Skip to content

· Public charity

Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund

The charter school growth fund identifies the country's best public charter schools, funds their expansion, and helps to increase their impact.

$150M
Granted FY2024still arriving
304
Grants FY2024still arriving
34
States reached
$8.6M
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$555MYouth Development$5.9MHuman Services$3.2MPhilanthropy$1.4MHealth$1.0MRecreation & Sports$825kCommunity Improvement$701kCivil Rights$495kOther$0
02FY2024 · 304 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 304 grants below total $143,469,194, the rows itemized in this filing. The $150,096,573 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $6,627,379 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $10k
  • $10k–50k40 grants · $988k
  • $50k–250k108 grants · $15M
  • $250k+155 grants · $128M
$250,000
Median grant
34
States reached
$720M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS INC$8,606,615
COLORADO SCHOOLS FUND$7,000,000
TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT INC$5,000,000
MEMPHIS EDUCATION FUND INC$3,360,000
HARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS$3,000,000
DOVE SCHOOLS INC$2,185,000
VALOR TEXAS EDUCATION FOUNDATION$2,100,000
DEMOCRACY PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS$2,036,000
MURMURATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC$2,000,000
THE GREAT HEARTS FOUNDATION INC$2,000,000
WALLACE STEGNER ACADEMY$1,800,000
ROCKETSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEXAS$1,750,000
YES PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS INC$1,750,000
CAMBIAR EDUCATION$1,650,000
THE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL$1,557,358
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–24, $7.1M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 87% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LIFE LADIES INFLUENCING FREEDOM & EXCELLENCE INC: $125k → 12%ACADEMIE LAFAYETTE: $250k → 15%ONE CITY SCHOOLS INC: $350k → 10%EMPOWER MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $500k → 11%LIFE LADIES INFLUENCING FREEDOM & EXCELLENCE INC: $125k → 12%LIFE LADIES INFLUENCING FREEDOM & EXCELLENCE INC: $450k → 18%ONE CITY SCHOOLS INC: $250k → 10%EMPOWER MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $400k → 11%REDLANDS CHRISTIAN MIGRANT ASSOCIATION INC: $550k → 13%LIFE LADIES INFLUENCING FREEDOM & EXCELLENCE INC: $275k → 18%ONE CITY SCHOOLS INC: $250k → 10%REDLANDS CHRISTIAN MIGRANT ASSOCIATION INC: $350k → 13%LIFE LADIES INFLUENCING FREEDOM & EXCELLENCE INC: $100k → 18%ONE CITY SCHOOLS INC: $60k → 10%REDLANDS CHRISTIAN MIGRANT ASSOCIATION INC: $300k → 13%REDLANDS CHRISTIAN MIGRANT ASSOCIATION INC: $250k → 13%ACADEMIE LAFAYETTE: $250k → 15%REDLANDS CHRISTIAN MIGRANT ASSOCIATION INC: $225k → 13%ACADEMIE LAFAYETTE: $250k → 15%FOX FELLOWSHIP: $275k → 13%REDLANDS CHRISTIAN MIGRANT ASSOCIATION INC: $225k → 13%LEADERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY FOUNDATION: $450k → 14%EDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $350k → 14%LEADERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%EDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%EDWARD CHARLES FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%LEADERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY FOUNDATION: $100k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
ID
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
MO
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$506M · 299 repeat orgs$62M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +104% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

299 repeat relationships: 173 still active in FY2024, 126 since wound down; 54 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

299
116

Total granted

$506M
$27M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+104%
+22%

Still filing today

93%
76%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35M went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureRecreation & SportsOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • IP
    IDEA Public Schools
    7× · 2017–2024 · $19M · revenue +257%
  • KT
    KIPP Texas Inc
    6× · 2019–2024 · $16M · revenue +50%
  • BT
    BLUEPRINT TEXAS
    3× · 2022–2024 · $14M · revenue ×109 · 44% of their budget

Funded once

  • CF
    CITY FUND
    one grant, 2023 · $2.5M · revenue +6%
  • GA
    GREATHEARTS ARIZONAgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $2.0M · revenue +58%
  • GC
    GEORGIA CHARTER SCHOOL ASSOCIATION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $2.0M · revenue -18% · 55% of their budget
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The New American Academy Charter School

The new american academy charter school empowers learners and inspires leaders to make this a better world. through our collaborative teacher teams, mastery-based career ladder, and looping cycles, we offer personalized rigorous…

Education
2
Alliance Charter Academy

Our mission is to personalize learning through a collaboration of family, community and school; to nurture the innate curiosity of our students; ignite their passion for learning; and prepare them for lifelong success.

Education
3
Mastery Charter High School

All students learn the academic and personal skills they need to be truly prepared for postsecondary success and able to pursue their dreams.

