{"id":16775,"date":"2025-05-22T15:19:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T22:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/\/?page_id=16775"},"modified":"2025-09-12T05:46:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:46:04","slug":"fundraising-early-childhood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/find-a-grant\/fundraising-early-childhood","title":{"rendered":"Grants for Early Childhood Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-container gb-block-container\"><div class=\"gb-container-inside\"><div class=\"gb-container-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light\" style=\"min-height:151px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-16807\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/funding-guide-banner-blue-dots-1.png\" data-object-fit=\"cover\"\/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-bc4d3cb8d044d4f29ceee3f6a7787719\" style=\"color:#484848;font-size:42px\">Grants for Early Childhood Education<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro-box has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebeeeb\">Learn about grants for early education by browsing our curated list of top funders below. Members can also research early education funding opportunities using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/grantfinder-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>search tool <\/strong><\/a>for Grant Finder. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/membership\"><strong>Become a member.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-layout-columns-1 one-column gb-background-auto gb-background-no-repeat\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bg-radiant-dots-shortest.png);background-position:50% 0%\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-0 gb-is-responsive-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\" style=\"padding-top:20px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-layout-columns-2 gb-2-col-wideright\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-right:30px;padding-bottom:6px;background-position:80% 0%\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-2 gb-is-responsive-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column ip-gf-key-funders-box gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\"><strong>Key Funders<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list key-funders-list\">\n<li>Ballmer Group<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/grants-b\/buffet-early-childhood-fund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buffett Early Childhood Fund<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/grants-d\/francis-r-dewing-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Francis R. Dewing Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ford Foundation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/grants-f\/foundation-for-child-development\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Foundation for Child Development<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/grants-g\/gates-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gates Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/h-grants\/irving-harris-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Irving Harris Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/h-grants\/heising-simons-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Heising-Simons Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conrad N. Hilton Foundation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/k-grants\/wk-kellogg-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">W.K. Kellogg Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/p-grants\/david-and-lucile-packard-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The David and Lucile Packard Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The William Penn Foundation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pew Charitable Trust<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Funding trends in early childhood education<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/developingchild.harvard.edu\/our-approach\/councils\/national-scientific-council\/\">Abundant<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/heckmanequation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">research<\/a> shows that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.impact.upenn.edu\/early-childhood-toolkit\/why-invest\/what-is-the-return-on-investment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">investing<\/a> in quality early childhood programs delivers large social and economic returns across one\u2019s lifespan \u2013 for both individuals and society. Well-educated children who experience safe, healthy childhoods become healthier and more productive adults. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-09\/The%20Return%20on%20Investing%20in%20Children.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Urban Institute<\/a> notes that programs that are directed at young children and that reduce child poverty have especially high returns on investment in terms of better futures and lower spending on healthcare, criminal justice, and social services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philanthropy for early childhood typically works to complement government programs in providng and improving early childhood outcomes. Public spending for early childhood is relatively scant in the United States in contrast to other developed nations the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oecd.org\/en\/publications\/education-at-a-glance-2024-country-notes_fab77ef0-en\/united-states_e08bedd8-en.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OECD finds<\/a> year over year.&nbsp;In its 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/celfe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Shortchanged-Report-Oct.-2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report on public investment in early learning<\/a>, the Center for Early Learning Funding Equity at Northern Illinois University found that \u201cAt the national level, for every dollar spent on a child during their K-12 years, only 10 cents were spent on infants and toddlers and 22 cents were spent on preschoolers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philanthropy, for a long time, echoed the tendency to fund early childhood education at a much smaller scale than&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/find-a-grant\/grants-for-k-12-education\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">K-12 education<\/a>. IN recent years, grantmaking for early childhood has increased as some large foundations and high-profile major donors have expanded their education docus to include ECE, as IP has found in our State of American Philanthropy brief on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/state-of-american-philanthropy-pdfs\/giving-for-early-childhood-education\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Giving for Early Childhood Education<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philanthropists in the ECE space also increasingly collaborate to maximize their impact, through networks and partnerships such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/ecfunders.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Early Childhood Funders Collaborative<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/trustforlearning.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trust for Learning<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<!-- Non-displaying inline paywall marker. Editors: please keep this code block. Position this block before the first full-width paragraph or just above the foundations list heading. -->\n<div id=\"ipInlineOffer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-container foundation-list paywall gb-block-container\"><div class=\"gb-container-inside\"><div class=\"gb-container-content\">\n<p>Still, even as funding interests in ECE increase, grant dollars for early learning were expected to \u201cremain modest relative to other priorities,\u201d based on <a href=\"http:\/\/edfunders.