May 24, 2023 “Rockstar Successful.” Why Early Ed Funders Are Backing This Unique Approach to Training Educators May 24, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen One thing holding back the American early childhood education system is a serious teacher shortage. EDvance is making the required education more accessible, drawing support from the Heising-Simons Foundation and others.Read More
May 17, 2023 “This is How We're Supposed to Care for Each Other.” Direct Giving Initiative Tackles Poverty in Flint May 17, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is supporting a plan to provide direct cash payments to expectant mothers and their newborns in Flint, Michigan. Organizers are asking other funders to step up and back the program.Read More
April 06, 2023 How the Ballmers Aim to Build and Diversify the Early Ed Workforce in Washington State April 06, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen The foundation of this billionaire donor couple has made early childhood education a priority, most recently in an effort to strengthen the struggling early educator workforce through a mix of strategies. Read More
January 04, 2023 Backed by a Broad Swath of Patient Funders, Early Ed Advocates Scored a Major Win in New Mexico January 04, 2023/ Connie Matthiessen As support for early childhood education stalls in Washington, advocates and funders are focusing on the states. In New Mexico, a range of funders providing both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) support contributed to a big win.Read More
December 07, 2022 To Advance Health Equity, a Big Hospital Gift Targets the Earliest Childhood Experiences December 07, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Real estate investor John Schreiber and his wife Kathleen are long-time Chicago philanthropists. A recent $25 million gift underscores a more recent priority for the couple: early childhood, including conditions before birth.Read More
October 27, 2022 How the American Indian College Fund is Strengthening Early Ed in Native Communities October 27, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen The Bezos Family Foundation is the latest funder to throw its support behind an effort to strengthen early education in Native American communities. The place-based approach emphasizes local strengths and traditions. Read More
July 26, 2022 This Major Anti-Poverty Collaborative is Doubling Down on Support for Early Childhood July 26, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Blue Meridian’s big investment in HealthySteps demonstrates the funding collaborative’s commitment to early childhood and interventions that disrupt the intergenerational cycle of poverty.Read More
May 16, 2022 The New CEO of the LEGO Foundation on Helping Vulnerable Children in Times of Crisis May 16, 2022/ Liz Longley The LEGO Foundation has maintained its mission to support children while responding to immediate needs created by COVID, the Ukraine war, and other disasters. The funder’s new CEO explains how they strike the right balance.Read More
May 12, 2022 This Funding Partnership Takes a Brainy Approach to Early Ed — and Backs Movement Building May 12, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Will the U.S. tackle its early care crisis once and for all? Many early ed funders believe it’s past time, including the Trust for Learning, a unique coalition of family foundations working to improve access for every child.Read More
April 21, 2022 What We Learned From a Deep Dive Into Funding for Early Childhood Education April 21, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen As part of our State of American Philanthropy series, our new brief examines funding for early childhood education. The pandemic has pushed the issue into the spotlight and philanthropy’s role is more important than ever.Read More
April 06, 2022 Why Funders Are Rallying Behind Some Unusual Suspects Advocating for Early Childcare April 06, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen Education advocates are making a big push for early care, but the cause has a long list of supporters, including police, military and business leaders. Here’s why some big ed funders are backing their work on the issue.Read More
March 02, 2022 How One Funder Is Helping Kids in the South Flourish by Starting Early and Close to Home March 02, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen In an effort to break the cycle of poverty, the Duke Endowment is making an ambitious investment in early childhood and place-based giving, with a focus on Guilford County, North Carolina. Read More
February 08, 2022 What We Know About Jeff Bezos' Funding for Education So Far February 08, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen A lot has happened since 2018, when Jeff Bezos first made a $2 billion pledge for early education. We take a look at his giving to date, including a major focus on his expanding network of Bezos Academy preschools.Read More
January 13, 2022 What We Know About the Ballmers’ Ed Funding: Charters, Community Schools, Early Ed and More January 13, 2022/ Connie Matthiessen The Ballmer Group is a longtime funder of efforts to improve economic mobility, including support for K-12 and early childhood. It’s also been sharing more details about its grantees lately. Here’s what we know.Read More
January 12, 2022 COVID Underscored the Need for Early Childhood Education. Are Fundraisers Seeing More Support? January 12, 2022/ Sandra Lundgren The pandemic has made it clear just how important early childhood education is, leaving some cautiously optimistic about new funding streams. With federal legislation stalled, however, fundraisers are still hustling to close gaps.Read More
November 01, 2021 As Washington Wrangles Over Spending, How Can Philanthropy Make the Case for Family Child Care? November 01, 2021/ Connie Matthiessen The nonprofit All Our Kin has been working for 20 years to support family care educators. As the early care crisis grows, and Washington wrestles over alternatives, it’s an approach that deserves more philanthropic attention.Read More
October 07, 2021 With Public and Private Funds, This Early Ed Program Thrives. Is It a Model for Systems Change? October 07, 2021/ Connie Matthiessen The Educare Learning Network, a public-private partnership between governments and foundations, is working to close the opportunity gap—and pursue transformative change in our troubled early education system.Read More
September 21, 2021 Funder Spotlight: Now Over 90 Years Old, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Focuses on Children First September 21, 2021/ Connie Matthiessen In our latest Funder Spotlight, we look at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, among the nation’s oldest. Built on the fortune of a “cereal king,” the foundation supports children, families and communities.Read More
September 01, 2021 Funders Seek to Jumpstart Early Ed with a Focus on Educators September 01, 2021/ Connie Matthiessen Jumpstart, an early childhood education nonprofit, is helping create a pipeline of skilled educators, with a mix of federal, foundation and corporate support. We talked to its CEO about this critical issue and current funding trends. Read More
August 27, 2021 New Funding Flows for State-Level Advocacy as the Child Care Sector Struggles August 27, 2021/ Connie Matthiessen COVID has shone a light on how far the U.S. lags when it comes to child care. Backing five state-level coalitions, Child Care NEXT seeks to solve a thorny problem: how to implement comprehensive, quality early childhood education.Read More