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· Public charity

Colorado Schools Fund

The organization's mission is to support new, outstanding public schools that meet the needs of historically underserved children and aspirations of families across colorado.

$3.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$1.2M
Largest
01What it funds
01FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $50k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $1.4M
  • $250k+3 grants · $2.0M
$135,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$8.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LEGACY INSTITUTE$1,200,000
DSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION$465,000
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PREP$315,000
WILDFLOWER MONTESSORI PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF COLORADO$200,000
JAMES IRWIN CHARTER SCHOOLS$200,000
UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS$190,000
HIGH ROCKIES COMMUNITY SCHOOL$150,000
ATLAS PREPARATORY SCHOOL INC$135,000
KIPP COLORADO SCHOOLS$135,000
FAITHBRIDGE$100,000
GOODWILL OF COLORADO$100,000
BAL SWAN DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL DBA GROVE ELEMENTARY AT BAL SWAN$100,000
LATINO EDUCATOR ADVANCING LEADERSHIP$80,000
UTE MOUNTAIN UTE TRIBE DBA KWIYAGAT COMMUNITY ACADEMY$25,000
CONEJOS COUNTY CLEAN WATER INC$25,000
02The need
02

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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY24–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 39% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%LATINO EDUCATOR ADVANCING LEADERSHIP: $80k → 14%BAL SWAN DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL DBA GROVE ELEMENTARY AT BAL SWAN: $100k → 5%WILDFLOWER MONTESSORI PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF COLORADO: $200k → 8%HIGH ROCKIES COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $150k → 8%LEGACY INSTITUTE: $1.2M → 9%ROCKY MOUNTAIN PREP: $315k → 12%UTE MOUNTAIN UTE TRIBE DBA KWIYAGAT COMMUNITY ACADEMY: $25k → 15%CONEJOS COUNTY CLEAN WATER INC: $25k → 18%GOODWILL OF COLORADO: $100k → 9%UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $190k → 12%ATLAS PREPARATORY SCHOOL INC: $135k → 9%DSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $465k → 12%JAMES IRWIN CHARTER SCHOOLS: $200k → 9%FAITHBRIDGE: $100k → 12%KIPP COLORADO SCHOOLS: $135k → 12%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.
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 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
Ascend College Prep

Ascend College Prep is a public high school for 10-12th grade students in Colorado Springs and the surrounding area. Our Mission is to "Prepare and inspire students to become lifelong learners and responsible citizens through rigorous…

Education
2
Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning

Provide education for students in Pre-K through 8th grade, benefitting approximately 415 students.

Education
3
The Stead School

Empower students to design and lead their own postsecondary and career pathways with the context of an exciting Science, Technology, Environmental, Agricultural and System Design thinking learning environment.

—
4
Stone Creek Elementary School

To provide a revolutionary learning experience for children grades K through 8.

Education
5
Koson Schools dba Stem School Highlands Ranch

Charter school to provide education to students in grades K-12.

Education
6
New Legacy Charter School

The mission of New Legacy Charter School is to provide parenting students with the skills needed to raise healthy children and to engage all students in personalized projects and experiences that develop college and career awareness and…

Education
7
Grand Peak Academy

The Organization is a public charter school specializing in education of students from preschool through 8th grade. The School uses a standards based curriculum incorporating the Colorade state standards, the Core Knowledge and sequence,…

Education
8
Omar D Blair Charter School

To educate and provide all scholars the opportunities and supports to acquire and apply knowledge and skills so that they are prepared for continued success in the high schools, and therefore the colleges and universities of their choice.

Education
9
Goal Academy

GOAL Academy is an alternative education online blended high school serving students across the state of Colorado. GOAL's mission statement is "to develop productive members of society". GOAL's vision statement is "to help all students…

Education
10
Bosque School

To create transformative learning experiences that empower a diverse community of students to lead lives of intellectual curiosity, personal integrity, and compassionate contribution to a more just world.

Education
11
Fort Collins Montessori School

The mission of Fort Collins Montessori School is to provide a classic pre/k-6th grade Montessori program that inspires and empowers children with an exceptional educational experience based on the principles and philosophy of Dr. Maria…

Education
12
Littleton Preparatory Charter School

Provide a content rich, academically rigorous education with a well-defined sequential curriculum in a safe, orderly caring environment.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Strive Preparatory Schools; the most unlike its peers is Conejos County Clean Water Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

14 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

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 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 14 of the 15 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
6/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE LEGACY INSTITUTE: $1,200,000 · EducationTHE LEGACY INSTITUTEDSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $465,000 · EducationDSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATIONStrive Preparatory Schools: $315,000 · EducationStrive Preparatory SchoolsJames Irwin Charter Schools: $200,000 · EducationJames Irwin Charter SchoolsWildflower Montessori Public Schools of Colorado: $200,000 · EducationWildflower Montessori Public Schools of ColoradoUNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $190,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLSHigh Rockies Community School: $150,000 · EducationKIPP Colorado Schools: $135,000 · EducationAtlas Preparatory School Inc: $135,000 · Education+2 more: $200,000 · Education+2 moreGoodwill of Colorado: $100,000 · EmploymentLatino Educators Advancing Leadership (LEAL): $80,000 · Civil RightsCONEJOS COUNTY CLEAN WATER INC: $25,000 · EnvironmentUTE MOUNTAIN UTE TRIBE DBA KWIYAGAT COMMUNITY ACADEMY: $25,000 · Other
Education$3,190,000Employment$100,000Civil Rights$80,000Environment$25,000Other$25,000

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 budgetDSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $465,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetStrive Preparatory Schools: $315,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJames Irwin Charter Schools: $200,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetWildflower Montessori Public Schools of Colorado: $200,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetUNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS: $190,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetKIPP Colorado Schools: $135,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetAtlas Preparatory School Inc: $135,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFaithBridge: $100,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetGoodwill of Colorado: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLatino Educators Advancing Leadership (LEAL): $80,000 over 1y, 76% of budgetCONEJOS COUNTY CLEAN WATER INC: $25,000 over 1y, 6.8% 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.

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.

Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth FundCO23.9× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth Fund · Daniels Fund · Gates Family Foundation · Colorado League of Charter Schools · Rooted · Louis Calder Foundation · Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation · Rose Community Foundation · The Colorado Health Foundation · The Denver Foundation · Denver Families for Public Schools · Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado

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 Colorado Schools Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Colorado Schools Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Colorado Schools Fund?

    Find your warmest path to Colorado Schools Fund through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    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 15 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 Colorado Schools’ filings →

    More from the funding graph