With careful management and a degree of funding flexibility, schools can often find ways to mix and match dollars from various sources to support innovative programming. Maybe a state workforce development grant can open up a new partnership with local businesses. Maybe health and social services can be made available to students through partnerships with local agencies. Maybe arts and sports programs, college counseling, technology access, and career exploration can be offered and funded through external partnerships. There are lots of possibilities, and all require coordination by the school, which requires administrative support and funding.

Resourceful schools cultivate networks of advisors and supporters in their communities—people who know the school well and are ready to step in with advice, connections, and resources. Charter schools often recruit such people onto their boards, but any school can create an advisory board. A strong advisory board often includes people who can offer guidance and in-kind support in communications, fundraising, legal advice, strategic planning, real estate, and other areas—all of which help a school adapt to changing circumstances and stay responsive and resilient when challenges arise. Also valuable are people who are well-connected with the local business community, medical and mental health providers, colleges and universities, youth-serving organizations, and nonprofit and cultural institutions.

Committed friends and contacts can help a school stay on top of funding opportunities from local businesses, foundations, and individual donors. Some schools solicit donations regularly from supporters, host annual fundraising events, or mount campaigns to support special, one-time expenditures. Families and community volunteers are often willing to help out with logistics, maintain lists, do research, and write proposals. Each of these activities takes a lot of work, and this is where an active development committee, including both school personnel and a strategic set of community allies, can be enormously valuable.