BlueHub builds on successful track record to offer lending to new and early-stage public charter schools
BlueHub Capital today announces its affiliate, BlueHub Loan Fund (BlueHub), a leading national nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI), has been awarded a $15 million Credit Enhancement Award from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to provide innovative loan products to public charter school facilities projects.
BlueHub is one of only five organizations to receive an award in 2023. BlueHub will use its award to support new and early-stage charter schools with both short term and long-term capital for their facilities. BlueHub works with charter schools in under resourced and underperforming districts to help school leaders and community members deliver high quality and equitable education.
This is the third credit enhancement allocation BlueHub has received from ED. Altogether, BlueHub has received a total of $35 million under this program to support public charter school facilities.
“As demand increases for public charter schools across the country, it is essential to increase the number and variety of public charter schools available to families. BlueHub will build on its successful track record and put this credit enhancement award to work to expand access to excellent education to students in low-wealth communities,” said Elyse Cherry, CEO of BlueHub Capital.
“Low-income communities, and particularly low-income communities of color, often have unequal access to quality education,” said Karen Kelleher, President of BlueHub Loan Fund. “This inequity compounds poverty and limits opportunity. BlueHub Loan Fund financing helps change that. This award will allow us to leverage more capital to support the construction of more high-quality schools.”
For many public charter schools, there is no public source of funding for school facilities, and new and expanding schools are often unable to access conventional debt financing. The Credit Enhancement program helps charter schools address the cost of acquiring, constructing, and renovating facilities by enhancing the availability of loans and bond financing. ED provides credit enhancements to nonprofit organizations to help charter schools leverage private-sector and other non-federal capital in order to acquire, construct, and renovate facilities at a reasonable cost.
BlueHub Loan Fund targets lending to public charter school leaders with demonstrated ability to holistically nurture and educate children and who go the extra mile to ensure that all children, and especially low-income children and children of color, receive the supports, services and challenges they need to learn and thrive. As a leader in charter school lending, BlueHub is a founding member of the CDFI Racial Equity Collaborative on Education.
About BlueHub Capital
BlueHub Capital is a mission-driven, nonprofit community development finance organization focused on building healthy communities where low-income people live and work. BlueHub uses innovative financial tools to support projects that make communities more vibrant places to live through four distinct programs: BlueHub Loan Fund (community development financing), BlueHub SUN (foreclosure relief), BlueHub Energy (clean energy access) and One Percent for America (citizenship financing).