Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
NewSchools Venture Fund
| NewSchools Venture Fund | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Oakland, Calif. |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Top official: | Stacey Childress |
| Founder(s): | Kim Smith, John Doerr and Brook Byers |
| Year founded: | 1998 |
| Website: | Official website |
NewSchools Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by Kim Smith, John Doerr and Brook Byers in Oakland, Calif.[1] The organization's goal as of August 2025 was to "advance education through philanthropy — one that is more equitable, more collaborative, and more courageous."[1]
Background
As of August 2025, the organization said its vision is:[1]
| “ | We envision an education system that keeps its promise to all students. That’s why we invest in the ideas and energy of education leaders and entrepreneurs who are advancing innovative solutions that expand the definition of what works.[2] | ” |
Leadership
As of August 2025, Frances Messano was the chief executive officer of NewSchools Venture Fund.[3]
As of August 2025, the following individuals were members of the NewSchools Venture Fund board of directors:[3]
- Ime Archibong
- Michelle Boyers
- Brook Byers
- Stacey Childress
- Cori Duncan
- Frances Messano
- Angel Morales
- Paula Sneed
- Charlie Wolfson
- John Doerr
- Kim Smith
Work and activities
Nonprofit activities
As of August 2025, NewSchools Venture Fund said its goal is to "make big bets and lead at the edge to unlock the full potential of education philanthropy."[1] The group invests in entrepreneurs and other nonprofits that aim to further education innovation throughout the country. NewSchools' website said it focuses on supporting early-stage organizations and new initiatives within existing school districts or organizations that "work to improve outcomes for all students, particularly those furthest from opportunity — including students of color, those experiencing poverty, and those with learning differences."[4] It invests in addressing three main areas: learning solutions, teaching reimagined and learning differences.[4]
In 2024, NewSchools provided $21.6 million in investment for 73 ventures. $11.4 million of that total went to innovative schools, $5.8 million to learning solutions, $1.3 million to learning differences and $1.2 million to teaching reimagined.[5] In addition, the organization provided management assistance for 166 additional ventures.[5] In total, the organization reached 55,000 schools and organizations and 650,000 students.[5]
One area of investment for NSVF was in public charter schools, including the financing of charter management organizations, such as Aspire Public Schools, KIPP and Rocketship Education.[6] According to a 2015 article in EdSurge, between 1999 and 2015 NSVF "has directed over $150 million to more than 300 charter schools around the country, serving over 157,000 students." The site quoted NSVF CEO Stacey Childress as saying, "the charter school movement might look different today had it not been for NewSchools supporting these entrepreneurs."[7] The group has hosted events that include charter leaders as part of discussions related to educational innovation.[8]
In 2013, NSVF entered into a partnership with the for-profit venture capital group Rethink Education Fund. Rethink Education "agreed to give part of its profits to NewSchools [...] so the fund can invest the money in various projects."[6] In 2015, as a "seed fund" the group established grew, NSVF established a "for-profit investing vehicle" to raise money for investment in education technology startups.[7]
NewSchools hosts an annual summit and tracks policy trends related to the organization's investments.[9]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.
Finances
The following is a breakdown of the NewSchools Venture Fund's revenues and expenses for the 2019 to 2022 fiscal years:
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'NewSchools' Venture Fund. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 NewSchools Venture Fund , "About," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 NewSchools Venture Fund, "Our Team," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 NewSchools Venture Fund, "Our Strategy," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 NewSchools Venture Fund , "2024 Annual Report," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The New York Times, "NewSchools Fund Attracts More Capital," April 30, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 EdSurge, "NewSchools Spins Off New, For-Profit Venture Fund," January 26, 2015
- ↑ Ed Surge , "As Charters Face Growing Opposition, NewSchools Summit Makes Its Case," May 14, 2019
- ↑ NewSchools Venture Fund , "Insights Hub," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Internal Revenue Service , "New Schools Venture Fund 2022 990 Form," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service , "NewSchools Venture Fund 990 Form," accessed August 13, 2025
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedagain
