Grant Programs For Nursery Schools? - Here is an excerpt:

"There are grants at the state and federal levels that are available for the opening and operation of nursery schools. Recipients of the grants can use the money to upgrade, make renovations or buy needed equipment. Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements set by the granting agency or organization. Unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid."

Did you know that one daycare obtained grants to install fencing, underground sprinklers and a playground on the grounds!

There Are Also Grant Programs For Communities To Provide Childcare!

Communities around the country can apply for grants to provide child care services for their low-income residents. Our government sponsors grants that recipients can use to develop child care programs and services.

They can also use the grants to provide child care for families who can't afford it and to encourage parents to make healthy decisions on child care by providing information about available options.

State Daycare Grant Program Announcement!

Child care centers and providers in one state can apply for grants to help their businesses. Over $200,000 in annual funds are dispersed in the form of grants for eligible applicants.

Recipients can use the funds to upgrade their facilities or purchase equipment to receive licenses, become accessible for disabled children and to change from a home center to a larger building!

Home providers can apply for $5,000 grants, while child care centers can request up to $10,000.

Jewish Emergency Grant Program

Parents of Jewish descent who require help paying for their children's preschool tuition can apply for an emergency grant.

Over $1 million dollars has been allocated annually for this grant program.

In order to be eligible, at least one parent of the student attending preschool must be Jewish.

"Does Anyone Know About Grants For Daycare Businesses?"

"I work at a daycare and I have heard that there are grants that you can get for your daycare to help out. Does anyone know about these grants and where I could find them?"

There are many, many daycare-related posts on this blog about grant programs for both for-profit and non-profit daycare businesses and I really suggest that you take a look at some of them.

I have blogged about so many daycare-related grant programs here that it isn't even funny! Grant programs for daycares really do exist! and that is required of you is that you do some research to find out more about these daycare-related grant programs.

Here Is A Grant Program For FOR-Profit Daycares!

Here is yet another grant program for FOR-PROFIT Daycare Businesses!

In one state, over 10 area child-care centers have been awarded grants from that state's Department of Commerce!

(Please remember that grant money is free money that you do not have to pay back!)

Past grant recipients include:

• a daycare that received $10,000 to help with their business plan!
  
  
• another daycare received over $1200 to install a fence

Last year, the Legislature approved funding to create the grant programs. The first round of grants was designed to relieve unmet demand for quality daycare options and focused on the priorities of technical assistance, business planning and equipment, especially for safety or special-needs children.

The department awarded $262,000 in grants ranging from $750 to $5,000 for infrastructure and $10,000 in grants for business planning to support creation of 262 new child-care openings by 96 providers statewide. One dollar in matching funds is required for every $3 in grant funds.

The department will accept applications for a second round of grants in February. March 1 2010is the deadline. Approximately $240,000 will be available for the second round. This program also recently approved the first loan under its new day care loan program, which provides up to $100,000 in low-interest loans to day cares to acquire, lease, or remodel real estate, to purchase equipment or for working capital.

The program has $1.25 million available on a first come first served basis until June 30, 2011.

Applications are available at the program's website. Once at the website you can click on "forms" and chose which funding program that you would like to know more about.

People also can contact the program by calling their direct phone number.

Eligibility

Both of these funding programs are available to all licensed profit, nonprofit and public child care facilities within the state.

Could Your Daycare Business Use A Loan?

Even though this blog is mostly about grants for daycare I also see that there are a number of people who own businesses - including daycare businesses - who are also interested in loan programs for their businesses as well.

Here is news of a state loan program for daycare businesses.

Loan guarantees are made to assist with the development of new facilities or expansion of existing facilities particularly in low income, rural areas which demonstrate a need for additional quality child care. Guarantees are available to a maximum of $25,000 and may be used for operating capital as well as capitol outlay.



For more information about this loan program, you can go to the website by clicking here.

Grants for Daycare - Grant Recipient - An Excerpt

Here is an excerpt from a woman who got a grant to help pay for some of her costs:

"I spoke with my financial aid counselor at the college and she told me about the “child care grant that is available through the school. I filled out the application for that with my childcare provider and received that grant at the beginning of October.

Unfortunately student aid and grants for childcare don't get into your account until after the semester starts, so I had to pay for books with a credit card and the first month of childcare out of pocket.

Because I wasn't sure if I'd get the childcare grant, I also applied for a student loan. I had to study a tutorial about the different types of student loans and take a quiz before I was able to apply for the loan. It was helpful because I learned which loans allow for payments to be deferred and which loans have interest that has to be payed on the loan. I also learned that I could pay the loan back right away without any penalty, which I planned to do if I received the childcare grant.

So, the process all-in-all is time consuming, and you have to be patient. You have to check in with your college and make sure that they have received your applications."

Grant Program For Daycare Needs Applicants....

A local program is searching for members of their local community who would like to pursue careers in child care, aged care or hospitality and retail. This grant program is looking to connect eligible participants to training, help fund associated costs, and even assist with business registrations.

There is such a demand in the local area for qualified workers in child care, aged care, hospitality and retail. Those who would like to pursue training in aged care or hospitality can register their interest to take part in this grant program.

There is also a strong demand for additional providers of family day care services in the region.

The Federal Government has a $1,500 grant available for people wanting to set up a family daycare business in their home!. This grant, along with additional funding and assistance, would be really helpful to someone who is considering starting a family day care business on their farm.

To date, the program has assisted more than 200 people to obtain formal qualifications and upgrade their skills.

For further information about this program you can contact them by phone.552 890.

Could Your For-Profit Daycare Center Use A Financial Grant?

One state's legislative assembly has provided $500,000 of one-time funding to assist state child care providers with infrastructure and technical assistance/business plans. This funding program has also been authorized to provide financial assistance to childcare providers through loans. If you are interesting in more information about this grant funding program then you are advised to vist their website.

Who Is Eligible To Apply

Eligible organizations include licensed profit, non-profit and public child care facilities. Faith based organizations are eligible but must follow all appropriate federal guidelines if receiving federal subsidies.

Matching Requirements - $3.00 of grant funds will be available per $1.00 of other funds. Match must be cash and can come from other public and private sources or a combination of public and private sources. For example, if the total project cost is $1,000; then the grant program can provide up to $750 after the project is completed.

What can the grant money be used for? - Eligible uses include a maximum of $5,000 for infrastructure (furniture, fixtures, equipment, and egress windows). To receive the $5,000 grant, facilities must provide $1,667 in matching funds from other private/public sources. Non-eligible use of funds will include all other house rehabilitation.

Maximum of $10,000 for technical assistance and/or business plans. To receive this $10,000 grant, facilities must provide $3,334 in matching funds from other private/public sources.

Applicants can access both options to a maximum program amount of $15,000 per biennium. Applications submitted for less than $750 will not be considered at this time.

The Application Process - The financial request must include the Child Care Grant application. The completed copy should be mailed to this address.

Facilities will be required to provide a letter from either a County Child Care Licensor or from the DHS Early Childhood Service Regional Supervisor confirming that the facility does not have a history of violations and/or corrective actions. If a history of violations and or corrective actions exist, facilities will need to provide:

• A three year "Early Childhood Service History" from either a County Child Care Licensor or from the DHS Early Childhood Service Regional Supervisor.
  
  
• An explanation of changes that have been made to correct the violations and a letter from a County Child Care Licensor or from the DHS Early Childhood Service Regional Supervisor confirming that corrective action has taken place.
  
  
• The acceptability of the documentation will be at the sole discretion of Commerce in consultation with County Child Care Licensors or DHS Early Childhood Services Regional Supervisor for that county.

Funding decisions will be based on the following criteria:

• Current license
  
  
• Facility history
  
  
• Equitable distribution between for profit, non-profit and public child care facilities
  
  
• Importance to the community
  
  
• Safety equipment

Funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis after the project is complete. Funding requests must include supporting documentation such as invoices and receipts. All reimbursement requests must be submitted by

June 15th, 2011.

The enabling legislation that provided the funds for this program required an equitable distribution of funds to the three eligible organizations: for-profit, non-profit and public child care facilities. Therefore, Commerce will allocate dollars to the three program areas to ensure that the funds are being distributed equitably.

This is a one-time grant and the state will not be responsible for any on-going costs associated with the recipient's project.

Questions regarding this child care grant program should be addressed to the program manager who can be contacted by phone.

The application for this child care grant program can be downloaded by clicking here. The application form is in .pdf format and is just under 230 kb in size.

Another Grant Program For Daycares!

Currently applications for proposals from childcare agencies with facility needs are being accepted. This grant program seeks to assist agencies with a wide range of projects such as creating a new center, expansions, facility preservation or quality improvements. According to one of the spokespeople for this grant program, "This effort is part of a commitment to improve access to quality childcare throughout our local area. Even the smallest grants can make a difference when it comes to helping children succeed early in life and beyond."

Grants are available for $20,000 for childcare centers and $10,000 for family childcare homes.

Further details on this grant opportunity and necessary documents are available at their website.

Deadline for applications is no later than 5 p.m. Nov. 6, 2009!

New Grant Program Announced For Daycare Providers!

Another state has announced plans for 2 new funding programs for daycare providers! They are intended to help childcare providers address capital needs and business planning to help daycares avoid common business pitfalls and improve the odds of long-term success.

These 2 new funding programs will provide grants and low-interest loans for the state's daycare providers. According to a spokesperson, "We know there is demand for quality, reliable childcare providers in our state to support our young working families with children. We believe these two programs provide funding to help stimulate the creation of more childcare options for them.”

The first program provides matching grants of up to $5,000 that can be used for infrastructure (furniture, fixtures, and equipment), and $10,000 for technical assistance or business planning. Both grants require providers to provide $1 in matching funds for every $3 in grant funds.

A total of $500,000 is available for the grants through the next year. The money will be distributed in two grant rounds. The deadline for applying for the first round is Oct. 31, 2009. Funding will be equally distributed between licensed profit, non-profit and public childcare facilities. Other criteria include facility history, the importance of the facility to the community and grants to support purchasing safety equipment.

Additional information for the grant program can be found by visiting the website.

The 2nd program provides up to $100,000 in low-interest loans from the state's development fund to acquire, lease, or remodel real estate, to purchase equipment or for working capital! The loan program has $1.25 million and applications are available at their website. Both programs will be available well into 2010 and are available to all licensed profit, nonprofit and public child care facilities.

For further information, please visit the website.

Grant Money Available For Single Mothers Who Want To Continue Their Education!

There is a non-profit organization that gives child-care scholarships to low-income single mothers who want to continue with their education.

Founded by a woman whose single mom never got a chance to go to college, she asks her potential scholarship winners "How are you going to support yourself and your child now that the baby's here?"

Although she discovered plenty of programs to help pay for classes she didn't find many that help fund child care for the single mother. "It's a major expense. A family with an infant in a child-care center typically is expected to pay $4,500 to $14,600 a year. For young mothers, many of whom are already dealing with a pile of guilt and shame to go with financial debt, getting help with child care may be just the thing they need to get them over the hump."

Through grants and fund-raising, her organization has supported about 500 single parents -- moms along with a few dads -- in 11 years. According to one recipient who gave birth to her daughter when she was only 14, "Before I got the scholarship, I wasn't even sure if I could go to college, because I couldn't live at home." Now after graduating from college the foundation has extended her scholarship through law school. Today she works as a lawyer who specializes in child-care law and other issues affecting low-income women.

More Stimulus Money For Daycare!

Another state has received additional funding - over $5 Million Dollars - to help low-income people help pay for child care! Those who are low-income may qualify for financial assistance from the state Department of Social Services to help pay for child care. Thousands of low-income parents in the state saw there child and daycare bills go down thanks to funding from the federal stimulus package.

For example one single mother's monthly child care bill decreased by $110! She will use that extra money to help pay other bills and to also help stimulate the economy by spending some of it in the local markets.

To qualify:

• a family of two must have a monthly household income of $2,429 or less
  
  
• a family of four, $3,675 or less

The funding is paid directly to the provider, and parents are responsible for a sliding co-payment, based on their income, which must be met before the subsidy is paid. In addition the funding will also provide two months of free day care for any qualified unemployed or dislocated workers in the state while they search for work!

According to one spokesperson, "There are growing numbers of families in this state who need help paying for child care while the parents look for jobs, and this program will be a tremendous help. This program will allow those families to breathe easier and focus on finding new employment."

These funding benefits are expected to last through September 2010.

Interested parents can contact any of the program's offices to verify eligibility and fill out applications. In one city, you can contact them by phone although the phone number is not a toll-free call.

This funding program also benefits the child care businesses themselves because it is they that receive the money! Says one daycare provider that provides 24-hour day care, "It means I can stay in business." Because of providing such a service the daycare provides has numerous clients with low-paying, shift-work jobs. Of the 24 children enrolled in her day care, 16 of them receive the subsidy, but she estimates 80 percent of her full-time clients are subsidized by the state.

Another part of this funding program will pay for one-time provider grants for equipment purchases and for training opportunities. The equipment grants range from $500 for registered day care homes to $4,000 for licensed day care centers. For example one daycare facility will apply for one of the $4,000 grants. Some of the things on their list are a train table and a double-sided art center. And as an added benefit, the grant money received will be spent locally to help stimulate the economy.

Between 30% and 40% of children at the daycare center receive child care assistance and many of the families have a co-payment of zero!