Facilities Financing Opportunities (Credit Enhancement)

Looking for facilities assistance? If you work with a charter school and are looking for facilities assistance, you may be interested in contacting the current grantees under the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program to determine if they are able to work with your charter school to secure financing. These grantees do not provide grants, but they work with the charter school to secure financing (loans/bonds) for facilities. Please note that each of these grantees have a focus area, so you should contact those grantees that are interested in working in the State of your charter school or have a national focus. Also, it may be helpful to visit the websites of these entities to get a better sense of the work they do.

We encourage charter schools seeking services to contact multiple organizations to determine which one can offer the best rates and terms for their situation.

Credit Enhancement Grantees

Hope Enterprise Corporation

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

HOPE is a family of development organizations dedicated to strengthening communities, building assets and improving lives in the Delta and other economically distressed parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Comprised of a regional credit union (Hope Credit Union), a loan fund (Hope Enterprise Corporation) and policy center (Hope Policy Institute), HOPE has provided financial services, leveraged private and public resources, and shaped policies that have benefited more than 2 million residents in one of the nation’s most persistently poor regions.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

Housing Partnership Network

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

Housing Partnership Network is a member-driven business collaborative of nearly 100 of the leading housing and community development nonprofits in the country. It was founded 20 years ago by a new breed of entrepreneurial nonprofit that combines social mission with private enterprise to develop solutions to the most challenging problems facing our country. HPN supports charter schools through Charter School Financing Partnership (CSFP), a consortium with five of HPN’s CDFI members. CSFP supports charter schools that otherwise would not be able to obtain access to capital to acquire, lease, renovate, and equip school facilities. Priority is given to new schools nationwide that serve a high percentage of low income students.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

KIPP

Credit Enhancement Available 
No

Contact:

Description:

The KIPP Foundation supports the KIPP network. We work to fuel the growth and impact of our schools by: Recruiting and training outstanding educators to open and lead new KIPP schools; Providing professional development and resources to support excellent teaching; Supporting college counseling to increase the number of students graduating from college; and Monitoring and ensuring the quality of KIPP schools. We partner with public schools, school districts, nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, and others to share what we are learning, improve our own practices, and advocate for a great public school system. KIPP uses its Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities grant, with a 10% match from the KIPP Foundation, to support the KIPP Credit Enhancement Program (KCEP). KCEP works to sustain as well as increase the number of KIPP Charter Schools by promoting affordable financing of the acquisition and renovation of school facilities.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

Rooted in the belief that all children deserve access to a successful public school in their community, LISC has provided more than $400 million in loans, tax credit allocations, guarantees and grants to finance charter school facilities nationally since 1997. LISC offers a full suite of loan products ranging from predevelopment to permanent financing to meet the diverse needs of public charter schools and has leveraged its five credit enhancement awards to serve communities with the greatest need. LISC also empowers school leaders looking to build and finance their schools with shared resources on the SchoolBuild website

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

Low Income Investment Fund

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) is dedicated to creating pathways of opportunity for low income people and communities. Serving the poorest of the poor, LIIF is a steward for capital invested in community-building initiatives. In so doing, LIIF provides a bridge between private capital markets and low income neighborhoods. LIIF provides charter schools across the country with favorable and/or flexible terms, such as higher loan to values ratios (LTVs), longer amortization periods than available through conventional sources, varied loan terms and amounts, or non-traditional collateral options (e.g., leasehold mortgages or subordinated debt). Additionally, through the Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC), LIIF delivers innovative capital tools and raises capital to build-out a private financing market for Tennessee charter schools. TCSC works on the ground with schools, delivering a robust capacity-building program that is custom designed to guide Tennessee- based charter schools in every step of the facility development process. LIIF and TCSC to deliver a state-wide program that offers a “one-stop shop” to address both the capital needs and the development capacity needs of Tennessee charter schools.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

MassDevelopment

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

As the Commonwealth’s economic development and finance agency, MassDevelopment is committed to achieving three goals: stimulating business, driving economic growth, and helping communities thrive across Masachusetts. Through the Charter School Loan Guarantee Fund, MassDevelopment helps charter schools obtain financing for the acquisition, construction, and/or renovation of school facilities. Under the Program, MassDevelopment issues guarantees on behalf of charter schools on a portion of a loan or bond to improve, purchase or construct its school facilities. A guarantee allows the lender to provide a higher amount of financing and better interest rates than would be allowed under their credit guidelines.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

