A high school in Mountain View, California, has made millions from Snap's initial public offering (IPO) less than four years after investing $15,000 in the Venice, California-based technology company. Saint Francis High School was one of the first investors in the company behind the ephemeral messaging app Snapchat, having invested a small proportion of its endowment fund in Snap Inc's seed round of financing in 2012. Snap made its trading debut Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. It had priced its IPO of 200 million shares at $17 each but shortly after the opening bell stock began trading significantly higher, eventually closing at $24.48 per share – up 44 percent on expectations. Saint Francis, a private Catholic school with annual tuition fees over $17,000, sold 1.4 million shares – two thirds of its overall stake – for $17 per share at Thursday's IPO.

Bobby Murphy, co-founder and chief technology officer at Snap Inc., from left, Evan Spiegel, co-founder and chief executive officer of Snap Inc., ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with Tom Farley, president of the NYSE Group, during the company's initial public offering (IPO) in New York, U.S., on Thursday, March 2, 2017. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The school has not confirmed its overall return but it is estimated to have made nearly $24 million, according to officials cited by NBC. Simon Chiu, president of Saint Francis, announced the good news Thursday in a letter to parents. "The school's investment in Snap – which this morning announced the completion of its IPO – has matured and given us a significant boost as we continue our work towards realizing the bold vision and goals set out in our community-inspired strategic plan: leading with Hope & Zeal," noted Chiu in the letter. "This incredible boon will not, by itself, completely fund the goals of the strategic plan, but it will lay the necessary foundation and give us a remarkable head start," he added. The school first became involved in the technology firm in 2012 when Barry Eggers, a parent of two Saint Francis pupils and founding partner of venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, became intrigued by his children's use of the app.