Equitable Facilities Fund

🎉 Huge congratulations to EFF’s two EFA Program analysts Angel Purganan and Julio Castillo Jr. on completing their Capstone projects! 👏 Their projects not only provided hands-on practice and showcased the skills gained before and during our Summer Foundations Program, but also delivered meaningful contributions to their workplaces. We’re incredibly proud of how they’ve shared their learnings, knowledge and expertise with the entire cohort, and we look forward to seeing the continued impact they’ll make in the field of education finance! 🚀 Julio and Angel are the third cohort of EFAs to be embedded at EFF along with our partners at Afton Partners, Civic Builders, Self-Help Credit Union, and Charter Schools Development Corporation (CSDC).

Let's hear it for the Heartland! Last week, the EFF team celebrated the launch of the #HeartlandFacilitiesFund in Little Rock alongside local funders, school and state leaders and national partners. The fund — only the second of its kind nationwide — will provide a dedicated and perpetual funding resource for high-performing public charter schools looking to open or expand in Arkansas and the surrounding region. EFF will administer the $100 million fund, which will create 7,500 seats over the next five years. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/exYpecxr

Grateful to be a part of this deal, and all the groundbreaking work happening for students and schools through the Nevada Facilities Fund. Futuro Academy Charter School may be the first, but thanks to support from our on-the-ground partners at Opportunity 180 we are just getting started. “Nevada leaders decided that the status quo for students simply wasn’t good enough. They worked across the aisle, enlisted local education experts and attracted national investor capital to create a solution that not only grows high-quality schools in perpetuity, but offers a roadmap to other states who want to do the same,” Kesavan said. “Through Futuro, Nevada is showing us what the power of public-private partnership can unlock for schools, students and families.”

Check out this excellent piece on stronger accountability for all public schools by our Nevada Facilities Fund partner and Opportunity 180 CEO Jana Wilcox Lavin:

The power of partnership is hard at work in the Silver State! We are pleased to welcome Futuro Academy Charter School as our latest school partner, and the first Nevada #publiccharter to receive a loan through the innovative Nevada Facilities Fund. Serving 450 students in grades K-5 in a former grocery store, Futuro has transformed the educational landscape for lower-income students of color and ELL learners in East Las Vegas. The NVFF loan will be used to purchase its previously leased facility, saving the school $130,000 annually and directing more resources into the classroom. Launched in 2023 thanks to a bipartisan, public-private partnership, the Nevada Facilities Fund is operated by our local partners and friends at Opportunity 180 Learn more about NVFF here: https://lnkd.in/gZHgbihQ  

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.