Values & Mission

As a venture philanthropy, The Fund serves as a catalyst and strategic investment partner with businesses, foundations, civic and community leaders, and the Chicago Public Schools to invest dollars and ideas in high-impact programs that improve school leadership and student achievement system wide.

Our values are the foundation of our organization. They guide our mission and our operations. Our directors, investors, and management team hold these beliefs in common and embrace them in our investments and day-to-day operations. In times of change, we look to these values:

Collaboration.
We believe that the greatest—and most sustainable—impact comes only when we work with others toward our common goals. We seek to be great partners.

Equity.
We share an unyielding commitment to providing all children the opportunity to learn from talented school leaders.

Excellence.
We’re committed to being the very best at what we do. To do that, we recognize that we must be honest and forthright about our strengths and weaknesses and constantly strive for excellence.

Innovation.
We share an entrepreneurial spirit that welcomes and includes fresh perspectives and diversity of ideas. We’re committed to finding new ways to solve old problems.

Integrity.
We say what we’ll do and we do what we say.

Leadership.
We know that leadership is the single most important factor in an organization’s success. We believe this is true for our classrooms, for our schools, for the programs in which we invest dollars and expertise, and for our own organization.