Grow Schools
Grow Schools (formerly Charter School Capital) is a specialty finance and services platform providing facility financing, working-capital loans, and enrollment marketing exclusively to U.S. charter schools, serving 1,000+ schools with $3 billion in cumulative funding.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersBeaverton, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Grow Schools does
Grow Schools (legal entity Charter School Capital, Inc., formerly operating under that name and rebranded in 2023) is a specialty finance and services platform exclusively focused on U.S. charter schools. Founded in 2006-2007 and headquartered in Beaverton/Portland, Oregon, the company operates a fully-remote team of roughly 53 employees serving charter schools nationwide across three integrated service lines: facility financing, working capital lending, and enrollment marketing. The company is co-founded and led by Stuart Ellis (CEO) and Brad Coburn (CIO), with Danielle Fisher as CFO and Tom LaBarge as General Counsel.
The core offering is built around a holistic charter-school growth model rather than point-product lending. Under "Money to Buy Your School," Grow Schools acquires school real estate and lease-backs the property to the charter operator, often with reduced monthly rent and a structured path to eventual ownership via tax-exempt bonds; the company cites closing on properties in as few as 90 days and $955M+ in transactions supported by 20+ years of underwriting experience. "Money to Run Your School" provides working-capital advances to schools (funding reportedly available in as few as 5 days, with costs fixed upfront), and "Kids to Fill Your School" is a dedicated enrollment marketing partnership covering brand building, paid digital campaigns, social media, website redesign, and community events — reported to have enrolled 10,000+ students since 2022 at an average 43% enrollment lift across partner schools.
The business model blends managed-services economics on the facility side (property ownership plus long-term leases), transactional take-rate economics on working-capital loans, and professional-services fees on enrollment marketing (with pay-for-performance, blended, or fixed-fee structures). Grow Schools monetizes its domain expertise — rather than a SaaS product — and reaches customers through an enterprise field-sales motion complemented by referral channels with back-office providers, charter management organizations, brokers, and school property owners. To date, the company states it has deployed more than $3 billion in funding to over 1,000 charter schools serving approximately 2-3 million students, and holds lending and collection licenses in California and Florida.
Grow Schools firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Grow Schools
- Legal name
- Charter School Capital, Inc.
- Website
- https://growschools.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Grow Schools (formerly Charter School Capital) is a specialty finance and services platform providing facility financing, working-capital loans, and enrollment marketing exclusively to U.S. charter schools, serving 1,000+ schools with $3 billion in cumulative funding.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Grow Schools industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charter School Financing Services
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)
Keywords
Where Grow Schools is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Beaverton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Grow Schools business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Facility Financing: Grow Schools buys school buildings and forms long-term partnerships with schools, leasing back to them often for reduced monthly rent. Schools build equity toward ownership through tax-exempt bonds. Revenue derived from property transactions and ongoing lease arrangements.
- Working Capital Loans: Provide schools money for ongoing operations including paying teachers and staff, buying learning technology and supplies, and facility improvements. Costs change relative to interest rates and are known, upfront, and fixed.
- Enrollment Marketing Services: Partnership-based enrollment marketing support including brand building, digital marketing campaigns, social media strategy, and community outreach. Payment options include pay-for-performance, blended, and fixed fee structures.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Facility financing with path to ownership |
| Hybrid | Multi-year contract | Enrollment marketing partnership |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Working capital funding |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Grow Schools product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Grow Schools provides charter schools with three core offerings: facility financing (buying school buildings and lease-back arrangements with a path to ownership via tax-exempt bonds), working capital loans (fast funding for operations, supplies, payroll, and improvements, available in as few as 5 days), and enrollment marketing services (brand building, digital marketing campaigns, social media strategy, and community outreach). The company has supported over 1,000 charter schools with more than $3 billion in funding.
Product overview
Grow Schools is a platform offering three interconnected services for charter schools: facility financing ("Money to Buy Your School"), enrollment marketing ("Kids to Fill Your School"), and working capital ("Money to Run Your School"). These services help charter school leaders get money, resources, and know-how to create thriving schools. The company was formerly known as Charter School Capital and has provided $3 billion in funding to over 1,000 charter schools.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Money to Buy Your School
Quantifiable outcome
- Schools increase enrollment by average of 43% (some surpassing 100%)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Grow Schools
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Grow Schools technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Grow Schools partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Grow Schools competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF): National CDFI and nonprofit lender offering flexible financing and advisory services to nonprofits, including charter schools. Comparable as a specialty lender in the charter and nonprofit ecosystem.
- Civic Builders: Nonprofit charter school facility developer and financier, providing acquisition, development, and financing services to public charter schools. Closely aligned with Grow Schools' facility financing product.
- Reinvestment Fund: Community development financial institution financing education facilities, charter schools, and other community assets. Overlaps with Grow Schools' facility financing and underwriting expertise.
- SchoolMint: K-12 enrollment and family engagement platform used by charter and traditional public schools. Directly comparable to Grow Schools' enrollment marketing product line.
- Finalsite: Provider of school websites, communications, and marketing software serving private and charter schools. Comparable as a marketing infrastructure provider in the K-12 sector.
- Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF): Community development financial institution providing financing to charter schools and other mission-driven facilities. Comparable as a specialty lender serving the charter school ecosystem.
- Charter School Growth Fund: Impact investment fund providing growth capital and facilities financing to high-performing charter school networks. Directly comparable to Grow Schools' charter-focused lending and growth capital.
- Building Hope: Nonprofit provider of facility financing and development for charter schools nationwide. Directly comparable to Grow Schools' facility financing business and a known partner of Grow Schools.
Broad incumbents
- National Charter Collaborative (Local Initiatives Support Corporation - LISC): Large national CDFI providing charter school facility financing and broader community development capital. Comparable as a larger, more diversified incumbent in charter school facility finance.
- Bellwether Education Partners: National education-focused nonprofit advising and investing in education organizations, including charter operators. Comparable as a broader education-sector enabler and capital partner.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Grow Schools social profiles
Digital presenceGrow Schools financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Grow Schools leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles19 records
Grow Schools funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Grow Schools M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Grow Schools
What does Grow Schools do?
Grow Schools provides charter schools with three core offerings: facility financing (buying school buildings and lease-back arrangements with a path to ownership via tax-exempt bonds), working capital loans (fast funding for operations, supplies, payroll, and improvements, available in as few as 5 days), and enrollment marketing services (brand building, digital marketing campaigns, social media strategy, and community outreach). The company has supported over 1,000 charter schools with more than $3 billion in funding.
Is Grow Schools a public or private company?
Grow Schools is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Grow Schools founded?
Grow Schools was founded in 2007. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Grow Schools based?
Grow Schools is headquartered in Beaverton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Grow Schools make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Facility Financing is the primary driver. The others are working Capital Loans and enrollment Marketing Services.
Who are Grow Schools's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), Civic Builders, Reinvestment Fund, SchoolMint, Finalsite, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Charter School Growth Fund and Building Hope. Broad incumbents are National Charter Collaborative (Local Initiatives Support Corporation - LISC) and Bellwether Education Partners.
Does Grow Schools have an API?
No public API is recorded for Grow Schools.
What industry is Grow Schools in?
Grow Schools's product category is Charter School Financing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJACAC, Charter School Networks (Multi-Site). Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.