Our Investment Approach

CSGF invests in the growth of its portfolio members by providing them with multi-year grant and loan financing packages. To ensure that its funding generates maximum impact, CSGF employs investment practices similar to a venture capital firm, including:

• Rigorous screening and due diligence. CSGF uses an initial screening process to determine the most promising candidates for potential investment based on a blind analysis of their track record of academic performance relative to a set of comparables. With groups that meet CSGF's high-bar for performance, CSGF then conducts an intensive due diligence process that evaluates every investment candidate's leadership team, academic approach and performance, operational effectiveness, financial health, local market conditions, fundraising capacity and other factors to understand the risks and viability of a potential investment to scale significantly.
• Financial and non-monetary supports. CSGF invests in a small number of groups and makes a significant, multi-year investment in each organization. In addition to financial capital, we provide other support that includes facilities and school-startup financing, business planning and strategic advice, senior management counsel and governance involvement.
• Performance milestones for annual disbursement. CSGF formally evaluates each portfolio member on an annual basis as to their progress in meeting objectives. CSGF works closely with each group to ensure their focus on meeting these objectives. In cases where portfolio members repeatedly fail to meet their milestones, CSGF will suspend investments and potentially exit the organization from the CSGF portfolio.

CSGF's goal as a financial investor is to enable the organization to reach sustainability on public revenues. When the schools reach capacity, the management fees are the primary source of income to sustain the network's central operations after CSGF's financing ends. CSGF's investment strategy includes providing a mix of grants and below market interest loans to match the cash-flow needs of the CMO as it grows.