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Grantmakers for Education<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edfunders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Trends_in_Education_Philanthropy_Benchmarking_2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trends in Education Philanthropy Benchmarking 2023<\/a>. Will this trend change if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban.org\/urban-wire\/how-would-children-fare-under-proposed-cuts-federal-spending\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">federal funding cuts<\/a> decimate government programs for early childhood care and education?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What do early childhood grants fund?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The overall aim of philanthropy for early childhood is to improve both access to and quality of early education. Within this directive, funders have honed in on several different grantmaking priorities. Grants for early childhood tend to fund direct services relating to quality childcare and early education. This grantmaking is often place-based and locally focused, but there is also a trend of grantmaking for national policy advocacy to increase public spending and improve government programs for early childhood. State and local budget advocacy \u2013 such as the work done by several grantees of the <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1xIHAxd_7dD9X9w1Fbuvb87_4m4bifxxH\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Raising Child Care Fund<\/a> \u2013 will be more important than ever after federal funding cuts.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research grants related to early childhood support curriculum development, research into how to improve the quality of care, and research on the impacts of quality early childhood programs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early childhood grantmaking also fund <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1xIHAxd_7dD9X9w1Fbuvb87_4m4bifxxH\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">narrative change<\/a> work that works to shift values around care work, as well as efforts to improve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerotothree.org\/resource\/distillation\/the-case-for-better-compensation-of-early-educators\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pay for early childhood educators<\/a>. Another giving strategy includes funding kindergarten readiness, including literacy programs, \u201cparent and me\u201d programs, and other initiatives that promote parents as a child\u2019s first teacher.Funders increasingly make grants to support social and emotional learning and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.edfunders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Trends_in_Education_Philanthropy_Benchmarking_2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">whole learner<\/a>\u201d approaches that look at education holistically, including wraparound services and connections with issues such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/find-a-grant\/grants-for-mental-health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mental health<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/find-a-grant\/food-and-nutrition-grants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nutrition<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/find-a-grant\/housing-grants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Gaps in early childhood funding&nbsp;<\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past, philanthropy has complemented or built upon public funding for early childhood programs. As one funder put it in a Grantmakers for Education <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edfunders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Trends_in_Education_Philanthropy_Benchmarking_2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a>, \u201cphilanthropy hesitates to step in where government should be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the U.S. government now <a href=\"https:\/\/edsource.org\/2025\/head-start-teeters-on-edge-of-chopping-block\/732585\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">threatening to abandon<\/a> that post, how much will philanthropies committed to early childhood step up to fill enormous gaps? IP\u2019s Connie Matthiessen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/home\/all-hands-on-deck-as-trump-aims-to-eliminate-head-start\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that early childhood funders are having an \u201call hands on deck\u201d moment in response to threats to Head Start, a core part of the nation\u2019s care for early childhood that serves more than 800,000 children a year. Shannon Rudisill, the Executive Director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ecfunders.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Early Childhood Funders Collaborative<\/a>, told Matthiessen that philanthropy cannot fill the gap that eliminating Head Start would create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside Philanthropy\u2019s ongoing coverage will follow how grantmakers and major donors who understand the importance of early childhood programs attempt to fill gaps and support <a href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/education\/2025\/05\/head-start-california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">advocacy to save public funding<\/a> for this vital public good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group modified-date-row is-content-justification-left is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f56a869c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><em>Published on <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"font-style:italic;font-weight:400;\" class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2025-05-22T15:19:00-07:00\">May 22, 2025<\/time><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px;width:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-layout-columns-1 one-column gb-background-auto gb-background-no-repeat\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bg-radiant-dots-shortest.png);background-position:50% 0%\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-0 gb-is-responsive-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\" style=\"padding-top:20px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-columns gb-layout-columns-2 gb-2-col-wideleft\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-right:30px;padding-bottom:6px;background-position:80% 0%\"><div class=\"gb-layout-column-wrap gb-block-layout-column-gap-4 gb-is-responsive-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-25180599d95e511ffa03116cedf5db8d\" style=\"color:#d79533\"><strong><strong>Additional Resources<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecfunders.org\/\">Early Childhood Funders Collaborative<\/a>:<\/strong> the largest funder collaborative in the space, BUILD initiative, which operates in eight states, offers strategy, technical assistance, professional development and a national learning community focused on early childhood policies and systems.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-column gb-block-layout-column\"><div class=\"gb-block-layout-column-inner\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn about grants for early education by browsing our curated list of top funders below. Members can also research early education funding opportunities using the search tool for Grant Finder. Become a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":470,"featured_media":0,"parent":13716,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":true,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-16775","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16775"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224384,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16775\/revisions\/224384"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidephilanthropy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}