Missouri Charter Schools Conference, Columbia (October 16-17).
At its second annual state conference next month, the Missouri Charter Public Schools Association is offering a wide of topics designed for school leaders, teachers, board members and others in 24 breakout sessions over two days. The conference’s featured speaker will be charter school pioneer Howard Fuller. The schedule also affords ample opportunities to network with colleagues and charter supporters throughout the state.

Practices from the Portfolio.
In this new publication, NewSchools Venture Fund documents the effective practices of successful public charter schools and public charter school networks, such as Achievement First, High Tech High, and Green Dot Public Schools. It offers details on how these practices were developed and implemented, and provides useful tools and templates employed by these entrepreneurial organizations. The case studies focus on three areas of interest to all public charter leaders: human capital, organizational growth, and educational curriculum and quality.

2007 Charter School Facility Finance Landscape.
This 2007 edition of the Landscape provides an expanded snapshot of the public and nonprofit financing programs for charter school facilities across the nation. It is designed to serve as a roadmap for individual charter schools as they work to finance their buildings and as a policy guide for those interested in helping the sector and developing more equitable funding for charter school facilities. Based on extensive research, the document includes descriptions of financing products and geographic markets for 25 private nonprofit providers, two public-private partnerships, and several public initiatives for charter school facilities at both the federal and state levels. It also provides a listing of all state-level grant, loan and credit enhancement programs in the 41 jurisdictions with a charter law.

Charter Schools Development Center's 2nd Annual Oregon State Charter Conference, March 3-4.
The Charter School Development Center is hosting the 2nd Annual Oregon Charter School Conference at the World Trade Center in Portland.

Web Seminar: Financing Charter Schools.
The Education Commission of the States has made available a replay of a webcast that presents data and analysis to help state policymakers and other education leaders understand the issues and the policy options states have regarding charter school financing. Users can simply login and view the web seminar at their leisure.

New York City Charter Schools Fundraising Guidebook.
This guidebook is designed to provide charter school boards and school leaders with detailed instructions on how to establish and manage an ongoing, successful fundraising program. Included are key topics such as how to incorporate fundraising into the school's strategic plan and diversifying funding sources. Several fundraising best practices and examples of successful fundraising plans are also included. While written for New York City Charter school developers and operators, others in the larger charter school community will find it to be a very helpful tool in their fundraising efforts.

Webcasts: Getting Ready for Construction and Creating a Dynamic ED-Board Chair Partnership.
The Organizational Development Institute of LISC will offer two webcasts next week on "Prepping Your Site: Getting Ready for Construction" and "How to Create a Dynamic ED - Board Chair Partnership." On December 19 and 20, LISC will provide an interactive forum for discussion among industry experts, as well as national and local practitioners. LISC provides these webcasts, in partnership with KnowledgePlex, free of charge as a support and training service to community development practitioners nationwide. Anyone with access to the Internet and a telephone can participate in the Experts Online live events from his/her own desk at the scheduled time (2-3:30 each day). Participants will be able to hear the expert(s) speak, view the corresponding visual presentation in real time, and pose written or oral questions to the speaker(s) during the event.

Charter School Coalition.
The Charter Coalition (TCC) is comprised of community development organizations that share a common mission to improve the viability of low-income and economically distressed communities with each member currently providing financial and development services to charter schools in low-income communities. The primary goals of the TCC include: leveraging the expertise and resources of its members to increase the accessibility to capital and technical assistance to charter schools; formulating industry best practice among community development practitioners; and creating a collective voice to advocate actively for public policy changes that support charter schools' efforts to build and strengthen communities. Ongoing activities include establishing consistent communications and networking opportunities, formulating best practices, and increasing resources and access to real estate development resources.

Charter School Growth Fund.
The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is seeking qualified charter school operators nationwide for it 2006 planning process. CSGF is a philanthropic venture firm that makes early-stage grants and loans for the development of charter management and support organizations that provide a quality education option to underserved students. CSGF accomplishes this mission by providing proven charter school operators with the guidance and resources necessary to create self-sufficient networks of high-performing schools.The application is available on CSGF's website (http://chartergrowthfund.org/) with regional information meetings in early January. The deadline is February 6, 2006.

Charter School Type Matters when Examining Funding and Facilities: Evidence from California.
This study from RAND researchers examines which charter schools struggle most with accessing adequate resources and facilities. Fiscal challenges were most likely to be experienced by start-up charter schools rather than district school conversions. Start-up charter schools were less likely to participate fully in categorical funding programs and had less access to facilities support. Start-up charter schools were more likely to rely on private funders for support than conversions or regular district schools. The researchers recommend that policymakers be more conscious of how funding models affect start-up charter schools.

Illinois Charter School Loan Fund Description.
This document, from the National Conference session "Financing Charter School Facilities Through Community Development Financial Institutions," briefly describes the Illinois Facilities Fund Charter School Loan Fund.

Illinois Charter School Developer's Handbook: Getting Your Charter School Off the Ground.
( Leadership for Quality Education ) While this guide was developed for Illinois' charter schools, charter school leaders in other communities will find that this resource offers practical, valuable advice for the phases of planning, designing, and operating a charter school. Important guiding principles and tips for several areas are provided, including: drafting a charter proposal, gaining community support, developing an educational program and accountability standards, recruiting and enrolling students, designing a school governance structure, recruiting and selecting staff, making personnel policies and contracts, fundraising and budgeting, finding and financing facilities, and complying with laws that apply to charter schools.