Most American private schools still raise money the old-fashioned way—silent auctions, annual giving, and a yearly gala with mixed drinks and canapés. But a growing number of Silicon Valley private schools are taking a different route: they are building what amount to miniature venture capital funds.
How Silicon Valley school venture funds work
Crystal Springs Uplands School, a 569-student private day school located on the peninsula between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, still plans to throw a gala this year. But that gala is no longer the main draw for raising money. The fundraising, increasingly, comes from somewhere else.
The school is one of a small but growing number of Silicon Valley private schools that have built miniature venture capital funds. These funds are capitalized with donations from the school community. They are guided and overseen by parent-investors from well-connected firms such as Lightspeed, Notable Capital, and Sequoia.
Why schools are shifting away from traditional galas
The shift reflects a broader change in how wealthy school communities approach giving. Instead of writing a check for a gala table, families can contribute to a fund that invests in startups. The model gives donors a more direct connection to the innovation economy that defines the region.
For schools like Crystal Springs, the venture fund approach is not replacing the gala entirely—at least not yet. But it is becoming the more significant source of fundraising. The gala remains a tradition, but the real money now flows through the fund.
What this means for private school fundraising
This is a notable departure from the standard playbook. Most private schools across the country still rely on events and annual giving campaigns. The Silicon Valley model, by contrast, treats the school community as a pool of investors who can deploy capital strategically.
The involvement of parent-investors from top firms like Sequoia and Lightspeed gives these school funds a level of expertise that typical school fundraising committees do not have. It also signals to donors that their contributions are being managed by people who understand venture investing.
Our Take: A smart fit for Silicon Valley, but not a universal model
In our view, this is a logical evolution for schools in the heart of the tech economy. The families at these schools are often investors or founders themselves. Asking them to fund a gala feels outdated when they could instead put that money to work in startups.
But this model is not a template for every school. It works because Silicon Valley has a deep pool of parent-investors with the connections and expertise to run these funds. A school in a region without that ecosystem would struggle to replicate it.
To put it plainly: the gala is not dead, but in Silicon Valley, it is no longer the main event. The miniature venture capital fund is the new centerpiece of school fundraising—and it is a trend worth watching as other wealthy communities consider whether to follow.
