Child
care grants are essential to funding a quality program.
To assist our visitors, child care online has
done extensive research into the question of "Where
to find grants for child care programs" and brings you
this feature section.
For-profit
Child Care - The Straight Facts First
While
there is a lot of talk about "how to find grants"
in the child care field, most caregivers, especially
independent home child care operators or persons starting
a private or for-profit child care facility, don't
realize that it is almost impossible for them to find
grant money from any level of government or from almost
all of the sources listed in childcare.net's
or any other grant list. That is of course, with the
exception of perhaps that which might be obtained
from new business startup programs and the odd program
operated by their provincial or state governments,
generally under the Department of Children and Family
Services.
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Visit Our Sponsors!
The
truth is, and it seems no one else wants to acknowledge
this fact, unless you seek and obtain non-profit status,
there is not a lot of help available in the way of
grants for your child care business.
For-profit
child care business operators, large and small, may,
that's a small may because they aren't all that
many programs available with the exception
of the Child
and Adult Care Food Program in the U.S., be able
to apply for local state/provincial programs being
offered through their licensing office, Children's
and Family Services Office, and/or Child Care Resource
and Referral Agency. childcare.net's advice
for for-profit child care operators is to inquire
at these locations first. Other than that, the best
way to locate financing for your child care business
is to:
Look
into bank loans
Obtain
venture capital
Seek
gifts and loans from family and friends
Look
for advice from incubator organizations, or
Obtain
counsel from local small business and women's associations.
In
a few states, special loan programs have being developed
to help child care programs access immediate funds
at affordable rates, like Washington and Oregon's
Cascadia
Child Care Fund. Contact your local licensing
office or Small
Business Administration (SBA) for information
about financing child care as a small business opportunity.
There may also be special initiatives available through
the SBA
or through local women's organizations to help finance
women-owned and -operated businesses as well.
Finally,
while we take no pleasure in telling it like it is,
we believe our visitors need to know the truth and
understand the facts about grants. If
you are a for-profit child care operator and have
been successful in securing funding for your program,
please share your information with our visitors by
sending us an Email at: info@childcare.net
so we can post the resource and help others.
Good
Reading - Working Solutions to Child Care Funding
Financing
Child Care in the United States
Earlychildhoodfinance.org Financing Child Care in the United States highlights
78 strategies currently employed in states and communities,
using public, private and mixed sources of funding
to finance child care. The focus is on strategies
that generate new revenue or that increase the share
of current revenue allocated to child care.
Financing
Child Care
A public policy report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation. Winter 2002.
Building
for the Future: A Guide to Facilities Loan Funds for
Community-Based Child and Family Services
by Carl Sussman Prepared for The Finance Project
This site is must reading for anyone looking at financing
child care, either from a facility or a lender's perspective.
Carl Sussman describes in easy to digest detail why
financing is important and how communities can assist
in setting up loan systems for center-based early
care and education programs.
Starting
a Non-profit Organization This
in-depth article provides comprehensive advice and
materials for anyone who is considering starting a
nonprofit organization.
BusinessGateway.ca
BusinessGateway.ca provides a single access point
to all the government services and information needed
to start, run and grow a business.
Canadian
Bankers Association
Today's small businesses have many unique and diverse
needs. Whether you're looking for tips on developing
a business plan or tools for managing and growing
your company, Canada's banks can help.
Industry
Canada - Provincial Financing Search
Search the Sources of Financing database for a wide
spectrum of financial providers from the private and
public sectors that may address your particular business
needs. You have the options of searching financing
providers that are located in your area or those that
are offering financing services to your area.
Small
Business Administration (SBA) provides small businesses financing options,
technical assistance, and child care resource information.
Independent
Bankers Assoc. (U.S.)
There are more than 8,300 community banks, including
commercial banks and savings and loans, with 36,803
locations throughout the United States. For over 70
years, the Independent Community Bankers of America
(ICBA) has been the only national trade association
dedicated to community banks .
State
Economic Development Resources
These listings represent a variety of state resources
related to economic development and growing a small
or home-based business. It is worthwhile to spend
some time on the website(s) for your state. Many have
regional funding programs listed as well as links
to resources related to business development at the
local, state, national, and international levels.
Also see: State
Economic Agencies.
State
and Other Loan Repayment / Forgiveness and Scholarship
Programs
A compilation of U.S. programs that offer financial
assistance. The information is provided by state health
departments and other agencies, medical and health
professions schools, federal programs, and military
agencies.
State
Financing
Sources (Loans)
*Note: Some may be only for non-profit
child care.)
