Partners for Developing Futures ("Partners") is a social venture investment fund that primarily invests in high-potential, early-stage minority-led charter schools and charter school networks that serve underserved students (i.e., racial/ethnic minority and/or low-income). Partners' mission is to efficiently identify, recruit, and support leaders of color in creating and growing high-quality charter schools and charter school networks.

Partners was created in 2008 and is being incubated by the Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) to address a distinct need to proactively recruit and increase the number of highly qualified leaders of color in the charter school sector while also creating more quality public education options for underserved students. Partners is designed to promote minority leadership and entrepreneurship, particularly among founders, Chief Executive Officers, Executive Directors, and/or board members, who control and operate high-quality charter schools and networks and who are committed to achieving educational excellence.

Partners will primarily invest in high-potential minority-led charter schools and networks that are in development (i.e., not yet open) or early stage (i.e., less than three years old) and support them through a continuum of financial support and technical assistance. Partners defines minority led as a founder, Chief Executive Officer or Executive Director, and/or board chair (or mostly minority board) from a historically underrepresented racial/ethnic group who is the key decision maker(s) and is responsible for executing the school's mission and vision.

Partners' principal goal is to facilitate high academic performance and self-sustainability in the organizations that it supports. By providing capital and strategic support early in the organization's development, Partners' vision is to dramatically increase the number of high-quality charter schools and networks led by people of color and serve as a launching pad for the next generation of leaders of high-performing charter schools and networks.

Partners is now accepting unsolicited investment applications. Please click here for information about Partners' eligibility criteria and application requirements.

Have a question? Please review our Frequently Asked Questions.

For additional information about Partners for Developing Futures, please contact Ramona S. Thomas, Ph.D., at rthomas@partnersdevelopingfutures.org or at (303) 217-8340.

If you have been operating a charter school or charter school network for two or more years and are interested in expanding to serve more children or want to better understand the work of the Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF), please visit the CSGF website at www.chartergrowthfund.org for information on the schools they support, their programs and their support application.