Corlears School’s Mission
Founded in 1968, Corlears School is a progressive nonprofit independent school for young children located in the Chelsea/West Village area of New York City. Corlears provides children from toddlers through fifth grade with the foundation they need to gain confidence and fall in love with learning. Corlears is committed to creating an environment and shaping a curriculum that embraces difference, with an increasing focus on socioeconomic diversity through an equity-based tuition model.
We are aimed to create a space where children can learn, play, and grow together. And, we spend a lot of time thinking about how they can do that in an inclusionary way, in a diverse space that allows those children to have an extraordinary learning experience.” says David Egolf, Head of School at Corlears School.
How Piermont Bank Worked with Corlears School
Due to the nature of nonprofit business models, they are underserved by traditional financial services. Nonprofits exist outside of the one-size-fits-all product approach and that makes it challenging for them to find the right banking partner. Corlears School has multiple revenue streams and operates with a unique business model that is well-supported by its community. In the summer of 2022, Corlears was notified that their existing Build NYC tax-exempt bond facility could not be extended by their previous lender; consequently, they found themselves needing a bank partner that could understand them and act fast.
By meeting Corlears School where it was, Piermont Bank was able to help them quickly get a bridge loan within a month. After the initial bridge facility was closed, Piermont provided a $6.9 million term loan to give the school the operations and growth funding they needed.
The Piermont team took the extra step to understand the needs of the school and looked beyond just the numbers. The financing for the school will help it expand its educational model for young children in the New York City community.
[Piermont Bank] looked beyond the numbers they looked beyond the balance sheet, [which] was impacted by COVID and changing demographics of the neighborhood, to see that this is a school that’s working and has great expectations in the next 3-5 years,” said Robert Fantauzzi, Director of Business, Finance, and HR at Corlears School.
Corlears School by the Numbers
From term sheet to closing Bridge loan within 1 month
$6.90M term loan
Diversity Matters – Over 50% People of Color from both partners
Mission-Aligned Partnership
Building a Diverse and Inclusive Community
“In order to create changemakers, we need diversity of thought,” says Mansi Vasa, Assistant Head of School and Director of Equity and Inclusion at Corlears School, and “diversity of thought comes from families and children who identify in all different ways.” As one of the only two multi-racial minority depository institutions in the United States, Piermont Bank holds the same values and believes in the creativity that diversity brings to its team. Similar to Corlears School, where 54% of its students are people of color, 63% of Piermont’s team are people of color.
In building a relationship with Corlears School, the Piermont team could naturally understand the school’s mission. This translated to financial services and products that were tailored to support the school’s goals. Since the two partners share a strong commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive community, it helps the partnership be successful and sustainable.
To learn more about how Piermont Bank may be able to help your financing, visit www.piermontbank.com