Introduction:

I recently had the chance to represent the Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA) at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) annual conference, "Thrive 2025," in Tennessee.

While there, I also visited with charter school leaders in the area to talk about the problems facing their institutions. Unsurprisingly, many of those problems are the same ones that our institutions in DC are grappling with.

I’ve spent years helping build a strong cooperative of charter schools and nonprofits in Washington, DC. Through that work, we’ve learned that thoughtful, collective purchasing can do more than trim budgets. It can build power, strengthen local economies, and reduce the daily burdens shouldered by operations leaders. This trip reminded me just how much appetite there is for that kind of support in places like Tennessee - and how possible it is to bring it there.

It's Not About Geography—It’s About Approach

One of the things I find myself often saying is that there’s nothing about our model that means DC is the only place it will work. Yes, it’s where we’ve had success, but it’s not because of some unique feature of the city. Our model isn’t rooted in geography, it’s rooted in approach.

What makes CPA work is that we begin by listening. We don’t walk in with a one-size-fits-all solution. We ask institutions about their biggest operational pain points. We gather a group of organizations facing similar challenges. Then we build a collective process to solve them. That process is what gives schools more purchasing power, better vendor options, and less administrative strain.

We aren’t just doing procurement. We’re organizing. That’s why it works, and why it can work anywhere.

"Why Doesn’t This Exist Everywhere?" – The Case for Expanding CPA’s Model

At the Thrive conference, I had many moments where conversations with school leaders boiled down to a shared sense of disbelief. Once I explained what CPA does, the common response was, “Why isn’t this in my city already?” There wasn't any confusion about the concept (the concept is pretty straightforward!), but instead genuine surprise that something so simple and clearly useful wasn’t already widely available.

This is a response I’ve come to expect from people encountering CPA for the first time. Our model addresses familiar problems: procurement that takes too much time, contracts that are too opaque, vendor pools that are too small, and prices that are too high. We help solve those problems in a way that doesn’t just reduce costs but allows institutions to reinvest in their own communities. And by shifting procurement dollars to local, often minority-owned vendors, we help our members align their operations with their values.

Lessons from the Ground in Tennessee – A Network Gap and a Hunger for Support

What stood out to me most in Tennessee wasn’t just the curiosity about our model, it was the uniform consensus that a group solution was needed. We visited two charter schools we already have a connection to, and spoke with operations leaders there about what it’s like to run a school in their state.

Compared to DC, Tennessee is a much tougher environment for charter schools. There are fewer of them and they’re more spread out, making collaboration harder. There aren’t many strong support organizations focused on school operations and the charter sector itself isn’t as networked or organized. The result is a lot of schools facing the same problems - vendor access, compliance challenges, procurement fatigue - without shared infrastructure to help them solve those problems together.

In DC, we benefit from the constellation of relationships that have formed over time among schools, service providers, and advocacy groups. Those networks don’t just make collaboration possible; they make it natural and effective. In Tennessee, the infrastructure for that kind of mutual support hasn’t been built yet. But there is a strong desire to do so.

Food Service as a Launchpad – Meeting Immediate Needs While Building Long-Term Infrastructure

Among all the possibilities we discussed with Tennessee school leaders, food service emerged as the clearest entry point. It’s where the need is both urgent and familiar. At one school, we learned they received only a single response the last time they issued a food service RFP. And that provider hasn’t delivered great results. None of that surprises me. We’ve seen the same issues play out time and again in DC.

But we’ve also seen what’s possible when schools come together. Through CPA’s food service program, we’ve helped dozens of DC schools access better meals from more accountable vendors, all while staying compliant with the National School Lunch Program. We’ve done the technical work – navigating RFP processes, managing taste tests, aligning vendors with state requirements. That experience can be applied elsewhere.

We’re aiming for a 2026 food service RFP that can bring together 4-5 schools and would give these schools more leverage than they could ever have individually. That volume can secure competitive pricing and attract higher-quality providers. Just as importantly, it would plant the seeds of a more connected charter school community in the region.

Practical Takeaways for Nonprofit Leaders and School Operators

If you’re an operations leader at a school or nonprofit, especially one outside of DC, here’s what I want you to know:

You don’t have to figure it out alone. If you’re overwhelmed by food service compliance, HVAC upgrades, or energy contracts, chances are you’re not the only one. There’s strength in working with peers.
You need to reach the right people. The most compelling procurement strategies mean nothing if they don’t reach the folks managing facilities, issuing RFPs, and responding to vendor issues. Real impact starts with engaging the people closest to the work.
Think local, even if your challenges feel big. The best vendor might be just down the street, but they might not know how to work with your school yet. Helping local providers access larger institutional contracts can change the game for both sides.
Food is a powerful place to start. It’s visible. It’s emotional. It’s tied to equity and student experience. And it’s often one of the most broken systems in schools. Fixing it builds trust and momentum for bigger changes.
Find or build the community. If there isn’t already a community of operations leaders in your area, maybe it’s time to create one. Or maybe it’s time to invite others in.

Conclusion:

In every conversation I had on this trip, the message was the same: this work is needed, and it’s possible. Whether we were talking to school heads at the Thrive conference or operations directors in school cafeterias, people lit up when they realized that their daily frustrations had practical, shared solutions.

There is nothing proprietary about what we’re doing. We’ve published our learnings. We’ve built relationships with state agencies. We’ve built a model that others can adopt, adapt, and improve. Collaborative purchasing makes sense everywhere, and CPA is ready to be a partner to anyone who is ready to give it a shot.

From DC to Tennessee: Why Collaborative Purchasing Makes Sense Everywhere