Obtain Financing

Charter School Lending

TRF has been financing charter schools since 1997. Loan funds are available to finance facility projects, including acquisition, renovation, construction and leasehold improvements.

Charter schools are public schools that receive funding from public sources, but must locate and finance their own buildings. Because charter schools have been viewed as an “emerging market” by conventional lenders, traditional private capital investors have been wary about providing financing, resulting in a demand for capital that far outstrips supply. The majority of the students enrolled at a charter school seeking TRF financing qualify for free or reduced-price lunch per Title I guidelines. As of March, 2008, TRF has closed loans to 45 charter schools, totaling $132 million. TRF-financed charter schools enroll more than 22,500 students.

Much of this activity has occurred through TRF's Core Loan Fund, but in 2002 TRF, in partnership with NCB Development Corporation of Washington, D.C., created the Charter School Capital Access Program (CCAP) to expand its charter school financing activity. CCAP was initiated with a $6.4 million demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Credit Enhancement Program. CCAP was capitalized at $45 million with investments from several banks and from TRF and NCBDC themselves.

TRF has also established a second charter school loan fund known as the TRF Growth Fund. The fund is being seeded with TRF’s recent $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and capitalized using private resources to create a $50 million pool for charter school financing.

In addition to financing, TRF also offers its charter school borrowers additional services such as financing for energy efficiency upgrades and improvements as well as workforce technical assistance.

For information on applying for charter school financing, view TRF’s charter school lending guidelines or download a charter school facility loan application.

For additional information on charter school financing in PA, NJ, DE and MD, contact Sara Vernon Sterman of TRF at CommunityFacilities@TRFund.com or 215-574-5800.

For charter school financing in NY or VA, contact Anne Geggie of NCB Development Corporation at ageggie@ncbdc.org or 202-521-2935. For information on charter school financing in the District of Columbia, contact Rhonda Jones of NCB Development Corporation at rjones@ncbdc.org or 202-336-5463.