States:

Massachusetts

Michigan Finance Authority

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

MFA provides effective, low-cost options to finance the acquisition, construction, improvement, or alteration of land, facilities, equipment, the payment of project costs, or to refinance existing debt. Through the  Michigan Charter School Credit Enhancement Fund, MFA funds a debt service reserve for bonds and loans that provide financing for the construction, renovation, acquisition ion, and leasehold improvements of charter school facilities.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

States:

Michigan

New Jersey Community Capital (Community Loan Fund of New Jersey Inc.)

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

New Jersey Community Capital is a statewide nonprofit loan fund that provides innovative financing solutions and meaningful technical assistance in underserved communities throughout New Jersey. NJCC is the largest community development financial institution headquartered in New Jersey and is the leading lender to charter schools in the state. Its various lending programs for charter schools range from acquisition and construction financing to mini-permanent and permanent financing to leasehold improvement, lease guaranties, and short-term working capital loans. NJCC’s low cost financing options have supported more than 20,000 charter school seats representing more than 45 charter school campuses in New Jersey, New York, and Washington, DC.

By investing in financially sound, socially-motivated projects that are often unable to access capital from conventional sources, NJCC improves social outcomes while providing a reliable financial return to our investors. In recent years, NJCC has designed innovative strategies to mitigate the problems of the foreclosure crisis. Additionally, NJCC created several successful initiatives to support New Jersey’s recovery from Superstorm Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, NJCC continues to provide portfolio management, financial training, research sponsorship, and policy advocacy to advance the community development industry in New Jersey.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF)

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

  • ADDRESS: 5 Hanover Square, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10004
  • PHONE: (212) 457-4700
  • EMAIL:
  • WEBSITE: https://nff.org/

Description:

NFF works toward a more just and vibrant society through: financing that helps nonprofits and social enterprises expand opportunity in low- and middle-income communities; consulting that helps nonprofits and funders connect money to mission and community impact; partnering with service providers, funders, and investors to turn money and goodwill into positive outcomes; and learning that shares experiences and expertise – from ideas to anecdotes to cutting-edge data and analysis. Nonprofit Finance Fund® (NFF®) works toward a more equitable, responsive, and valued social sector. We provide financing and consulting to help nonprofits and their funders better connect money to mission results. Since 1980, we have provided $942 million in financing and access to additional capital in support of over $2.8 billion in projects for thousands of organizations nationwide. To support the supply of affordable and flexible capital to charter schools, NFF works to support flexible loan terms to high-capacity schools serving low-income families that cannot meet their facilities needs with traditional financing products. Our products include one or more of the following features: (a) equity requirement of 0 - 10%; (b) Below market interest rate pricing. Typically less than 7.5%; (c) Loan-to-Value (“LTV”) exceeding 90% on acquisition, construction and construction converting to permanent loans; Flexible collateral requirements for leasehold improvements; (e) subordinate debt to serve as the equity gap required by senior lenders and lower the overall cost of borrowing; (f) capitalized interest payments on predevelopment loans, and extended interest only periods on construction loans and construction converting to permanent loans; (g) amortization periods of up to 25 years on construction converting to permanent and permanent financing loans; (h) available to schools in their first three years of operation or those that have not been through a charter renewal; (i) loan terms that extend past charter renewal; (j) available to independent charter schools (not part of a CMO network); (k) no guaranty fee, typically 1%, at closing credit enhancement fee.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

Office of the State Superintendent of Education - District of Columbia

Credit Enhancement Available 
Yes

Contact:

Description:

The Office of Public Charter School Financing and Support (OPCSFS) was created in the FY 2003 Appropriations Act. The OPCSFS manages several programs for public charter school facility financing, including the Revolving Direct Loan Fund, the Revolving Credit Enhancement Fund, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act Public Facilities grant, and the Charter School Incubator Facility Initiative. In addition, the OPCSFS manages the District’s federal Charter Schools Program grant from the United States Department of Education, which funds the start-up and implementation of new public charter schools.

No facilities transaction data is available at this time.

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