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Who We Serve
Baird is dedicated to meeting the individual and ongoing needs of counties, municipalities, governmental agencies, school districts, higher education and the private sector – financing a vast array of projects across the United States.
Click on an area of focus below for more information.
Charter Schools
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Charter school financing is a relatively new frontier in public education. Charter schools are created with an express purpose or philosophy. They typically receive their charter from the state or the local school district and are overseen by an in-house board. As such, laws concerning their creation and governance vary from state to state. Baird’s public finance professionals are committed to creating groundbreaking financing options for charter schools.
Our experience has helped charter schools finance the renovation, rehabilitation and improvement of existing facilities, the acquisition of land and the construction and equipping of new school buildings.
Recent Charter School Financings Completed by Baird:.
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Colleges and Universities
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 We have assisted many colleges and universities in obtaining funding to build and maintain cutting-edge facilities. When working with your institution of higher education, Baird will evaluate current and planned endowment positions, investment strategy and fund-raising programs to craft a fiscal plan that provides the flexibility and financial foundation to accommodate all of your strategic initiatives.
Baird’s public finance professionals provide expert guidance to assist you with capital planning, debt management and developing a financing strategy that matches your project goals.
We provide creative financial solutions for:
- Athletic facilities
- Building maintenance
- Classrooms
- Land acquisition
- Libraries
- Student housing
One example of an innovative approach we use is our work with developers to finance student housing. Projects are built and leased to your college or university as an operating lease at very competitive rates. In some cases, debt is issued through a local housing authority allowing access to tax-exempt financing, thereby driving down the cost of financing.
Referendum Assistance - Get more information |
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Counties
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 Counties face growing challenges to provide mandated services, often without full financial support from state or federal government. As a result, budgets may be stretched to provide for services and projects.
Baird’s public finance professionals are committed to providing you timely, well-informed advice that is customized to your particular financing program.
We provide financing solutions for:
- Airports
- County jails
- Courthouses
- Equipment and maintenance facilities
- Housing for low-income families and senior citizens
- Juvenile detention facilities
- Roads
- Nursing homes
Baird considers your interests first. One example is that we can work with a developer and the county to produce an innovative lease structure. Under this proposal, the developer may build an office building to the county’s requirements, and then lease that building to the county at competitive rates. |
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Structured Finance
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 To drive economic growth and encourage job creation and new business, many municipalities use innovative structures and alternative revenue sources, such as sales tax, hotel tax or specific-use tax, to raise revenue to support debt issues. Baird has experts in each of our offices to guide you through these types of financings. Learn more.
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Health Care
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 Whether it be hospital construction, remodeling or improvements, or financing acquisitions, Baird’s public finance bankers can help you develop the most cost-effective financing strategy. We help you access capital through tax-exempt or taxable bonds, utilizing combinations of interest-rate modes and credit enhancement alternatives to best meet your financing needs.
Baird’s health care clients include:
- Large health care systems, often spanning several states
- Mid-sized hospitals and clinics
- Clinics and hospitals with fewer than 50 beds
- Nursing homes, elderly care facilities and retirement facilities
- Other ancillary health care providers
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Housing and Real Estate
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 If you are looking to renovate existing buildings to create affordable senior or low-income housing, Baird can structure financing that results in an extremely efficient transaction and enables the development to move forward as an integral part of neighborhood revitalization.
But that’s just one way we can help. Our public finance team is experienced with all aspects of affordable housing, as well as other areas of tax-exempt and taxable real estate finance. We work with government agencies, non-profit owners/operators, for-profit developers and institutional investors.
In the housing market, we are knowledgeable about government financing programs and credit-enhancement techniques that can be used to finance housing and real estate projects. Baird has a wealth of experience financing office buildings, retail centers, storage facilities, student housing, warehouses, religious facilities, rental properties and virtually any other project or business. Proceeds from the bonds can be used to fund nearly all borrowing purposes, including but not limited to:
- Acquisition financing
- Commercial real estate
- Corporate/office facilities
- Equipment purchases
- Retail development
- Warehouse/distribution facilities
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Municipalities
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 Baird’s public finance professionals have the comprehensive expertise required to create customized strategies and creative financing solutions for your community. Whether you’re looking to develop a tax increment district for the first time or you need assistance amending a project plan, Baird has the breadth of skills and experience you need, and the commitment and caring you want at every step along the way.
