In 2021, in partnership with Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP), ECFC established a working group to provide a forum for centering indigenous early childhood and exploring grantmaker strategies to support and advance Native and Tribal led early childhood programs. Since it’s inception, the workgroup has led a public-private partnership opportunity with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to support their Tribal Early Learning Initiative (TELI), which is designed to:
- Support tribes to coordinate tribal early learning and development programs;
- Create and support seamless, high-quality early childhood systems;
- Raise the quality of services to children and families across the pregnancy-to-kindergarten-entry continuum; and
- Identify and break down barriers to collaboration and systems improvement.
ACF is a uniquely positioned federal partner because they administer three of the largest federal programs for early childhood in Tribal Nations: the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start program, and the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. ACF is working with Tribal grantees to facilitate technical assistance and flexibility so that Tribal Nations can use their ACF programs, particularly CCDF, to build early childhood systems in their communities.
Eight Tribes participated in two-3 year cohorts from 2012-2017 and were given small incentive grants between $30,000-$100,000 for technical assistance support to develop and implement their plans.
The ECFC/NAP Indigenous EC Workgroup is working with ACF to enhance this effort, including:
- Supporting an in-person TELI Collaborative Convening: In collaboration with workgroup members, ECFC is supporting an in-person convening of TELI grantees to strengthen the opportunity for peer sharing and learning. Private funding will cover logistical support, content development, and costs of travel for TELI teams. Two ECFC members, Heising Simons Foundation and the Trust for Learning, have provided funds for the convening in November 2023.
- TELI Project Storytelling by the Participants: Native American’s in Philanthropy has committed a communications consultant to conduct pre- and post-interviews with each Tribe, develop interim and final reports, and engage in creative dissemination strategies to ensure that successes, highlights, and lessons learned are shared broadly.
Ongoing Need for Support
There is an open need for support for TELI Collaborative Tribes’ planning and implementation efforts, to cover costs not covered by their grants from government, and maximize their ability to engage their communities and partners successfully. ECFC and NAP are working together to provide a mini-grant opportunity for funders interested in supporting TELI Collaborative Tribes. Learn more here about: Importance of Public & Private Partnerships; Philanthropy’s Contributions; the Need for Mini Grants; and Next Steps to Get Involved.
Connect with ECFC
If your imagination is sparked by the ACF TELI opportunity, or you are interested in learning more about indigenous early childhood initiatives and how funders can support this work, ECFC would love to hear about your interests. The ECFC/NAP Indigenous workgroup is open to all interested foundations. Contact ECFC for more information about the workgroup.