The Drexel Fund
The Drexel Fund is a nonprofit venture philanthropy organization founded in 2015 that raises donor capital and deploys it as grants and below-market loans to launch and scale private K-12 schools serving low-income students in U.S. states with school-choice programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersMilwaukee, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Drexel Fund does
The Drexel Fund is a nonprofit venture philanthropy organization founded in 2015 and headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. Its operational mission is to increase access to private K-12 schooling for low-income students and children with learning differences by funding the creation and scaling of private schools in U.S. states with Education Savings Accounts or comparable publicly funded school-choice programs. Over 2015-2025 the organization reports having raised more than $60 million from purpose-driven donors and deployed it to support 122 schools and approximately 29,000 seats across 21 states, with portfolio schools drawing roughly $135 million annually in state-enabled scholarships and 72% of enrolled students coming from low-income households.
The fund operates three product lines marketed under the pillars Seed, Scale, and Strengthen. Seed encompasses the Founders Program/Fellowship (training and cohort support for aspiring operators), early-stage research and development grants, and school startup grants. Scale covers network replication and growth investments in proven operators. Strengthen is delivered through ecosystem programs such as the Knowledge Hub. Capital deployment is split between outright grants and two loan vehicles: the 2023 Facilities Loan Fund (below-market acquisition, construction, and renovation financing; reached $8M by 2025), and the 2024 Working Capital Loan Fund for early-year operating liquidity. A sub-brand called the BJ Cassin Prize is awarded annually for excellence in private school education. The portfolio includes faith-based schools, schools serving students with learning differences, rural growth-engine schools, and urban gap-buster networks such as Icon Prep Cleveland.
The Drexel Fund is structured as an independent nonprofit with no parent company and is governed by a board chaired by founder John Eriksen. Reported headcount is 1-10 employees, consistent with a lean grant-making operation. Revenue is generated exclusively through charitable donations rather than fees or product sales, and is organized into sequential fund vehicles (Fund I, II, III) with Fund III launched in 2024 to support larger investments and a stated expansion into Texas. The organization explicitly discloses that it is not affiliated with Drexel University.
The Drexel Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Drexel Fund
- Legal name
- The Drexel Fund
- Website
- https://drexelfund.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Drexel Fund is a nonprofit venture philanthropy organization founded in 2015 that raises donor capital and deploys it as grants and below-market loans to launch and scale private K-12 schools serving low-income students in U.S. states with school-choice programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Drexel Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Venture Philanthropy
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Scholarship, Financial Aid & FAFSA Support Platforms (EDAFAMAF)
Keywords
Where The Drexel Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milwaukee
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Drexel Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Others, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Donor Funding: The Drexel Fund raises capital from purpose-driven donors and deploys it as grants to support the creation and scaling of private schools serving underserved communities. As a nonprofit organization, revenue comes from charitable donations rather than product/service sales.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
The Drexel Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Drexel Fund is a nonprofit venture philanthropy fund that provides grants, below-market loans, and advisory support to launch, scale, and strengthen private K-12 schools serving low- and middle-income students in U.S. states with publicly funded school choice programs. Its offerings include school startup grants, network expansion investments, facilities loans, working capital loans, the Founders Fellowship training program, and the BJ Cassin Prize.
Product overview
The Drexel Fund is a nonprofit venture philanthropy organization that does not offer technology products or software services. It operates grant programs and investment vehicles to support private school creation and scaling for underserved communities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Founders Fellowship: A program that provides aspiring school founders with training, support, and potential startup grants to launch private schools.
- Facilities Loan Fund
- Working Capital Loan Fund
- BJ Cassin Prize
Products and services
- School Startup Grants
- Scale Network Expansion Investments
- Founders Fellowship Program
- Strengthen Ecosystem Support
- Early Stage Support
- Facilities Loan Fund
- Working Capital Loan Fund
- BJ Cassin Prize
Quantifiable outcome
- Portfolio schools outperform national norms for student academic growth in math and reading
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use The Drexel Fund
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Drexel Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Drexel Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Drexel Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Charter School Growth Fund: Venture philanthropy fund that invests philanthropic capital to seed and scale high-performing charter school networks serving low-income communities — closely comparable funding model, target beneficiaries, and growth-stage focus as The Drexel Fund's work in school choice states.
- NewSchools Venture Fund: Nonprofit venture philanthropy fund that supports innovative education entrepreneurs launching and scaling schools and edtech ventures serving underserved students — a near-identical model in target audience, instrument mix, and growth-stage focus.
- EdChoice: Organization advancing school choice policy and programming, with grantmaking and convening functions for the school-choice ecosystem — directly comparable as a school-choice-aligned nonprofit operating in the same ESA/scholarship policy space.
- American Federation for Children: National advocacy and grantmaking organization that advances school choice legislation and supports scholarship programs for low-income families — closely aligned with Drexel's school-choice thesis and ESA-centric state strategy.
Broad incumbents
- Walton Family Foundation: Major family foundation that has been one of the largest funders of school choice and charter school expansion; broader portfolio but overlapping mission of increasing K-12 options for low-income families through ESA/scholarship programs.
- KIPP Foundation: Established national charter school network serving low-income communities with proven academic outcomes — comparable mission and beneficiary population, but operating schools directly rather than serving as a grantmaking intermediary.
Emerging players
- Relay Education / Relay Graduate School of Education: Nonprofit educator preparation organization working to strengthen the talent pipeline for schools serving underserved students — comparable 'strengthen the ecosystem' orientation, complementary to Drexel's 'Seed/Scale/Strengthen' model.
- Eleanor Whitty / Chesterton Foundation Network: Catholic classical education school network that has scaled via replication and a centralized support model — comparable as a multi-school network Drexel has invested in and as a model for the type of network Drexel's 'Scale' pillar targets.
Others
- Templeton Foundation: Large philanthropy with explicit interest in character, education, and school choice — relevant as a potential peer donor/fellow funder in the school-choice philanthropic space, though its portfolio is much broader than Drexel's.
Regional players
- Step Up For Students: Florida-based scholarship funding organization that administers ESA and tax-credit scholarships to low-income students — comparable scholarship-administration function and direct exposure to the ESA ecosystem that Drexel's portfolio schools depend on.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Drexel Fund social profiles
Digital presenceThe Drexel Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Drexel Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
The Drexel Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Drexel Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Drexel Fund
What does The Drexel Fund do?
The Drexel Fund is a nonprofit venture philanthropy fund that provides grants, below-market loans, and advisory support to launch, scale, and strengthen private K-12 schools serving low- and middle-income students in U.S. states with publicly funded school choice programs. Its offerings include school startup grants, network expansion investments, facilities loans, working capital loans, the Founders Fellowship training program, and the BJ Cassin Prize.
Is The Drexel Fund a public or private company?
The Drexel Fund is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Drexel Fund founded?
The Drexel Fund was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Drexel Fund based?
The Drexel Fund is headquartered in Milwaukee, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Drexel Fund make money?
One revenue line is on record: donor Funding.
Who are The Drexel Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Charter School Growth Fund, NewSchools Venture Fund, EdChoice and American Federation for Children. Broad incumbents are Walton Family Foundation and KIPP Foundation. Emerging players are Relay Education / Relay Graduate School of Education and Eleanor Whitty / Chesterton Foundation Network. Templeton Foundation is listed as an others. Step Up For Students is listed as a regional player.
Does The Drexel Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Drexel Fund.
What industry is The Drexel Fund in?
The Drexel Fund's product category is Education Venture Philanthropy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAK, Education Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of BPADAOAB, Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors). Its SIC code is 8300.