About
Building Hope

About Building Hope

Our Mission

We build the capacity of charter schools nationwide by providing unparalleled facilities, financial, and operational services so that schools can focus on and devote more resources to educating students in underserved communities.

We believe in the promises of school choice and charter schools, and we are committed to being a part of turning big ideas and hopes into reality.

Founded to Expand School Options

With a grant from the Sallie Mae Foundation, Building Hope was founded in 2003 to expand opportunities for students and families in the District of Columbia through the expansion of charter schools. By providing technical assistance, and financial capital for educational facilities, we were able in our first five years to grow the charter-school sector in DC from 10,000 students to 30,000. Today, nearly half of all public-school students in DC attend charter schools – and 35,000 of them go to school in buildings that Building Hope helped make possible.

Growing to Serve More Communities, With More Services

In 2008, Building Hope began offering back-office services to our clients in DC. The following year, we established operations in Florida, where we quickly made substantial community impacts. These successes have allowed us to expand nationwide, building a nonprofit organization with an increasing breadth of products and services that ultimately provide greater opportunities for students.

Founded to Expand School Options

Building Hope was founded in 2003 as part of a joint venture with Sallie Mae to expand opportunities for students and families in the District of Columbia through the expansion of charter schools. By providing technical and financial assistance for educational facilities, we were able in our first five years to grow the charter-school sector in DC from 10,000 students to 30,000. Today, TK,000 DC students attend charter schools, or nearly half of all public school students in the city. And TK,000 of them go to school in buildings that Building Hope helped make possible.

Growing to Serve More Communities, With More Services

In 2008, Building Hope began offering back-office services to our clients in DC. The following year, we established operations in Florida, where we quickly made substantial community impacts. These successes have allowed us to expand nationwide, building a nonprofit organization with an increasing breadth of products and services that ultimately provide greater opportunities for students.

Milestones in our Development

Building Hope’s Founding CEO

S. Joseph Bruno

President, Building Hope Holdings

Joe was Building Hope’s first hire in 2003 and has since overseen and directed all aspects of the organization’s operations. A certified public accountant, Joe has 50 years of accounting, finance, business, and management experience, including as a partner in two Big-4 accounting firms and as the CFO of a public company. He has not only expanded Building Hope’s reach (from Washington, D.C. to as far south as Florida and as far west as California) but its program offerings.

Corporate Structure

Building Hope Holdings is comprised of three business entities under one roof. Building Hope Finance provides lending assistance to charter schools that wish to procure facilities or renovate existing ones. Building Hope Real Estate provides support in developing new turnkey charter school facilities. Building Hope Services provides back-office accounting and administrative assistance to support charter schools’ operations and technical assistance to any public charter school on a pro-bono basis.

This structure allows us to bring focus and definition to each of our product and service offerings but also to serve as a true “one-stop shop” for charter schools at any stage of their development.