Equitable Facilities Fund

The EFF team gathered from across the country this week at Lone Rock to reconnect and reflect on our mission and founding values - to ensure that every high-impact #publiccharterschool has a pathway to affordable facility financing. We also welcomed our newest board member, City Fund's Marlon Marshall!

Meet Durham Charter School – the oldest public charter school in North Carolina and one of EFF’s latest school partners. Located in downtown Durham, the school serves 750 students in grades K-10, with plans to grow to serve all grades and 1,350 students by 2028. Led by Alex Quigley since 2017, Durham’s impressive trajectory and track record of innovation and excellence has earned them the 2022 National Title I School of Distinction and a 2023 YASS Prize Quarterfinalist spot. The $26.5 million loan from EFF will help Durham continue to expand and serve more students through the construction of a new 77,000 sq/ft facility for its students, 98% of whom identify as students of color.

#Publiccharterschools like Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter High School prepare students for fulfilling and in-demand careers. A recent EFF school partner, RINI launched in 2011 as the first charter school in the country dedicated to educating future nurses, and with a mission to diversify the field. A $25 million loan from EFF is being used to purchase and renovate a 1930s-era building, creating a state-of-the-art facility to train and graduate our future healthcare heroes.

Check out what our Cohort 3 Fellows have been up to this summer! We are grateful to all the experts who have supported them these past couple of weeks, especially Seven Cs Collective (Kathy Olsen, Sara Rioff Sorbello, Ewa Rainer Schweitzer).

EFF is proud to welcome Ascend Schools as a recent school partner. Founded in 2008, Ascend is now the largest charter network in Brooklyn, unlocking a life of boundless choice for 5,500 students in grades K-12. A short-term, $23 million loan from EFF is helping Ascend refinance facilities loans for seven of its 10 schools.

Ready for some amazing…with a capital Z…news?! EFF is proud to share that Zeta Charter Schools is one of our latest school partners — and largest deal yet! A $60+ million loan will help Zeta finance and build a 63,000 sq ft elementary school in the Bronx, supporting the network's growth to eventually serve 13,000 students in grades PK-12. Launched in 2018 by the incredible Emily Kim, Zeta currently operates seven schools across five #publiccharter campuses in New York City. The network, whose student population is 87% low-income and 98% students of color, consistently outperforms their peers in every academic category against every comparative group, with students testing in the 95th percentile for Math and 94th percentile for ELA across New York State. That’s the way at #zetaschools and EFF is ALL IN!

EFF is proud to welcome Kenilworth Science and Technology Academy as a school partner! Kenilworth serves 700 K-8 students in East Baton Rouge with a STEM-for-all, computer science-focused model, empowering every student to become responsible citizens who can pursue competitive career opportunities. A $23.5 million loan from EFF enabled the school to purchase an existing building and continue its decades-long legacy of resilience and educational excellence in East Baton Rouge. Geaux Tigers!

Charter school Leaders of Color TURNED OUT and TURNED UP last night in Boston! More than 200 people joined us at #NCSC24 for the third annual Leaders of Color Reception to network, learn and celebrate the incredible contributions of #charterschool leaders of color! Shout-out to our partners Diverse Charter Schools Coalition, National Charter Collaborative and Black Latinx Asian Charter Collaborative for helping make the evening an incredible success.

The EFF team is here in Boston for #NCSC24! Come and visit us on the exhibition floor at Booth 456 to learn more about how EFF is disrupting the traditional barriers to capital access and helping high-impact public charter schools grow and thrive through innovative, philanthropy-backed financing. 

#TBT: Cohort #3 of the EFA Program kicked off earlier this month in NYC! EFF and Civic Builders are proud to sponsor this collaborative effort to recruit and train a deeper, more inclusive pipeline of talent to succeed in mission-driven financial services roles. In addition to Civic, many thanks to Afton Partners, Charter Schools Development Corporation (CSDC), and Self-Help Credit Union for their commitment to the program, ATS+Partners for recruiting an exceptional cohort, Seven Cs Collective (Kathy Olsen, Sara Rioff Sorbello, Ewa Rainer Schweitzer) for prepping and facilitating all core training content, and last but not least EFA's Program Director Vanessa Douyon for her fearless leadership. Stay tuned to learn more about EFF’s two incredible Cohort #3 analysts, Julio Castillo Jr. and Angel P.