New to early childhood philanthropy? Here are some basics to help you think about where to get started. Want to talk more about where your funding interests intersect with early childhood? Connect with ECFC.
Early Childhood Development
Free, self-guided toolkit from the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University. Uses key, science-informed principles of child development with the goal of helping anyone involved in the development, implementation, or evaluation of programs for children and families achieve breakthrough outcomes. Designed to help:
- Apply guiding principles that address common challenges
- Develop a clear and precise theory of change (ToC)
- Design an evaluation to investigate your ToC
- Engage in fast-cycle iteration to drive ongoing program improvement
Within each section, you’ll find learning materials, questions to reflect on independently or discuss with your team, illustrative examples, downloadable templates, and related resources.
Making the Case for Investing in EC
The Case for Childcare Collaborative microsite explores business case for care and empowers employers with tangible solutions they can implement to support childcare. The work is based on a year and half of exploring the business case for supporting child care to both benefit the economy as well as foster a more sustainable, inclusive and prosperous future for all. Developed by the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, Annie E. Casey Foundation and NationSwell.
Promise Venture Studio's Primers for Funders, provide an overview on key areas of innovation and impact within early childhood development, including promising strategies for changing outcomes at scale, and funders and others investing in the topic. Topics include:
- “Why Invest in ECD?” is a four part series that addresses the importance of investing in Early Childhood Development.
- The Investor’s Case: Early Language & Literacy
- The Investor's Case: Maternal Mental Health
- VIEW ALL PRIMERS
Invest in a Strong Start for Children Toolkit for EC Donors, from the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, University of Pennsylvania,. Topics include: why invest in EC, strategies for donors; and key players in early childhood (philanthropy, government, information, advocacy and research).
Heckman Equation 13% ROI Toolkit provides background, research and supporting materials showing showing a 13% return on investment for comprehensive, high-quality, birth-to-five early education. Read Lifecycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program (2pg Summary). VIEW THE TOOLKIT
Equity and Justice
The Children's Equity Project's report, Start with Equity: 14 Priorities to Dismantle Systemic Racism in ECE, outlines critical priorities and actionable policies that Congress, federal agencies, states and tribes can immediately and concretely utilize to advance equity in the early care and education system. Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Building Back for Equity: Guidance to Inform 2021 Early Childhood Grantmaking, is a joint project of the Heising-Simons Foundation , The Education Trust, and The Bridgespan Group discussing philanthropy's opportunity to guide early childhood education into an equitable future and build a better EC system post-pandemic.
Early Childhood Policy
The Cross-Partisan Action Plan to Support Families with Young Children in America, from the Convergence Collaborative on Supports for Working Families, discusses changing the narrative about working families, rethinking cash support for low to moderate income families, ensuring more high quality child care options, and supporting parents with new children to give them the opportunity to bond with an infant or new child, while maintaining economic and job security.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)'s Public Policy and Advocacy resource center includes tools and resources to expand your public policy knowledge, and build your advocacy skills. Tools include:
Alliance for Early Success tracks State Policy Landscapes for Birth to 8 and Multi-State Initiatives for EC Policy and Advocacy. Profiles by state include key factors and allies in teh early childhood landscape, early childhood policies and state funding streams.