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Making a difference in education with a solid financial footing
Charter Schools USA operates with a rather unusual business structure — it's a privately held nonprofit that accepts public funding. That means this Fort Lauderdale-based needed a financial partner willing to learn and be creative, as well as grow and help them solve problems.
It's a fitting lesson for a firm that educates 70,000 kids a year in 200 schools spread across six states.
"We're always looking for good banking partners that build relationships and understand our unique business model, given that we're in an area that's a little different than healthcare or traditional private schools," says CEO Jon Hage. "There's not a lot of companies like us."
Hage found that banking partner in Synovus.
Charter Schools USA formed in 1997 and opened its first school in 1998. Since 2014, the company has been growing at a rate of about five to eight new schools a year, Hage says, and each school costs approximately $15 million to $17 million to build and open. Synovus has financed several of those projects.
"We're proud to be a strong partner with Synovus, and we give them a high recommendation."
Hage was most impressed with the time that Synovus team members took to work with his firm to understand their business model — and then match the bank's services to the financial support the charter school firm needed.
"They brought the whole team in," he says, noting that sometimes as many as seven people showed up to lend their expertise. "Synovus spent many hours with our financial team getting into the details of how to best use their capital to be successful in acquiring new property, help us with the school construction schedule, and help us move into a development cycle for opening the school on a timely basis."
The charter school organization has several loans with Synovus to pay down mortgages on some of their commercial properties, he says. Hage appreciates that the bank's leadership also made time for him, demonstrating how much Synovus values his business.
"We're proud to be a strong partner with Synovus, and we give them a high recommendation," Hage says.
Do you need a banking partner that's willing to take the time to understand your business needs? Synovus is here to help. Give us a call at 1-888-SYNOVUS (1-888-796-6887) or stop by a location near you.
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