Join the Conversation

To qualify for an investment from Partners, applicant organizations must meet the following criteria.

  • Be minority-led 1

  • Be new or early-stage 2

  • Have a high demonstrated level of support from the local community

  • Target and serve underserved students who are racial/ethnic minority and/or low-income

  • Have an executive leader(s) with experience and success in leading or managing a for-profit, nonprofit, or community-based organization or a major initiative/division with an organization

  • Demonstrate strong potential for building and leading a high-quality charter school or network, and

  • Have, or be in the process of applying for, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status

1 Partners defines minority-led as an executive-level leader such as a founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) 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. While Partners encourages and embraces diverse leadership teams, diversity alone does not mean a charter school is minority-led.

If you still question whether your charter school organization qualifies as minority-led, answer the following questions:

  • Is the leader ultimately responsible for driving the strategic direction and results of the school/network a person of color?
  • Is the leader who has signing authority and/or primary control over the school/network’s budget and finances a person of color?
  • Does the leader of color in questions 1 and/or 2 above report directly to the Board of Directors?
  • Is the leader’s legal and fiduciary responsibility for the charter school/network explicitly delegated to him/her by the Board of Directors, as stated in the charter school/network’s bylaws?

If you answered no to two or more questions, chances are you/your charter school is ineligible. Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any additional questions.

2 We define early-stage as a charter school that has been open for less than four years and is demonstrating early success.