The Finance Project is one of more than 100 organizations and thought leaders featured in Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer learning for Student Success, Edited by Terry K. Peterson, Ph.D., This first of its kind compendium of studies, reports and commentaries provides seminal resources for policy makers, program leadership, practitioners, researchers and stakeholders.

The Value of Partnerships in Afterschool and Summer Learning: A National Case Study of 21st Century Community Learning Centers by Shawn Stelow Griffin and  Laura Martinez provides concrete evidence of the important role partnerships play in leveraging cash and in-kind resources to sustain 21st CCLC Wisconsin, Vermont, Florida and Oregon.

Expanding Minds and Opportunities is now available online at
www.expandinglearning.org/expandingminds and through Amazon.com.

DC Education Adequacy Study Overview
The Finance Project (TFP), In September 2012, the District of Columbia Government contracted with The Finance Project (TFP) to undertake a rigorous study of the costs of providing an "adequate" pre-K through 12 education to students in DC's traditional public schools and public charter schools. Over a 12-month period, The Finance Project, in partnership with Augenblick, Palaich and Associates (APA), a Denver-based education research firm, will:

1.  Develop a data-driven estimate of the cost of an "adequate" pre-K through 12 education in the District of Columbia;

2.  Recommend changes to the structure and level of foundation funding in the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF), as well as the weightings for students with special learning needs that require services which entail additional costs;

3.  Recommend changes to the way in which capital investments, maintenance, utilities and custodial services for school buildings and facilities are financed and managed; and

4.  Develop guidance for updating the study's basic elements on a continuing periodic basis.

Using a blend of Professional Judgment Panel and Successful Schools Study methods for analyzing the costs of an adequate education, the TFP/APA study team will examine the cost of resources required for public schools and public charter schools to meet DC academic standards, including the Common Core State Standards, once they are implemented.

For more information, please read an overview of the study at: www.financeproject.org/publications/SummaryDCEducation
AdequacyStudy.pdf. For more information about the study, please contact Cara Patrick at cpatrick@financeproject.org.

Sharing Risks and Returns: Social Impact Investment to Scale Up Effective Programs. This brief aims to help policymakers, community leaders, private investors, and other stakeholders understand what is known about the opportunities and conditions for success in designing and implementing incentive-based financing strategies to take innovative evidence-based social solutions to scale.  It describes the design and implementation of three broad types of innovative financing strategies that make funding contingent on specific benchmarks for success.  The brief also includes examples of how state and local leaders are designing and implementing these financing strategies to respond to demands for improved outcomes.  It offers considerations for stakeholders to address when determining whether, and how, these strategies could work for a community or state seeking to link funding to achievable outcomes.

Analysis of the Fiscal Resources Supporting At-Risk Youth, Ages 13-24, in Hawaii. This fiscal mapping study helps Hawaiian state leaders identify the public and private funding sources available to support programs and services for at-risk Hawaiian youth, ages 13-24.  The study also evaluates Hawaii's effectiveness at using funding to sustain the seventy-two state administered programs for at-risk youth in Fiscal Year 2011.


Network of Independent Charter Schools
The Network of Independent Charter Schools is designed to support teachers, administrators and trustees develop best practices and collaborate with one another and to help independent "mom and pop" charter schools succeed.  Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, it delivers a comprehensive and integrated array of services and resources--free of charge--to help improve the capacity of teachers, administrators and trustees at independent charter schools.  The Finance Project helps develop content for the Network of Independent Charter Schools website in the areas of charter school management, financing and governance.

                                        
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Sustaining Community Revitalization: A Tool for Mapping Funds for Promise Neighborhood Initiatives. The following fiscal mapping tool will help leaders identify funding resources in their communities to help build a stable base of support for their work. 

LEARNING TO READ: A Guide to Federal Funding for Grade-Level Reading Proficiency. A first of its kind, this guide helps state and local officials, leaders of community-based and national organizations, school leaders, and private investors find funding to strengthen and sustain grade-level reading programs and services for children from birth through third grade. It identifies more than 100 federal funding sources that can be used to address the root causes of failing to read, to help fund remediation strategies, and to build cohesive infrastructure and systems necessary to effectively train and guide professionals. It also offers users “best bet” funding sources, on-the-ground examples and allows users to search by funding purpose, eligibility and special populations.






Sustainability Planning Workbook
This workbook is the foundation for our training services and helps users clarify their vision, identify key issues in sustaining their work, and develop strategies to achieve their long-term goals.