NewSchools Venture Fund, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Oakland, California, is a nonprofit venture philanthropy focused exclusively on the K-12 education sector. Its stated mission is to build a better education system by connecting people, resources, and ideas. The firm operates not as a traditional fund seeking financial returns, but as a philanthropic vehicle deploying capital to improve educational outcomes.
To date, NewSchools has made investments totalling over $511 million. Its work has supported an estimated 1.5 million educators and leaders. The organization's model involves identifying, funding, and supporting ventures and initiatives within the education landscape that align with its mission of systemic improvement.
As a venture philanthropy, NewSchools functions with the strategic discipline of a venture capital firm - sourcing deals, conducting due diligence, and providing post-investment support - while maintaining a nonprofit's orientation toward social impact rather than profit. Its long tenure and scale of capital deployed position it as a significant actor in the US education reform and edtech ecosystem.
