[December 11, 2017]

Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund and Mater Academy of Nevada Celebrate Opening of New Charter School

Las Vegas native Andre Agassi, along with Bobby Turner and other leaders from the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, joined with educators, local dignitaries, and parents today at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new charter school campus - Mater Academy Bonanza.

The 55,000-square-foot campus - built from the ground up - was developed by the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, an innovative, mission-driven investment fund that provides resources and real estate expertise to high-performing charter school operators across the nation, enabling them to access top-quality facilities.

Located at 4760 E Bonanza Road in Las Vegas, Mater Bonanza Academy serves 788 students in pre-K through 6^th grade and is expected to grow to an enrollment of 1,000 students at maturity. The elementary school joins Mater Academy Mountain Vista, which opened its permanent campus in east Vegas in 2015 and serves 775 students in kindergarten through 8^th grade. The school will be managed by Academica Nevada, a professional education management organization.

Mater is dedicated to developing successful scholars with 21^st-century skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Students are provided with an innovative, challenging, multi-cultural education that will prepare them to be global citizens and have a competitive edge in the 21^st-century workforce.

"Our mission is to provide our students with an excellent education that will prepare them for success in college and in life, but we can't do that effectively without the right facilities," said Amy Gronna, Principal of Mater Academy Bonanza. "We are grateful to Turner-Agassi for supplying Mater Academy Bonanza with our beautiful new campus, which allows us to focus on what we do best - educating our stellar students."

Securing high-quality, long-term facilities is often the greatest impediment faced by charter school leaders. Turner-Agassi provides resources, development experience and a passion for educational excellence to help top school operators focus on their main priority: helping students succeed. The Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund takes the lead in site selection, acquisition, design and construction for new school facilities, which are then leased back to school operators, who can purchase their schools once they reach full occupancy. The fund intends to help operators obtain permanent fiancing using New Market Tax Credits, tax-exempt bond offerings or funding from the U.S. Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

"I'm so proud to open another state-of-the-art elementary school campus in my hometown," said Andre Agassi, the fund's Co-Managing Partner and CEO of Agassi Ventures. "Mater Academy of Nevada's Bonanza campus will bring an outstanding education to thousands of young people in Las Vegas making our City even stronger."

A joint venture of Turner Impact Capital and Agassi Ventures, Turner-Agassi is backed by a world-class group of institutional investors who share a commitment to effecting positive societal change in urban centers across the United States. To date, 79 schools have been developed across the country, serving 41,600 students in such communities as Philadelphia, Newark, the Bronx, Southwest Detroit, South Dallas, Las Vegas, and most recently, Charlotte. The fund is positioned to develop an additional 85 schools serving another 49,000 students by 2020. Mater Bonanza Academy is the 2^nd Mater Academy of Nevada campus supported by Turner-Agassi. Previously, the fund worked alongside Mater to open Mater Academy Mountain Vista in East Las Vegas.

"Securing top-quality charter school facilities that meet the needs of students and educators is by far the most difficult task for charter school operators," said Bobby Turner, the fund's Co-Managing Partner and the CEO of Turner Impact Capital. "We are proud to relieve Mater of this difficulty so that they can focus on educating the next generation of leaders. Mater Academy is one of the best charter school operators in the nation and we are confident they will continue to close the achievement gap for thousands of kids in Vegas for years to come."

Turner Impact Capital is an acknowledged leader and innovator in the growing field of social impact investing - an investment approach that takes into account two goals: generating positive, risk-adjusted financial returns and creating purposeful, measurable, and positive social or environmental impact through those investments. Founded in 2014, the firm is on course to surpass $2.5 billion in investment potential to address challenges facing urban neighborhoods while delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors.

"We are thrilled to partner once again with Mater Academy of Nevada to open another successful charter school campus in Vegas," said Glenn Pierce, President of Education Initiatives at Turner Impact Capital. "We are focused on scaling a sustainable education solution to benefit as many students in Vegas and across the nation as we possibly can."

About the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund

The Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund is the nation's largest fund solely designed to accelerate the growth of high-performing, urban charter schools. Since its inception in 2011, the original fund and its successor have developed 79 schools serving the needs of 41,600 students throughout the United States. With dedicated funding from preeminent social impact investors, the fund is expected to open an additional 85 schools serving 49,000 students by 2020. For more information, please visit www.turnerimpact.com.

About Mater Academy of Nevada

Mater Academy of Nevada is dedicated to providing an innovative, challenging, and multicultural education, preparing students to be college and career ready. Students learn skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Mater Academy of Nevada works collaboratively with the school community to encourage active involvement in students' education, with a goal is to cultivate a thirst for knowledge in each student, and prepare them to be global citizens with a competitive edge in the 21^st-century workforce. Mater Academy of Nevada is managed by Academica Nevada, an education management organization. For more information, please visit www.materacademynv.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171211005973/en/

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