Education
4
Compass Charter School

Compass charter school is a safe and nurturing educational environment that honors the individuality of each learner. by engaging in a process of inquiry, our graduates will be equipped with the necessary skills to lead fulfilling personal…

Education
5
Bronx Charter School for Excellence

Excellence community schools prepares young people in new york city and stamford to compete for admission to and succeed in top public, private and parochial high schools by cultivating their intellectual, artistic, social, emotional, and…

Education
6
Emblaze Academy Charter School

Through rigorous curriculum and high quality instruction, provided within an invested and ambitious school community, emblaze academy charter school prepares all students in grades five through eight to thrive in high school and graduate…

Education
7
Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School

Wla combines best practices in teaching and learning, with the latest in educational technology to create an unparalleled high school experience. students will graduate from wla prepared for college, career, and lives of public leadership.

Education
8
Sonoma Charter School

Sonoma charter school seeks to achieve academic excellence through engaged learning in a setting that involves students, teachers, and parents.

Education
9
Next Generation Education Dba Epic California Academy

To fulfill every student's individual potential by personalizing an educational plan that focuses on school and family partnership to achieve optimal student performance.

Education
10
Elite Public Schools

To ensure students reach their fullest potential through access to learning spaces that honor and celebrate students' rich cultural heritage and challenge them with rigorous and relevant learning experiences designed to make them active…

Education
11
Independence Academy

The mission of independence charter school (iacs) is to educate students of diverse ages and backgrounds - helping them understand, thrive in, and enhance our community, our environment,and our world. iacs regards learning as a continuing…

Education
12
Legacy College Preparatory Charter School

Through rigorous academic instruction, values-based character development, and the pursuit of ambitious goals, legacy college preparatory charter school ensures all students in grades six through twelve are prepared to graduate from…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Success Academy Charter Schools Inc; the most unlike its peers is Voz Collegiate Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

431 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 431 of the 473 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

74
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
127
Early backer (in before they grew)
420/431
Grantees still filing
335/431
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

