Building Hope Idaho

Building Hope Idaho is a private operating foundation — not a conventional grantmaker — that functions as a charter school facilities financing intermediary. Its primary mechanism is below-market construction loans rather than outright grants: the foundation historically covered up to 35% of a charter school facility project's total cost at a 3% fixed interest rate, enabling the school to access commercial bank financing for the remaining 65% at market rates. This structure means eligible applicants are exclusively Idaho public charter schools with a clearly scoped facilities project — new construction, major renovation, or significant building improvement.

The foundation was established in August 2018 as a vehicle affiliated with Building Hope, a Washington, DC-based national nonprofit (buildinghope.org) specializing in charter school capital. Its Idaho portfolio was built in a three-way partnership: the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation (JKAF) supplied the underlying investment capital (over $49 million deployed since 2014), Building Hope Idaho provided the financing infrastructure and underwriting expertise, and Bluum (formerly PCSA) served as charter school incubator and quality screener. No publicly accessible RFP cycle or open application portal exists for this entity — access to financing has historically flowed through relationship-based referrals within the JKAF/Bluum/Building Hope network.

Prospective applicants should understand that Building Hope Idaho's approval process is dual-gated: a school must demonstrate both high academic performance and sound financial management simultaneously. Academic quality is assessed against Idaho state performance data and authorizer evaluations; financial stability requires documented track records of budget management, reserve balances, and debt service capacity. Schools that are newly authorized or in their first two to three years of operation are unlikely to meet the financial stability threshold.

A critical strategic caveat for 2025-2026: the foundation's balance sheet indicates the portfolio is in run-off rather than active deployment. Total assets dropped from $97.2 million in FY2021 to $25.6 million in FY2024, with liabilities of $24.9 million leaving net assets of just $666,467. Annual charitable disbursements in FY2024 totaled only $185,844. Charter schools seeking facilities financing should simultaneously pursue Idaho's new $50 million state charter school loan fund (created 2023) and contact Building Hope's national office directly to confirm whether Idaho-specific lending remains available before investing substantial time in preparation.

Building Hope Idaho operates as a program-related investment (loan) vehicle rather than a traditional grant-maker, which fundamentally shapes how its financial figures should be interpreted. The 'total_giving' figures in its 990-PF filings represent loan disbursements for charter school facility projects — capital that recipient schools must repay — not charitable grants that organizations retain. Six years of complete financial data reveal three distinct phases.

Active growth phase (FY2019-FY2021): Annual disbursements ranged from $3.42 million (FY2019) to $5.13 million (FY2021), with total assets growing from $69.9 million to a peak of $97.2 million. Revenue reached $6.75 million in FY2021, reflecting strong JKAF contributions and loan repayment income. The foundation was actively deploying capital into new Idaho charter school construction and renovation projects during this window.

Plateau and early decline (FY2022-FY2023): Disbursements settled at $3.64 million (FY2022) and $3.78 million (FY2023), while assets declined sharply — from $97.2 million to $55.8 million in FY2022, and $53.5 million in FY2023. Revenue contracted to $2.23 million in FY2023, indicating loan repayments were outpacing new deployments.

Wind-down phase (FY2024): Revenue dropped to $1.53 million, and charitable disbursements were just $185,844 — a reduction of more than 95% from peak years. Total assets compressed to $25.6 million, nearly fully offset by $24.9 million in liabilities, leaving net assets of $666,467.

In aggregate, the foundation deployed over $49 million across Idaho charter school facility projects since 2014 (per Building Hope national disclosures). At the standard 35% loan-to-cost ratio, this catalyzed an estimated $140 million or more in total construction activity statewide. Individual project loans ranged from an estimated $500,000 for smaller renovation projects to $2 million or more for new construction — covering facilities with all-in costs of $1.4 million to $5.7 million. All historical activity has been geographically confined to Idaho and sectorally confined to public charter schools, with zero evidence of disbursements to private schools, traditional public school districts, social service organizations, or general nonprofits.

