For a leading venture philanthropy fund:

We assessed the charter investment funds’ progress in meeting objectives in three major U.S. markets.

A venture philanthropy fund had committed over $50M to invest in charters and supporting organizations in three major U.S. cities. The fund leaders wanted to be able to demonstrate their progress to investors, as well as understand the value of their fund to grantees and how the fund should prioritize activities going forward. AltshulerStaats was hired to develop a baseline understanding of each market before any monies were invested, and then to assess how well the fund was meeting its stated objectives in each market. To accomplish this, AltshulerStaats conducted interviews with funders, grantees and local stakeholders in each market. In addition, AltshulerStaats conducted various analyses to understand the growth and quality of the charter sector as well as student achievement gains. Findings were shared with funders and also used to improve fund operations for the remainder of the fund life.

Sector

Charter schools, Funders

Service Delivered

Organization evaluation / effectiveness