History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Education reform philanthropy has changed radically over the past decade
- 05-18-2011
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Blog by Dana Goldstein/Ladywonk
With the NewSchools Venture Fund Summit kicking off this evening, I thought I'd do an overview of the state of K-12 education philanthropy. I'm warning you now, friends: This is gonna get wonky! But stick with me and I promise you'll learn at least three interesting facts that will make you sound smart when discusing education reform at parties. (Those are the kinds of parties you go to, right?) The NewSchools Venture Fund is one of the founding institutions of "venture philanthropy," a school of charitable giving that borrows its ethos from the world of venture capital. Venture philanthropists seek out non-profits that pursue social change while embracing data-driven corporate accountability standards. These donors often seek to bring promising local reforms "to scale" as quickly as possible, and many explicitly look for "innovative" programs--reform models that prioritize new technologies or new management and governance structures. Some examples: Online learning, national charter school networks, and advocacy on behalf of mayoral control of school districts. For a helpful synthesis of the entire venture philanthropy ideology, read the Gates Foundation's "Guiding Principles." (more...)
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