California
- Child Care Facilities Finance Program
Provide loan guarantees and direct loans for the development
and/or expansion of child care and development facilities,
and family child care homes serving more than six
children.
Iowa
- Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants
Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants and Community
Facilities Guaranteed Loans are used to construct,
enlarge, extend, or otherwise improve community facilities
providing essential services in rural areas and towns
with a population of 20,000 or less.
Massachusetts
- The Child Care Capital Investment Fund
We lend to child care programs of all types, including
school-age programs as well as infant, toddler, and
pre-school child care. We work with providers throughout
the state of Massachusetts.
Minnesota
- West Central Initiative
WCI has several types of loan programs for different
programs for different types of businesses. We are
involved in business lending to help create, retain
or upgrade jobs, which increases the economic viability
of our region. WCI's loan programs are only available
to businesses located within our nine county area
in west central Minnesota.
North
Carolina - Community Facilites Loan Products
Self-Help can help child care providers get started,
expand, buy equipment and real estate, and upgrade
quality through Self-Help’s standard Business Loan
programs or one of a number of special programs tailored
to child care providers.
Ohio
(Northern) Child Development Loan Fund
Loans available in certian counties for individuals
or Corporations who wish to expand existing Child
Day Care Centers Individuals or Corporations who wish
to start-up a new Child Day Care Center.
Child
Daycare Micro-Loan
CCDC's
DayCare MicroLoan Program meets the unique financing
needs
of very small day care centers. Whether used for working
capital,
equipment, or inventory, a CCDC Day Care MicroLoan
can
be the stimulus necessary to help a center succeed.
Oregon
- The Child Care Fund
Cascadia's Child Care Fund helps Washington and Oregon-based
childcare providers manage the expense of implementing
program improvements by offering low-interest loans
and technical assistance to providers who don't qualify
for traditional bank financing.
Revolving
Loan Fund
The
Revolving Loan Fund is available to child care providers
in
Crook
and Deschutes Counties who have at least one year
experience
in providing child care.
Tennessee
Child Care Facilities Corporation
The Tennessee Child Care Facilities Corporation was
established in 1989 by the Tennessee General Assembly
to assist in meeting the financial needs of Tennessee's
child care industry. The Corporation is a quasi-state,
nonprofit financial agency designed to assist in the
enhancement, expansion, and creation of child care
facilities through a loan guarantee, a direct loan,
and/ or a corporate/community partnership grant.
Washington
- The Child Care Fund
Cascadia's Child Care Fund helps Washington and Oregon-based
childcare providers manage the expense of implementing
program improvements by offering low-interest loans
and technical assistance to providers who don't qualify
for traditional bank financing.
A
best-seller in multiple editions for more than a decade
is back in a major new edition!
Used
by fundraisers for political parties, household name
charities, and neighbourhood groups in Canada, America,
and worldwide.
Find
the money to operate your child care facility!
Raising
money is the most essential and also the most difficult
task for any nonprofit organization, and child care
is no exception. Explaining in detail the process of
fundraising, this comprehensive book has recently been
expanded and updated to explore fundraising through
telemarketing and the Internet.
With
new samples and examples, the authors tell you how
to raise a lot more money for less effort, and answers
the following questions:
Who
gives money to nonprofit organizations?
Which
potential funder is best to approach for your organization?
How
do you prepare a funding proposal?
What
kind of direct mail requests will work and how do
you prepare them?
Should
your organization try telephone fundraising? How
is it done?
Reviewer
comments: “a great reference for fundraisers... Take this
one to the bank. It’s excellent.”
Comes
with 2 great forms to help you with your fundraising efforts.
1) The easy to use Grant
Search Sheet helps make an easy-to-use list of grant
makers.
2) The
Grant/Funder Information Form helps you lay out the
important information you gather from guidelines and applications
in an easy-to-follow fashion.
This
comprehensive, practical guide was developed specifically
for anyone interested in starting a daycare business.
Packed with straight-forward information and easy-to-follow
instructions to help you develop your business plan with
ease. This guide is a great companion tool for Start
& Run a Profitable Home Day Care.
Looking
for information to simplify your search for grants? These
reports, articles and forms will start you off in the
right direction! Another childcare.net exclusive, we've
put together some of the best resources available on how
to find and apply for grants, loans, and other financing
options for your business.
Child
care is one of the most in-demand services today. If you
love working with children and want to run your own business,
a home day care could be the perfect opportunity. This
book not only gets you up and running, it shows you to
to keep your business operating smoothly and successfully.
The
most comprehensive business resources available for child
care professionals to help you start and operate a successful
child care business, large or small.
Completely
updated and revised. 
