Financial Strategies Fuel Mission and Momentum

I think the differentiating thing for us with First American was First American's focus on education. We have truly come to understand the challenges that K-twelve schools face day in and day out. What they were trying to accomplish was to create a refresh strategy to keep up with the pace of technology. Prior to this device, we didn't really lease anything. Everything was a capital expense. So that was a shift in thinking and it has been extremely beneficial for us. UMS Wright is a college preparatory school. As the colleges have shifted more to the online network, we've had to do some of that shifting too. And so our devices, our technology has to be the latest and greatest. When UMS first came to us, they were hoping to accomplish a thirty six month refresh for all of their student and faculty devices. First American is so ingrained within the K-twelve space that we will work with you to determine what type of lease structure fits the best for that project. In the case of technology and short life assets, it's going to be a rental program. From an auditor's perspective, they want to take a capital expense and make it an operational expense. And therefore they have cash on hand to accomplish other projects. Having a good experience with First American has kind of opened the door for us to explore using a lease in other areas of the school. We were able to put together really kind of a fourth schedule that's a lease to own with all of our networking backbones. As a financial institution, there are going to be other needs that come up for a school. First American wants to be a resource for schools to help them accomplish any of their goals. The kitchen equipment in this dining hall, it was a million dollars. My first call was to First American and say, How do we handle this? I am asked, Can we or can't we? It has expanded my ability to say yes. We understand all of the different and unique challenges that financial officers see day in and day out, and we cater our solutions to help achieve the goals for their students and their staff. When we as an administration sit down and look at anything, it's like, how does it affect school? Does it meet the mission of the school? First American helps us accomplish that by providing us with an avenue to put those tools in the kids hands so they can be educated to their fullest potential.