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Houston Charter Seed Fund
Houston Charter Seed Fund
We are pleased to recognize the impact the Houston Charter Seed Fund (the Fund) is making across the education landscape in Houston. This Fund was established at Greater Houston Community Foundation in June of 2021, with an advisory committee of education experts who oversee how the funds are allocated. The Fund engages in early-stage philanthropy, focusing on accelerating the impact of emerging charter school networks in Greater Houston. The Fund aims to reignite a community of philanthropic supporters, angel investors, champions, and board members to support the increase of equitable access to capital for promising charter school founders and leaders and help grow the next generation of exceptional charter schools.
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The Brown Foundation is the founding donor of the Fund, with Houston Endowment, Inc. following as the second lead funding partner. The advisory committee leadership has extensive knowledge and experience with charter schools, both locally and nationally. The Fund is a community project intentionally called a “seed fund” as its grantmaking philosophy is centered around burgeoning charter schools with longterm aspirations for growth, but who currently have only three or fewer campuses in operation in Houston.
2022 CHARTER SCHOOL GRANT RECIPIENTS
AMIGOS POR VIDA
BETA ACADEMY
BOB HOPE SCHOOL
ETOILE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
HOUSTON CLASSICAL CHARTER SCHOOL
THRIVE CENTER FOR SUCCESS
Ann Ziker, Chair of the Fund, shares her perspective on why charter schools are so important, stating, “Charter schools were originally designed to serve the needs of students who fall through the cracks of traditional public schools. They are designed to be innovative. I am a believer and supporter of public schools, and charter schools are one component of our public school system. They are designed to augment the available schools as one size cannot fit all, and different children thrive in different environments.”
Photo provided by Bob Hope School
Fund Leadership
The experienced and talented philanthropic and charter school Advisory Committee leaders have driven the Fund’s ambitious mission and rapid impact. Each committee member has proven and lasting experience running high-performing charter schools via management or governance, helping these efforts leverage local and national innovations and success methods.
ANN ZIKER, CHAIR
Executive Director
The Brown Foundation
Ziker served as Executive Vice President at Yes Prep Public Schools for seven years. She is on the board of Thrive with Autism, the first charter school in Texas to serve students with special needs.
CHRIS BARBIC
Founder
Yes Prep Public Schools
Barbic was the founding Superintendent of the Achievement School District, leading Tennessee’s efforts to rapidly turn around the bottom 5% of schools in the state. Barbic is a current partner of The City Fund, a national organization that partners with local leaders to create innovative public school systems.
JOE GREENBERG
Founder and CEO
Alta Resources, LLC
Greenberg is the current board chair of Beatrice Mayes Institute. Greenberg is a board member and Chairman Emeritus for YES Prep Public Schools and serves on the Houston Board for Teach For America and the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board for Yale Business School
SOENDA HOWELL
Partner
Charter School Growth Fund
Howell helps lead the early-stage strategy that funds the growth of charter school national networks. Before partnering with the Charter School Growth Fund, Howell provided strategic support for the national KIPP Public School network.
ALEXANDRA ROUSE
Program Director of Education
Houston Endowment
Rouse has served as Chief of Staff for New Schools for Baton Rouge and managed various functions at Teach For America in South Louisiana.
HERMAN STUDE
Board Member
The Brown Foundation
Stude served as president of The Brown Foundation for more than ten years. Stude has decades’ worth of experience in philanthropy across education in Houston.
The Fund awards three types of grants: start-up, accelerator, or growth. The Fund looks to support charter schools with evidence of providing highquality academic outcomes that outperform a similar school serving a similar population of students. These categories are based on the length the charter school has been open and its growth goals. In addition, charter schools must have sound leadership, financial stability, and strategic clarity to receive a grant.
To date, the Fund has awarded $6,400,000 to ten different Houston charter schools. 2022, year two of this initiative, was the most active year, awarding $4,900,000 to seven charter schools. A majority of schools funded are led by BIPOC leaders who reflect the demographics of the students they serve. In addition, the Fund intentionally seeks opportunities to streamline or remove barriers for school operators navigating the charter school resource-support network. The Fund’s overall outcome goal is to identify and invest in promising charter schools and networks to create 10,000 new, high-quality seats for Houston students by 2030. There is a strategic emphasis on creating seats in “quality deserts” for students with unique learning needs. As of the 2022 year-end, the Fund has assisted in creating approximately 3,200 new seats in charter schools in Houston with plans to fill another 3,250 seats in 2023.
– ANN ZIKER Executive Director of The Brown Foundation
What are Charter Schools?
Charter Schools are an alternative option to public schools, where a student’s unique educational needs are addressed. They operate like independently governed public schools, offering more flexibility in curriculum choice, parent involvement, and hiring practices. Charter schools tend to have smaller class sizes, enabling faculty to tailor lessons to meet the specific needs of their classrooms and learners. Typically, charter schools engage in fundraising efforts to scale their programs to meet the demand. Charter schools are held accountable to the same academic and financial requirements as all public schools.
