Learn about Equitable School Revolving Fund, including Featured News, Loan Portfolio, and Program Administration Team.
Equitable School Revolving Fund is a nonprofit social impact fund created to provide long-term, low-cost facility loans that allow high-performing charter schools to maximize the resources they dedicate to students.
High-performing charter schools promote bright futures for children across America. ESRF believes these schools should borrow under terms comparable to traditional public school districts.
ESRF is an "A" rated pooled fund that offers high-credit, long-term, scalable bond investment opportunities.
Investing in social causes is on the rise. Investors are increasingly wondering how to use their capital to improve society in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing social unrest.
Social Impact Fund Has Committed Over $400M Low-Cost Loans to High-Performing Public Charter Schools Under Michelle Getz's Leadership
The majority of the charter schools that Equitable Facilities Foundation provides financing to carried on with plans to build schools despite the challenges wrought by the pandemic.
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Enrollment: 645
Loan Amount: $10.3 million
School Savings: $3.1 million
School Link: www.soulsvillecharterschool.org
Ratings Direct: Not Rated
Obligor Summary: Soulsville Obligor Summary
Established in 2005 as one of the first charter schools in Tennessee, The Soulsville Charter School serves some of Memphis’s most vulnerable communities. The school’s rigorous academic programming and high expectations for students have produced a remarkable legacy of success: 100% of Soulsville graduates have been accepted to college. Additionally, a partnership with the nearby Stax Museum of American Soul Music provides students with unique, musically rich curricular opportunities.
Equitable School Revolving Fund (ESRF) provided a $10.3 million dollar loan to Soulsville to refinance New Market Tax Credit debt that funded the construction of the school’s 44,000-square-foot core facility building and a 15,000-square-foot multipurpose building. Compared to bond market financing, ESRF’s loan will save the school $3.1 million dollars over the life of the loan.
“ESRF’s efforts in helping us obtaining low-cost financing allow us to place even more emphasis on the quality of education our instructors and staff provide every day. It has helped us dedicate more resources to ensuring that every student we serve is prepared for a post-secondary education pathway and allowed us to focus more on our alumni support program to make sure students not only get accepted to college but graduate.”
– Ross Hurst, CFO, The Soulsville Foundation
Location: Duncanville, Texas
Enrollment: 1295
**Loan Amount: **$8.3 million
School Savings: $1.9 million
School Link: www.villagetechschools.org
Ratings Direct: Village Tech School
Obligor Summary: Village Tech Obligor Summary
The three C’s – Character, Challenge and Community – form the foundation upon which Village Tech students develop a sense of self and belonging. The school’s commitment to holistic education has prepared a diverse student body to succeed in life, and 100% of the Class of 2018 earned Texas’s highest possible graduation status.
Equitable School Revolving Fund provided a $8.3 million, fixed rate, 30-year loan to Village Tech to facilitate construction of the second phase of its permanent campus. Compared to the best alternative, ESRF will save the school $1.9 million over the life of the loan.
“Partnering with ESRF on our financing is a charter leader’s dream come true. ESRF’s team went above and beyond to facilitate a smooth process, and we are thrilled to be an early partner of an organization dedicated to helping students build bright futures,” said Village Tech Schools CEO, David Williams. “Village Tech creates learning experiences that tap into students’ passions and connects them to one another, and to the world beyond school, so that students graduate with purpose, confidence and flexibility for an unpredictable future. The money ESRF allowed us to save will help us create these learning experiences for years to come.”
– David Williams, CEO/Superintendent Village Tech Schools
Location: Arlington, Texas
Enrollment: 1548
Loan Amount: $15.8 million
School Savings: $5.5 million
School Link: www.acaedu.net
Ratings Direct: Arlington Classics Academy
Obligor Summary: Arlington Classics Academy Obligor Summary
Arlington Classics Academy (ACA) was founded in 1999 by a group of parents who wanted their children to experience an accredited curriculum that includes Spanish, Art and Music in small classroom settings and is predicated on high expectations for all students. ACA now operates across three campuses and serves 1,500 students in grades K-9. The school has earned the highest charter school designation under the Texas Education Agency’s accountability system since 2007. The strength of ACA’s academic program is rooted in continuous assessments and monitoring where students are encouraged to not just focus on where they are, but where they are “growing.”
Equitable School Revolving Fund provided a $15.8 million dollar loan to advance refund Series 2010 Bonds which were used to finance the construction of one facility as well as refinance previously issued debt. ACA locked in a 22-year fixed rate, fully amortizing loan, saving the school up to $5.5 million over 22 years compared to the 2010 issue.
“Working with the staff of ESRF was truly a pleasure. It was immediately recognizable that their mission, as well as ours, was to return dollars to the classroom by reducing the cost of debt and debt issuance. The students and teachers of Arlington Classics Academy will notice the benefits of our partnership with ESRF for years to come.”
– Craig Sims, Executive Director of Schools, Arlington Classics Academy
Location: Oakland, CA and San Jose, CA
Enrollment: Network: 5,700; Obligated Group: 989
Loan Amount: $16 million
School Savings: $5 million
School Link: www.kippbayarea.org
Ratings Direct: KIPP Bay Area Schools
Obligor Summary: KIPP Bay Area Schools Obligor Summary
Founded in 2002, KIPP Bay Area Public Schools (KBAS) operates 15 schools spanning grades K through 12 in educationally underserved areas of San Francisco, Oakland, San Lorenzo, San Jose, Redwood City, and East Palo Alto. KBAS is on a mission to disrupt inequities in educational access and outcomes and provide tools and guidance for students as they develop the knowledge, skills, and character essential to thrive in college, shape their futures, and positively impact the world. 94% of KBAS alumni graduate from high school and 84% of alumni matriculate to college.
Equitable School Revolving Fund provided a $16 million loan to refinance construction of two new school facilities — a 30K square foot facility to house KIPP Heritage Academy in San Jose and a 17K square foot annex to accommodate enrollment growth at KIPP Bridge Academy in Oakland. ESRF provided a 30-year fixed rate, fully amortizing loan that will save KIPP Bay Area $5 million compared to the bond market alternative.
“Our experience working with ESRF was our first loan of this size. We were working on a tight timeline, and the ESRF team made the process seamless for us from diligence to loan close, collaborating with us through the typical challenges encountered during the loan process. ESRF partnered with us to put in place a flexible permanent legal structure that will enable us to achieve our long-term real estate goals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ultimately, ESRF offered exceptional terms, eliminating interest rate risk with low transaction costs and flexible terms. Closing this loan efficiently means we can get back to the incredibly important work of running high-quality schools so that our students can lead choice-filled lives with purpose and passion.”
– Cory Harris, Managing Director of Finance, KIPP Bay Area Public Schools
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