OVERVIEW: The Buffett Early Childhood Fund supports practice, policy and research aimed at improving outcomes for at-risk children in the U.S. In addition to investing in several national programs, the fund supports organizations and initiatives in Nebraska, where it is based.
IP TAKE: The Buffett Early Childhood Fund is a relatively small funder committed to improving the odds for vulnerable children, particularly in Nebraska. This funder focuses on “those children and families who face the greatest risks” and believes that targeted interventions before birth and in the first five years have lifelong impact. Buffett believes deeply in policy advocacy and philanthropic collaboration, stating on its website that it amplifies impact through coalitions and partnerships. It participates heavily in public-private partnerships in Nebraska, though also invests nationally in early childhood education, research on child development, and policy that advances quality interventions for vulnerable children. The fund has been a particularly large supporter of Educare, a network of high-quality early education schools operating in 15 states.
Buffett does not accept unsolicited proposals and tends to work with the same well-established organizations year after year. The fund invests primarily in existing collaboratives and partnerships, so this isn’t a likely source of funding for new or smaller nonprofits, with the possible exception of those in Nebraska. Networking is key here.
PROFILE: The Buffett Early Childhood Fund was established in 2005 by Susan A. Buffett, the daughter of investor Warren Buffett. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the fund’s mission is to invest “in practice, policy, and science to improve systems and create structural change so all young children and families strive.” Buffett’s giving maintains “a sustained focus on early learning through big-bet catalytic investments, seeking structural reforms to create more equitable policies and systems, and amplifying impact through coalitions and partnerships.” Grantmaking is supports science, practice and policy related to early childhood education and development.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
Improving early childhood outcomes for vulnerable children is the overarching theme of Buffett’s work. Grantmaking is organized into three main areas: science, practice and policy.
The fund’s science focus area supports research, program evaluation and “economic analyses” pertaining to the development of children from birth to age five and investment in early childhood interventions and programs. The fund does not name specific goals for its giving in this area, but grants have supported evaluations of Buffett-funded programs.
Grantee partners include Harvard University’s Center for the Developing Child, the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, which received funding to evaluate the Educare Learning Network, in which Buffett has invested heavily. Buffett has also partnered with the Heckman Equation, an initiative of the University of Chicago’s Center for the Economics of Human Development, for an analysis of “the economic case for investing in early childhood.”
- Grantmaking geared toward early childhood practice supports programs and services that are research-based and have proven records of success in improving kindergarten readiness and “leveling the playing field.”
A portion of this work is conducted in the fund’s home state of Nebraska, where grantees include Communities for Kids, the Sixpence Early Learning Fund and the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative.
On the national level, the fund has provided ongoing support to Educare, a network of 25 high-quality early learning centers that partner “with urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities to transform the lives of thousands of young children.” Another grantee, Chicago’s Erikson Institute, provides extensive training and development for early childhood professionals.
Buffett invests in child development policy because support for programs and services alone “will never reach all children or achieve anything close to equity without parallel investments in policy change.”
At the state level, the fund has made grant to Parent Ambassadors, which develops and supports parents and “leaders and advocates” for policy change, and firstfive Nebraska, which supports policy related to protecting and providing equitable learning experiences for vulnerable children in the state.
National policy grantees include the First Five Years Fund, which is committed to “sustaining and expanding federal support for early learning,” and the Alliance for Early Success, which promotes a “50-state strategy to achieve equitable state early childhood policy.”
Important Grant Details:
A majority of Buffett’s grants range from around $2,500 on the low end to over $5 million on the high end. Most grants however, fall in the $10,000 to $500,000 range.
The Buffett Early Childhood Fund’s grants support research, programs and policy nationally and in the state of Nebraska, where the fund is based.
Grantmaking focuses on equity and “leveling the playing field” for vulnerable young children.
This funder offers general and program support, with many grantees receiving ongoing support.
The fund does not accept unsolicited proposals.
For additional information about past grantmaking, see the fund’s individual program pages or its recent tax filings.
The Buffett Early Childhood Fund may be reached by phone at (402) 341-0933 or by email mb@buffettearly.org.
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