needs of today’s students. The fund’s learning solutions initiative “invests in promising for-profit and nonprofit entrepreneurs developing digital tools and services that support teaching and learning” in several academic areas and levels. In the area of leadership, NSVF’s aim is for “black and Latino leaders to represent at least 40 percent of education leadership.” Toward this end, the organization invests in consulting and advocacy groups “that attract, develop and place Black and Latino senior education leaders.” NSVF’s racial equity funding works to “combat racial inequities in education and open doors for students and leaders of color seeking to have a positive impact in the sector.”
Past NSVF grantees include Listenwise, a for profit company that uses podcasts to teach listening and comprehension skills, and the Black Teacher Project, a nonprofit that recruits, develops and mentors teachers for schools in the U.S. Many charters schools and charter school networks have also received funding. NSVF provides a searchable database of projects that it has supported on its website, as well as recent financial reports. Grants range from about $200,000 to over $1 million.
NSVF accepts applications for funding for its innovative schools, education technology and diverse leadership through separate application pages on the fund’s website.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS: