Copyright © 2021 – Equity Schools, Inc
Nonlinear Project Funding
When it comes to capital projects like developing new school facilities or renovating an outdated building, most schools start by developing a wish list. An auditorium, a new gymnasium, an athletic field. Maybe all three?
Then, it’s up to administrators and business officers to figure out how to pay for it all, often leading to scary looking budgets, headaches, and painful cuts from the plan.
In these cases, most schools look to a handful of funding sources that we think of as “linear;” fundraising, grants, tax referenda, and tuition hikes. While these sources are often crucial to the success of a project, we know that in many cases they’re simply not enough by themselves.
Constrained by these sources, many schools wind up postponing their development plans, scaling them back, or abandoning them all together.
Our approach is different in three ways:
Click here for a 3-minute video showing some results of our Nonlinear funding process:
What We Ask
Projects succeed when we work in partnership with clients. This is more than a marketing phrase, we actually work this way and for good reason. We cannot succeed alone. We need clients to work with us, and to be reasonably engaged in their project:
Goals
Clear goals for the project and a genuine desire to accomplish them. Our “work product” is the completed project – not just the documents, projections, drawings, and presentations that we produce.
Open Minds
Open to considering the unconventional, to considering “Nonlinear” approaches; not as a last resort but as possibly the best way forward.
Trust and Communications
This needs little explanation. We limit the number of active projects we accept and so are very committed to the success of those few. We need an honest and open working relationship, while recognizing that most clients have many other obligations and limited time.
Decisions
We create and offer choices, recommendations, and supporting data so clients can determine the right course. Most projects represent major decisions, and we expect careful deliberation. Nevertheless, conditions affecting each project will continue to change and so we need timely decisions.
Commitment
If the decision is to move forward, we will work until the project is complete. In return, we seek the same level of commitment to continuing the work uninterrupted if at all possible.