Equity Schools

Last updated
Equity Schools
TypeBenefit corporation
Founded2001
Founder Richard R. Murray
Headquarters Chicago
Servicessolving capital and operational funding problems

Equity Schools is a Chicago-based benefit corporation focused on solving capital and operational funding problems for schools, businesses, and other organizations. They primarily work with public, private, charter, and independent schools, and are known for using various non-conventional funding methods, or nonlinear project funding.

Contents

The firm was founded in 2001 by its current president Richard R. Murray, who is most known for his invention of the corporate work study program used by the Cristo Rey Network. [1]

History

Murray's creation and first use of the nonlinear project funding model was in 1996 when he was approached by Cristo Rey High School in Chicago to help them find a way to fund their new school. The group had few assets and no plan of how they would create a quality program that would be affordable to inner city students. [2]

The program Murray designed is based upon the concepts of job sharing and employee leasing; Cristo Rey students attend class four days per week, and then attend a corporate internship at a Chicago business on the fifth day. The revenues generated by these internships cover a great majority of tuition costs for Cristo Rey students, which helps keep their tuition rates low.

After implementation of this plan the Chicago community school saw its dropout rate decline from 75% to 1%, with 100% of graduates being accepted to college. [3] The Cristo Rey Network now successfully operates this program at 38 schools across 24 states. [4]

Murray's experience creating the nonlinear method when working with Cristo Rey led him to found Equity Schools in 2001. [5] Since its creation, Equity Schools has worked with many schools in the US to plan and implement solutions to funding problems. [6]

Nonlinear project funding

The nonlinear approach used by Equity Schools is a method at working through funding problems when conventional sources of funding are not enough to accomplish a project or maintain operations. Conventional, or “linear”, sources of funding often rely upon fundraising and government programs (loans, grants, tax referendums). By contrast, a nonlinear approach may use conventional funding sources where applicable, but then examines relationships and existing revenue streams to identify sufficient funding from several, often non-obvious or unexpected sources. [7]

Utilizing multiple diverse sources for funding makes a nonlinear approach highly conducive to a customized, self-sustaining funding strategy to support projects and operations. This approach is comprehensive as it includes factors such as a school's curriculum, character and culture, finances, real estate, and long-term educational, operational, and capital needs. [8]

In a 2021 interview, Murray described the nonlinear way of thinking and process, including "The 17 Rules of Nonlinear Funding". [9]

Related Research Articles

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Richard R. Murray is the founder of Equity Schools Inc. and has extensive experience in education and real estate. He is most recognized for creating Nonlinear Project Funding, which helps schools with formation, operations, and capital finance.

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Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep is a Roman Catholic high school in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a part of the Cristo Rey Network of 38 schools throughout the United States and is under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. The first Cristo Rey School was established in 1996 in Chicago, Illinois. In conjunction with local businesses, the students' education is subsidized through the work-study model used by schools in the Cristo Rey Network, of which it is a member.

References

  1. ↑ Kearney, G.R. (2008). More Than a Dream: The Cristo Rey Story - How One School's Vision is Changing the World. Chicago, IL: Loyola Press. pp. 75–110. ISBN   9780829425765.
  2. ↑ Kearney, G.R. (2008). More Than a Dream: The Cristo Rey Story - How One School's Vision is Changing the World . Chicago, Illinois: Loyola Press. pp.  76–77. ISBN   978-0-8294-2576-5.
  3. ↑ "In A Class By Itself" . Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  4. ↑ "At a Glance - Cristo Rey Network". www.cristoreynetwork.org. Retrieved 2020-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ Hunt, T. C. (2010). Encyclopedia of educational reform and dissent. SAGE Publications. p. 236. ISBN   978-1412956642.
  6. ↑ "Portfolio – Equity Schools" . Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  7. ↑ Murray, R. R. (2017, April 8). [Telephone interview].
  8. ↑ "Association for Learning Environments". www.a4le.org. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  9. ↑ Ambrose, Don, ed. (July 2021). "Ethical Leader Promoting Human Rights: An Interview With Nonlinear Funding Innovator Richard Murray". Roeper Review. 43:3 (3): 212-216. doi: 10.1080/02783193.2021.1923108 . S2CID   236477309.
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