Our focus is your focus-we will build a strong, long-lasting relationship with you based on honest communication and shared values that achieve your particular goals.
Baird professionals have assisted a multitude of municipal clients in debt transactions and helped finance public-purpose projects, including:
- Building or improving utilities
- Electric
- Sanitary sewer
- Storm water
- Water
- Community development, economic development, redevelopment and/or housing authority projects
- Industrial projects
- Purchase and/or improvement
- Land
- Waters
- Property
- Highways
- Buildings
- Equipment
- Facilities
- Tax Increment District (TID) creations and amendments
Recent News
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Native Americans
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 Baird has a unique understanding of Native American financing, operations and cultures. Our perspective and respect for your distinct culture and governing infrastructure, helping tribal counsels and their management teams to understand their finance affairs and then develop long-term financial goals and prepare financing plans that best service the overall vision of the Native American community.
Baird offers a vast number of services to Native American communities, including:
• Assessing capital needs funding
• Reviewing cash-flow opportunities
• Maximizing taxable and non-taxable financing
structures
• Structuring the debt issue
• Analyzing outstanding debt
• Coordinating bond structure and financing team
• Marketing capabilities to potential investors Baird’s public finance team is committed to providing the best possible advice to our clients. We will seek all options to ensure that our clients receive timely, well-informed advice relating to the financing program. We will communicate market trends and changes that may affect the issue or financial situation. Baird considers your interests first. |
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Non-Profit Organizations
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 Your project goals are only as successful as the money behind them. As a not-for-profit organization, you may have very little cash equity available to contribute to a project. Without a creative structure and efficient pricing execution, financing projects may not be feasible.
Whether your goals include construction, renovation or refinancing of existing debt, Baird has helped many non-profit organizations just like yours. Our philosophy of investment banking and underwriting service is to couple your long-term financial objectives with a financing plan that allows you to achieve them and remain consistent with your purpose. After a thorough review and discussion of the options, Baird will recommend the appropriate financing structure for your proposed transaction, and present optional structuring strategies for your consideration.
We provide creative financing solutions for:
- Hospitals
- Museums
- Religious facilities
- Social service agencies
- Theaters
- Private Schools
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Schools
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 Baird has extensive financial advisory and underwriting experience working with school districts.
Our public finance professionals specialize in meeting a variety of needs:
- Budget forecasting
- Creating financial plans
- Referendum assistance techniques
- Creating local referendum committees
- Determining the best time for referendum
- Educating district voters
- Informing you of legal requirements
- Debt management
- Assessing capital needs funding
- Structuring the debt issue
- Assisting with Annual Reporting
- Consolidation Studies
- Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB)
- Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB)
The public information and referenda process can be a complex one. To help you through the process, our Public Information Services group can help you communicate effectively with your community. Emphasizing community engagement strategies and effective communication, our team has more than 14 years of specialized experience in public communications and referenda planning.
In addition, Baird provides assistance in creating customized financing plans for pension and other post-employment benefits funding needs.
Referendum Assistance - Get more information |
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States and State Authorities
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 Baird’s public finance team provides customized financial assistance as a financial advisor or underwriter for states and state authorities.
Our teams of analysts and investment bankers have experience addressing the particular needs of states. For specific issues, Baird provides assistance in creating customized financing and capital plans, and attending any appropriate meetings on all types of bonds, which include general obligation, revenue, revolving fund, tobacco securitization, transportation, pension and other post-employment benefits bonds.
Baird also provides assistance in creating customized financing plans for pension and other post-employment benefits funding needs.
In 2007, our work as Financial Advisor earned the Michigan Municipal Bond Authority “Midwest Deal of the Year” honors from The Bond Buyer, a daily newspaper covering the nationwide municipal bond industry. The deal, which involved $500 million of taxable school revolving fund revenue and refunding bonds, moved existing school purpose debt off State of Michigan books and completely changed the way Michigan funds school construction.
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