Facilitron Celebrates 10 Years of Transforming How Schools and Communities Share Public Spaces

LOS GATOS, Calif., July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Facilitron, the pioneering leader in integrated facilities management and the world's largest public spaces rental marketplace, proudly announces its 10th anniversary with a series of initiatives aimed at commemorating a decade of transformative impact that has enhanced the relationships between communities and their public spaces. Working predominantly with school districts across the country, this milestone marks 10 years of generating much needed supplemental revenue from community facility rentals while making schools safer and more operationally efficient.

The celebration will kick off this month with a company-wide event at its headquarters in Los Gatos, California, symbolizing Facilitron's growth and achievements over the past decade. The event will bring together employees, partners, and stakeholders to commemorate shared successes and look ahead to future innovations. The 10th anniversary celebration also includes the launch of a new marketing campaign that highlights Facilitron's key milestones and achievements. The campaign underscores Facilitron's role as the world's largest public spaces rental marketplace, reflecting its expansive network and significant impact on community access to facilities.

Facilitron was founded in July 2014 by CEO Jeff Benjamin who recognized the critical need for a better system to manage how school districts share their buildings and grounds with their communities. Over the past decade, the privately held company has redefined the facilities management landscape, enabling schools, cities, and private facility owners to more efficiently manage their event space inventories. 

Reflecting on the journey, CEO Jeff Benjamin remarked, "Our success is not just about technological advancements but also about the tangible difference we've made in communities across the country. Our passion has always been where we started, public school districts, and we're committed to helping bring money back into the classrooms and empowering school districts and communities."

Facilitron has grown exponentially since its founding and introduction of its first product and is now partnered with 7 of the 10 largest US school districts, with the 8th soon to be announced. Its listings include an inventory of facilities at over 12,000 schools in 31 states comprising billions of square feet and boasting as many as 25,000 fields, 150,000 classrooms, 7,500 gyms, 3,000 theaters and more available for rent on its marketplace. This expansive network emphasizes Facilitron's commitment to democratizing access to public spaces and fostering community engagement.

Despite a history of success, the Silicon Valley startup has also faced challenges. Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced Facilitron's revenue to near zero as community rentals were halted across the country. The company responded by pivoting and working to find solutions that supported their school partners during these difficult times. Initially, Facilitron helped schools implement systems to track and manage student meal and computer tablet distribution programs to support the transition to stay-at-home education. Next, Facilitron's engineers went to work building attendance management and contact tracing solutions into the platform so that schools could begin to safely reopen and resume community rentals — all while working to keep day-to-day operations ongoing despite the lack of significant revenue. Though these initiatives were not designed to generate income, they built trust, strengthened partnerships and boosted Facilitron's reputation as an industry leader.

But the pandemic underscored the importance of schools always knowing who is on their campuses and whether buildings had been cleaned and were safe. By 2023, most schools had reopened, but budget constraints from reduced attendance and lack of funding pushed some school districts to the brink financially. Inflation exacerbated the financial crisis, forcing schools to pay more for utilities, supplies, maintenance, custodial services, security, and other support services related to facility management. Facilitron's partnership business model which required no upfront costs, its comprehensive platform services which unburden administrators of tasks related to the rental business, and its revenue-generating rental marketplace, provided schools with much needed income and solutions perfectly tailored to meet the challenges of the post-pandemic aftermath. This led to a sustained period of growth for Facilitron, which brought about a surge of new partnerships and solidified Facilitron's position as an industry leader.

"Our survival as a business during Covid is a testament to the dedication of our people," Benjamin said, "willing to do the work and make the sacrifices to continue our mission." 

As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, Facilitron remains committed to driving innovation and excellence in facility management and  reaffirms its mission to empower school districts and communities through technology-driven solutions that optimize facility use and enhance community access. 

About Facilitron:
Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, Facilitron is a comprehensive and data-driven facilities management platform and public spaces rental marketplace with a mission to help operators like schools and cities meet community space rental needs more effectively. By integrating work orders, facility use scheduling, and the leasing process of facilities and public/private spaces into one singular system-of-record, Facilitron allows operators to showcase and monetize their spaces, keeping them safe and secure while funding their upkeep, maintenance, and staffing. As the world's largest public spaces marketplace, with more than 12,000 schools across 31 states and billions of square feet of facility space on its platform, Facilitron has processed and supported millions of community events since its founding in 2014. Beyond simply providing software and marketplace capabilities, Facilitron offers its partners valuable business and financial services and serves as an advisory partner to train and support administrators, developing customized facility management programs and generating millions of dollars in additional revenue for schools and other public space operators while better serving community needs.

For more information about Facilitron and its services, please visit www.facilitron.com. 

Contact:
Mercer Brockenbrough
(706) 540-6258
[email protected]

SOURCE Facilitron