IDEA Public Schools: $19,206,100 · EducationKIPP Texas Inc: $16,188,710 · Education+170 more: $403,345,399 · Education+170 moreThe Hughen Center Inc: $5,936,329 · OtherBES INC: $2,711,750 · OtherROCKY MOUNTAIN PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $2,570,000 · OtherMISSION ACHIEVEMENT AND SUCCESS CHARTER SCHOOL: $2,250,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF SCIENCE ACADEMIES OF NY INC: $1,675,000 · OtherKIPP NEW JERSEY: $1,636,034 · OtherREPUBLIC SCHOOLS INC: $1,625,000 · OtherKIPP INC: $1,435,000 · OtherGEM INNOVATION SCHOOLS FOUNDATION LLC: $1,165,000 · OtherTENNESSEE ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT: $1,000,000 · Other+4 more: $3,134,900 · OtherCOLORADO SCHOOLS FUND: $7,000,000 · PhilanthropySETON EDUCATION PARTNERS: $2,930,000 · PhilanthropyCITY FUND: $2,500,000 · PhilanthropyKENOSHA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $735,800 · PhilanthropyREDLANDS CHRISTIAN MIGRANT ASSOCIATION INC: $1,950,000 · Human ServicesLIFE LADIES INFLUENCING FREEDOM AND EXCELLENCE: $1,075,000 · Human ServicesONE CITY SCHOOLS INC: $1,038,000 · Human ServicesEMPOWER MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 · Human ServicesACADEMIE LAFAYETTE: $800,000 · Human ServicesLEE FOUNDATION FOR CIVIC LEADERSHIP INC: $750,000 · Human ServicesTEJANO CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS INC: $3,200,000 · Youth DevelopmentBRAVEN INC: $875,000 · Youth DevelopmentDEMOCRACY PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $3,166,000 · Arts & CultureMURMURATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $2,000,000 · Public Benefit
Education$438,740,209Other$25,139,013Philanthropy$13,165,800Human Services$6,613,000Youth Development$4,075,000Arts & Culture$3,166,000Public Benefit$2,000,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetIDEA Public Schools: $19,206,100 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetKIPP Texas Inc: $16,188,710 over 6y, 2.1% of budgetBLUEPRINT TEXAS: $14,000,000 over 3y, 44% of budgetSUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS INC: $10,989,825 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetHARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $9,755,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetTHIRD FUTURE SCHOOLS: $9,421,500 over 6y, 18% of budgetYES Prep Public Schools Inc: $9,398,857 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetKIPP SOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $8,854,998 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetTHE GREATHEARTS FOUNDATION INC: $8,078,192 over 5y, 88% of budgetINSPIRENOLA CHARTER SCHOOLS: $7,355,149 over 7y, 8.3% of budgetCOLORADO SCHOOLS FUND: $7,000,000 over 1y, 54% of budgetFREEDOM PREPARATORY ACADEMY INC: $6,895,183 over 8y, 9.1% of budgetZETA CHARTER SCHOOLS INC: $6,295,000 over 8y, 20% of budgetROCKETSHIP EDUCATION: $6,227,000 over 6y, 2.2% of budgetThe Hughen Center Inc: $5,936,329 over 8y, 6.6% of budgetNATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS: $5,830,000 over 7y, 28% of budgetENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES IN EDUCATION INC: $5,825,000 over 4y, 25% of budgetCAMBIAR EDUCATION: $5,765,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetUPLIFT EDUCATION: $5,106,913 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetTHE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL: $5,045,043 over 8y, 4.0% of budgetEDNOVATE INC: $4,876,749 over 7y, 5.5% of budgetTRUE NORTH CLASSICAL ACADEMY INC: $4,550,000 over 6y, 13% of budgetVISTA COLLEGE PREPARATORY INC: $4,362,050 over 8y, 31% of budgetDSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $4,324,809 over 7y, 21% of budgetBUILDING RESPONSIBLE INTELLIGENT CREATIVE KIDS: $4,230,300 over 4y, 31% of budgetKIPP BAY AREA SCHOOLS: $4,023,182 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetNAVIGATOR SCHOOLS: $3,980,500 over 6y, 5.9% of budgetEXCELLENCE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INC: $3,963,753 over 8y, 20% of budgetMEMPHIS EDUCATION FUND INC: $3,940,000 over 4y, 69% of budgetACHIEVEMENT FIRST INC: $3,827,143 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetDREAM CHARTER SCHOOL: $3,643,750 over 7y, 5.6% of budgetEQUITAS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL: $3,637,000 over 7y, 3.6% of budgetNew Paradigm for Education Inc: $3,575,475 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetPARAMOUNT SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE: $3,530,000 over 7y, 3.9% of budgetCORAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE LAS VEGAS: $3,499,750 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetKIPP NASHVILLE: $3,478,500 over 8y, 2.9% of budgetDOVE SCHOOLS INC: $3,285,000 over 2y, 7.9% of budgetVOICES COLLEGE-BOUND LANGUAGE ACADEMIES: $3,282,864 over 8y, 8.3% of budgetTEXAS CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION: $3,275,000 over 2y, 34% of budgetCAPSTONE EDUCATION GROUP INC: $3,205,000 over 6y, 5.4% of budgetTEJANO CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS INC: $3,200,000 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetKipp Metro Atlanta Collaborative Inc: $3,193,108 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetDEMOCRACY PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $3,166,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetCOLLEGIATE ACADEMIES: $3,074,918 over 8y, 3.9% of budgetIOTA Community Schools: $3,050,000 over 3y, 9.8% of budgetValor Texas Education Foundation: $3,021,500 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetROCKETSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEXAS: $3,010,000 over 2y, 97% of budgetSETON EDUCATION PARTNERS: $2,930,000 over 5y, 13% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds IDEA Public Schools ↗
  • Who funds KIPP Texas Inc ↗
  • Who funds BLUEPRINT TEXAS ↗
  • Who funds SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds HARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds THIRD FUTURE SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds YES Prep Public Schools Inc ↗
  • Who funds KIPP SOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds THE GREATHEARTS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds INSPIRENOLA CHARTER SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds COLORADO SCHOOLS FUND ↗
  • Who funds FREEDOM PREPARATORY ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds ZETA CHARTER SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds ROCKETSHIP EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds The Hughen Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES IN EDUCATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CAMBIAR EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds UPLIFT EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds THE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds EDNOVATE INC ↗
  • Who funds TRUE NORTH CLASSICAL ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds VISTA COLLEGE PREPARATORY INC ↗
  • Who funds DSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BUILDING RESPONSIBLE INTELLIGENT CREATIVE KIDS ↗
  • Who funds KIPP BAY AREA SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds NAVIGATOR SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds EXCELLENCE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds MEMPHIS EDUCATION FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds ACHIEVEMENT FIRST INC ↗
  • Who funds DREAM CHARTER SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds EQUITAS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds New Paradigm for Education Inc ↗
  • Who funds PARAMOUNT SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE ↗
  • Who funds CORAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE LAS VEGAS ↗
  • Who funds KIPP NASHVILLE ↗
  • Who funds DOVE SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds VOICES COLLEGE-BOUND LANGUAGE ACADEMIES ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CAPSTONE EDUCATION GROUP INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

New Schools FundCA157.4× affinity112 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: New Schools Fund · City Fund · Walton Family Foundation Inc · Louis Calder Foundation · 50can Inc · Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation · The Broad Center · Silicon Schools Fund Inc · Great Public Schools Now · The Center for Education Reform · Gates Foundation · Education Forward DC

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Redlands Christian Migrant Association Inc: 51% of income from government
  • YouthBuild Newark Inc: 27% of income from government
  • Great Oaks Charter School: 9% of income from government
  • True North Classical Academy Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Kipp Team and Family Schools Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Dove Schools Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Achievement First Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
131report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 473 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth’s filings →

More from the funding graph