Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII): Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Program (CSP): Grants for Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities CFDA Number 84.354A | ED GRANTS 032118 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 032118 001

The Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Program (CSP) Grants for Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities (CFDA 84.354A) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Education focused specifically on the facilities side of charter school growth. Instead of paying directly for a school building, this program is designed to help eligible organizations use federal grant funds as a form of "credit enhancement" that makes it easier and cheaper for charter schools to borrow money or access bond financing. The core idea is to reduce financing barriers that often prevent charter schools from acquiring, constructing, or renovating school facilities, especially when lenders view charters as higher-risk borrowers. By improving a charter school's ability to secure private-sector or other non-federal capital at reasonable rates, the program aims to expand facility access and stability without relying solely on direct construction grants.

The purpose of the program is to support innovative methods that expand the availability of loans and bond financing for charter school facilities. In practical terms, grantees use federal dollars to strengthen a financing deal, for example by creating loan loss reserves, guaranteeing a portion of a loan, providing collateral support, or using other financial tools that reduce the lender's risk. When a lender's risk is reduced, charter schools can often borrow at lower interest rates, secure longer repayment terms, or qualify for financing they otherwise would not receive. The Department highlights that the program has been funded annually since FY 2002, creating a national portfolio of organizations that use federal funds to "crowd in" additional capital from banks, bond markets, community development lenders, philanthropic sources, and other non-federal financing channels.

This particular notice points applicants to the official Federal Register application notice as the controlling source for full requirements, including eligibility details, application instructions, selection criteria, performance measures, and program contacts. It also directs applicants to the Department's Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs (published February 12, 2018, 83 FR 6003) for standardized submission and procedural guidance. In other words, the synopsis provides the broad contours, but the Federal Register notice and common instructions govern how to apply, what must be included, and how applications will be reviewed.

The opportunity is governed by requirements from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), along with program regulations at 34 CFR part 225. The notice describes that the competition uses established selection criteria and includes a competitive preference priority tied to supporting charter schools operating in high-need communities and geographic areas. That preference structure signals that, while the program is about facilities financing broadly, the Department is explicitly interested in steering the benefits toward places where students and communities face higher barriers and fewer facility options.

In addition to the competitive preference priority, the notice includes an invitational priority encouraging applicants to form partnerships that help leverage new or previously untapped capital and resources. An invitational priority typically does not carry the same scoring weight as a competitive preference priority, but it communicates what the Department wants to see more of and can influence how an application is perceived. The example provided is a partnership with a newly created state-funded credit enhancement program to improve charter schools' bond credit ratings, which could translate into lower interest rates and lower overall borrowing costs. More broadly, the Department is signaling that it values strategies that multiply the impact of federal dollars by combining them with other financing vehicles, state initiatives, or market mechanisms that expand the number of schools served and the scale of facility investment.

The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes various levels of government (state, county, city or township, and special district governments), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding IHEs in those nonprofit categories), and other entities as clarified in the official eligibility text. This structure reflects how credit enhancement work is often carried out by specialized intermediaries such as nonprofit loan funds, public financing authorities, higher education-affiliated entities, or other organizations with the financial capacity and systems needed to underwrite and manage facility financing supports for multiple charter schools.

Key timeline details in the synopsis include an application availability date of March 21, 2018, and a deadline for transmittal of applications of May 11, 2018. The Department also planned a pre-application technical assistance webinar for interested applicants, with details hosted on the program's Credit Enhancement web page. In terms of scale, the opportunity listed an award ceiling of $12,000,000 and anticipated approximately 7 awards, indicating a relatively competitive national competition with a small number of large grants intended to seed or expand sizable credit enhancement portfolios.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a financial catalyst program. It is meant to help charter schools overcome one of their most common structural hurdles, securing affordable and reliable facilities, by empowering experienced entities to use federal grant funds to unlock much larger amounts of non-federal financing. Applicants are expected to follow the Federal Register notice and Department-wide discretionary grant instructions, and strong proposals are likely to emphasize both measurable financing impact (how many schools supported, how much capital leveraged, how costs are reduced) and alignment with priorities around high-need communities and strategic partnerships that expand market access and long-term sustainability.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII): Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Program (CSP): Grants for Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities CFDA Number 84.354A" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.354.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 21, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 11, 2018 Applications Available March 21, 2018. Date of Pre-Application Meeting The Credit Enhancement program intends to hold a webinar designed to provide technical assistance to interested applicants. Detailed information regarding this webinar will be provided on the Credit Enhancement web page at https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/credit-enhancement-for-charter-school-facilities-program/applicant-info-and-eligibility/. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications May 11, 2018.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $12,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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