Building Hope Idaho's five asset-matched peers are private foundations within the Philanthropy & Grantmaking (NTEE T23) category at the ~$25.6 million asset tier. The table below compares available data:

Building Hope Idaho differs from its asset-matched peers in three fundamental ways. First, it makes program-related investments (loans) rather than charitable grants — recipients repay the capital, making this a revolving fund rather than a philanthropic distribution vehicle. Second, its DC-based governance structure (1730 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC) paired with an exclusively Idaho operational mandate is highly unusual at this asset tier; most $25 million private foundations are family-controlled and operate where their founders reside. Third, the sharp asset erosion from $97.2 million in FY2021 to $25.6 million in FY2024 sets Building Hope Idaho apart from asset-stable peers whose balance sheets are typically stable. None of the comparable foundations exhibit this type of structural wind-down trajectory.

No independently-reported news announcements, press releases, or leadership changes specific to Building Hope Idaho were found in public sources for 2025 or 2026. The organization does not maintain an active social media presence or public communications channel under its own name.

The most significant recent development is the foundation's FY2024 financial filing, which shows total assets of $25.6 million against total liabilities of $24.9 million — net assets of just $666,467. This represents a near-total compression of equity from the $97.2 million asset peak in FY2021. Charitable disbursements in FY2024 totaled only $185,844, compared to $5.13 million at peak activity. These figures confirm the portfolio is in active run-off.

The national Building Hope organization held its 2025 IMPACT Summit honoring 14 charter schools with $188,500 in aggregate recognition grants, and is developing SchoolStack.AI — an AI-powered tool for school operations — signaling that Building Hope's national strategic focus is shifting toward technology and innovation rather than capital-intensive facility loan programs.

In January 2025, ExcelEd Foundation published analysis praising Idaho's charter school facilities financing model — pioneered in partnership with Building Hope Idaho — as a national best practice for states. Idaho's legislature had already acted on this validation, creating a $50 million state-level charter facilities loan fund in 2023 that effectively institutionalizes the model without requiring the private foundation vehicle to remain active.

Leadership has been stable across multiple 990-PF filing years: William Hansen (Chair), Dru Damico (President), and Lance Helming (CFO/Treasurer) all serve without compensation. S. Joseph Bruno appeared as Chair/Director in earlier filings. No new appointments or departures have been reported publicly.

Grant seekers approaching Building Hope Idaho must understand at the outset that this is a specialized charter school facilities financing organization, not a foundation that accepts proposals from general nonprofits, social service agencies, health organizations, or arts programs. Every tip below is tailored to the sole eligible applicant type: Idaho public charter schools with a defined facilities project.

Verify current lending availability first. Before investing significant preparation time, contact Building Hope's national office directly — info@bhope.org, (202) 457-1999, or (888) 402-3222 — to ask whether the Idaho fund is currently accepting new loan applications. FY2024 data shows net assets of only $666,467 and charitable disbursements of $185,844, strong indicators that the portfolio may be in run-off. A five-minute phone call can confirm this before weeks of document assembly.

Prepare a dual-criteria dossier. Building Hope evaluates academic quality and financial stability with equal weight. Academic documentation should include the two most recent state assessment cycles, your authorizer's annual performance evaluation, and any external quality certifications (e.g., GreatSchools ratings, national recognition). Financial documentation should include two to three years of audited financials, current year-to-date budget vs. actuals, reserve fund balances, and a three-year projection that models debt service on the proposed loan.

Scope the project completely before reaching out. Building Hope's loan covers up to 35% of total facility project costs at 3% fixed interest — you cannot have a productive underwriting conversation without a scoped cost estimate from an architect or contractor. Arriving without a realistic total project budget signals unreadiness.

Leverage Bluum as a referral bridge. Historically, Bluum (bluum.org) has been Building Hope Idaho's primary charter school referral network. An existing Bluum relationship improves credibility and can accelerate early screening.

Pursue parallel financing simultaneously. Commercial bank or CDFI financing for the remaining 65% of project costs is a prerequisite — Building Hope does not finance 100% of a project. Begin those conversations in parallel, not sequentially.

Consider Idaho's $50M state fund as your primary path. Given Building Hope Idaho's wind-down trajectory, Idaho's state charter school loan fund (created 2023) may represent more accessible and available capital for facilities projects in 2025-2026.