LOS ANGELES—Nonprofit lender ExED has secured $28 million in New Markets Tax Credits from the US National Treasury Department to develop a charter school serving underprivileged communities in Southern California. The fund allocation will allow ExED to develop at least three new educational facilities. These funds were allocated to ExED's subsidy LA Charter School New Markets CDE.

With these funds, ExED will secure below-market construction and financing loans to continue developing charter schools. The nonprofit company also plans to create financing programs for charter schools leasing properties. To establish quality schools and programs, ExED will partner with established Charter School operators that have a proven high-performance track record.

This is not ExED's first experience with the program. It has generated $146 million in financing through New Markets Tax Credits since 2005, enabling it to build 26 new charter schools serving 12,000 low-income students. These schools include KIPP Raices Academy in East Los Angeles and El Sol Science and Arts Academy in Santa Ana.  

According to ExED executive director Anita Landecker, the program is crucial in obtaining the necessary financing for these projects. Financing is the most difficult part of a charter school coming to fruition, and thistax program is an important tool. The program allocated $3.5 billion in funds to 87 organizations dedicated to building educational facilities in low-income communities. In total, 310 organizations applied for the program, requesting a total of $25.9 billion. The Chicago-based IFF was another lucky recipient of the fund allocation. The nonprofit received $43 million in New Market Tax Credits, the largest allocation ever awarded.