Introduction Facility Development Needs Assessment Site Selection Construction/ Renovation Financing Timeline Glossary Bibliography Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D Appendix E		Of all the challenges facing charter schools, perhaps none is more daunting than finding a suitable home. In many parts of the country, affordable space is hard to come by. Renovations can be costly and complex to manage. Planning, zoning, and building code regulations can be Byzantine and inflexible. Securing adequate financing can be difficult and confusing. NCB Development Corporation (NCBDC) and the Charter Friends National Network (CFNN) designed this resource guide to help charter school operators overcome these challenges. It starts from the premise that finding and financing a facility should occur after a sound business strategy that meets the school's goals has been developed - and not before. With this sequence in mind, the resource guide walks charter school operators through all of the major steps of facility development - constructing a business plan, assessing your facilities needs, selecting a site, managing construction and renovation and securing financing. It offers practical advice, much of it from charter school operators around the country who have tackled these challenges already. It points readers in the direction of other resources, many of them available via the Internet. The organizations that developed this guide are both leaders in addressing the facilities issue for charter schools. NCB Development Corporation is one of the nation's leading providers of financing and technical assistance to charter schools. The Charter Friends National Network connects and supports state-level charter school organizations. In addition to publishing this resource guide, both organizations are committed to putting their efforts to work in the field. They are focused on future collaborative efforts, including: conducting workshops at charter school conferences around the country; providing training for organizations that assist charter schools with issues of finance and development; developing subsequent resources requested by charter school operators; and partnering with state and national charter school organizations to craft public policy that supports charter school development. Though the challenge of developing and financing a top-notch facility looms large for most charter schools, school leaders across the country have met the challenge with extraordinary commitment and unusual creativity. The sponsoring organizations and authors trust that this resource guide will provide charter school developers and operators with a foundation of knowledge upon which they can build yet another charter school success story. About the Sponsoring Organizations NCB Development Corporation is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to promote community development in distressed areas by providing financial and development services for projects that serve low-income communities. NCBDC acts as a catalyst for the start-up, operation and expansion of all types of community-based enterprises. Its primary focus is on education, housing, healthcare, childcare, worker ownership, and small business development. Over the past several years, NCBDC has become a nationally recognized facilities lender for charter schools. In addition to being a lender, NCBDC is a technical assistance provider, primarily for real estate development. NCBDC's work to date in the charter school industry includes: Providing direct lending for facilities projects, working capital and equipment in six states and the District of Columbia. Conducting panel discussions at charter school conferences on facilities financing: U.S. Department of Education's National Charter School Conference, EdVentures, and numerous state conferences. Leading training sessions on real estate development for charter schools at state conferences in Colorado and Pennsylvania. Producing a technical assistance article, in collaboration with the National Community Capital Association, directed at community development financial institutions on lending to charter schools. (See bibliography for reference.) For more information on the organization, visit NCBDC's web site http://www.ncbdc.org, e-mail questions to charterschools@ncbdc.org, or contact: East Coast Office NCB Development Corporation 1725 Eye Street, NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20006 202-336-7680 West Coast Office NCB Development Corporation 1333 Broadway, Suite 602 Oakland, CA 94612 510-496-2200 The Charter Friends National Network (CFNN) is a project of the Minnesota-based Center for Policy Studies in cooperation with Hamline University. Founded in early 1997, CFNN's mission is to connect and support state-level charter school organizations - mainly non-profit resource centers and associations of charter school operators. To date, CFNN's work on facilities financing has focused on two areas: The need to consider facilities financing for charters as a state-level public policy issue, with the opportunity to develop new models for publicly funding facilities that have long range implications for overall facilities finance policy in district schools. The potential for considering facilities financing for charters in the context of larger community and economic development objectives. During 1999, CFNN produced two major products focusing on these needs and opportunities: "Paying for the Charter Schoolhouse" - a policy report on major state and private sector facilities financing initiatives around the country; and "Out of the Box" - a resource guide for charter school developers and operators that includes about 20 case studies documenting how individual charters have addressed their facilities and facilities financing needs. Both of these publications - with dozens of links to other Internet resources - are included in the facilities financing section on the CFNN Web site - http://www.charterfriends.org. With this strong base of activities and products, CFNN is considered a leading resource on both school-level and policy-oriented information and expertise on facilities financing. CFNN's lead consultant in this area, Bryan Hassel, has advised policy makers and staff in a number of states, and is considered the nation's leading expert on the role of state policy in meeting the facilities financing needs of charters. For more information on CFNN visit the web site http://www.charterfriends.org or contact: Charter Friends National Network 1295 Bandana Boulevard, Suite 165, St. Paul, MN 55108 ph: (651) 644-6115    fax: (651) 644-0433 e-mail: info@charterfriends.org Acknowledgments NCBDC and CFNN wish to thank the primary author, Lara Jakubowski. Ms. Jakubowski previously oversaw lending to community facilities such as charter schools and childcare centers as a Senior Loan Officer for the Reinvestment Fund in Philadelphia. She now serves as a Senior Program Director for the Enterprise Foundation. Ms. Jakubowski earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Renee Jacob, an NCBDC intern from the Yale School of Management, conducted initial research for the guide and devised the basic outline of its contents. Finally, thank you to Bryan Hassel and Jon Schroeder of CFNN and Robin Halsband, Kerinne Tollefsen, David Nolan, Linda Sorden, Annie Donovan, and Janet Riessman of NCBDC for their contributions.