The Walton Family Foundation

Instructions for Grant Applicants

Instructions for Grant Applicants: Public Charter School Planning and Startup Grants

Initial Criteria

To qualify for any of the Walton Family Foundation (WFF) Public Charter School grants, the applicant must:

  • Demonstrate strong potential for delivering excellent academic results for K-12 students, as measured by standardized achievement tests;
  • Serve significant low-income student populations;
  • Not represent a for-profit entity;
  • Have an endorsement from a Foundation member or one of our state-based grant partners; and
  • Draw a majority of its students from one of WFF’s targeted districts (see the next section). (Eligibility rules for virtual schools are slightly different.)
Targeted Districts for Public Charter School Grants

Note: Only public charter schools drawing a majority of their students from these districts may apply for Walton Family Foundation funds.

Arkansas

  • Any District

Arizona

  • Phoenix Metro*

California

  • Fresno Unified
  • Los Angeles Unified
  • Oakland Unified
  • Sacramento City Unified
  • San Diego Unified

Colorado

  • Adams County District 50
  • Aurora Public Schools
  • Colorado Springs
    District 11
  • Denver Public Schools
  • Harrison District 2
  • Jeffco Public Schools

Florida

  • Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County

Georgia

  • Atlanta Public Schools

Illinois

  • Chicago Public Schools

Indiana

  • Indianapolis Public Schools
    

Louisiana

  • Orleans Parish

Michigan

  • Detroit Public Schools

Minnesota

  • Minneapolis Public Schools
  • St. Paul Public Schools

Missouri

  • St. Louis Public Schools

New Mexico

  • Albuquerque Public Schools

New York

  • Albany Public Schools
  • Harlem Districts 4 & 5

Ohio

  • Cleveland Public Schools
  • Columbus Public Schools

Washington, D.C.

  • District of Columbia Public Schools

Wisconsin

  • Milwaukee Public Schools
* WFF defines Phoenix Metro to include only the Phoenix Union High School District and the 13 elementary school districts that feed into it: Alhambra, Balsz, Cartwright, Creighton, Isaac, Laveen, Madison, Murphy, Osborn, Phoenix, Riverside, Roosevelt, and Wilson.


Our application process is demanding and time consuming, so school developers should be certain they meet our initial criteria before they begin to draft a proposal. If you have any doubts about whether your school would qualify for a grant, please email your questions to charterapps@wffmail.com before you begin the process.

If you meet the initial criteria listed above, you are welcome to apply for one of the Foundation’s public charter school planning or startup grants through this Web site. You will need to download the appropriate form for your proposal, complete the form and various attachments, and upload them as indicated in the instructions in the "Types of Planning and Startup Grants" section.

If your public charter school would open in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Ohio or Washington, D.C., please see the Local Partners and CMOs page.

If you are affiliated with a charter management organization (CMO) or school leader fellowship program, please see the Local Partners and CMOs page. The Foundation has special relationships with many such organizations, and we have created slightly different grant-making processes for them.

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