Ties May Come and Ties May Go: The Formation and Dissolution of Funding Relationships in the Network of Foundations Giving to Charter Schools

Abstract:A growing body of research has described the convergence of education-related grant making by major foundations. This paper adds to that work by examining the underlying dynamics of convergence: what causes the creation, persistence, and dissolution of funding ties between large foundations and charter school-related organizations. I do so by modeling the evolution of the network of funding to charter school-related organizations by 33 major foundations in California from 2004 through 2013. Using separable temporal exponential random graph modeling, I investigate how four common network mechanisms shape the evolution of the network: preferential attachment, transitivity, propinquity, and homophily. Results suggest different social mechanisms drive the formation and persistence of funding ties. More specifically, the formation of funding ties was more related to characteristics of the recipients while the persistence of funding relationships was more related to the characteristics of funders.