What We Do
Building Hope supports high quality public charter schools in Washington D.C. and other U.S. cities by providing technical and financial assistance related to capital projects. We support the expansion of academically successful schools with the capacity to grow their enrollments in order to catalyze change across their local public education systems by assisting with facility development. Building Hope promotes school-centered community revitalization. We believe that excellent charter school programs and facilities will help transform economically depressed neighborhoods into places where children will thrive.
Real Estate Technical Assistance
America’s Charter Credit Enhancement Program
Real Estate Technical Assistance
Building Hope assists charter schools as they prepare for the purchase or lease of a facility. Our menu of services includes:
- Assistance related to site selection, school design, lease/purchase negotiations, and facilities financing.
- Developing financial cash flow projections to determine realistic lease or loan payment amounts for school operators.
- Constructing affordable financing packages acceptable to commercial lending institutions.
- Acquiring and developing sites and sub-leasing to schools at below-market rates.
- Advocating on behalf of charter schools for affordable facilities at the local, state, and national levels.
Facility financing
Building Hope provides financial assistance to charter schools by:
- Lending money to charter schools for facilities acquisitions and/or improvements at below-market rates.
- Guaranteeing, insuring, and reinsuring debt used to assist charter schools to acquire, renovate, or construct school facilities.
- Guaranteeing or insuring leases of personal or real property that are needed to begin or continue the operation of the charter schools.
- Facilitating financing by potential lenders.
- Facilitating the issuance of bonds by charter schools or other public entities for the benefit of charter schools.
Building Hope Services
Charter schools may contract with Building Hope to provide professional business advisory services to simplify day-to-day operations for school managers. These services include:
- facilities maintenance and repairs (janitorial services, building maintenance, and non-structural repairs)
- finance and accounting (accounts payable, receipts and disbursements, preparation of annual budgets, and financial statements)
- human resources (payroll and employee benefits)
- information technology (network design and maintenance)
America’s Charter Credit Enhancement Program
Through our operating subsidiary, America’s Charter School Finance Corporation, Building Hope provides loan guarantees to make facilities financing more affordable for public charter schools throughout the United States. Guarantees range in size from $250,000 to $1 million. They have a five-year term with a 1% commitment fee and a 1% annual guaranty fee. Learn more.
Incubator Initiative
Building Hope has partnered with the District of Columbia State Education Office (SEO) to provide facilities that can be leased to start-up charter schools on a revolving basis. Incubator space will give new charter schools a home during their initial one to three years of operation when the small number of students served makes it difficult to afford commercial space. This will allow schools to focus on their academic programs. Learn more.