Education
Within this area, funding will be directed to support advocacy and public policy efforts, strenthen the viability of childcare businesses that serve low-income families, and help low-income youth connect with community colleges and other career pathways.
When a family faces the daily stress of poverty, it’s hard for children to flourish. Parents can’t afford childcare, yet it may be essential to the pursuit of their educational and employment goals—which could increase their income. It’s a cycle that’s tough to break. Meanwhile, the kids suffer.
Parents with low incomes struggle to provide the education, health care, nutrition, and safe housing their children need. Despite the fact that quality early care has a lifelong positive effect on children, it’s often out of reach for families who need it most. Minnesota has one of the highest childcare costs in the country, and has tightened the eligibility for subsidies in recent years. This forces many families to rely on relatives, friends, or other unlicensed childcare providers who don’t provide a consistently rich learning environment. In addition, those who do provide quality childcare in low-income neighborhoods are hard pressed to keep their doors open due to heavy job losses among their clientele and high operating costs.
The early struggle to find quality, affordable educational options before kindergarten is often repeated near the end of high school. Today, post-secondary education is crucial for anybody who wants steady, living-wage employment. As education levels increase, unemployment rates plummet. We have to help older youth connect better with post-secondary education opportunities that can set them on the path to productive careers. Completing just two semesters of post-secondary coursework and getting a work-related credential can increase their earnings up to $8,500 per year.
Our response
Our education funding will support advocacy to expand access to quality, affordable childcare for working families with low incomes, as well as efforts that demonstrate better strategies to connect high school students to career pathways.
1. Childcare advocacy
We will work with leading early learning advocacy organizations to support a strong policy agenda that expands childcare subsidies and supports the childcare industry.
Funding process:
The Foundation will invite proposals from selected organizations.
2. Stronger business viability for providers who serve families with low incomes
We will support organizations that provide business services to childcare providers in low-income neighborhoods in order to preserve access to affordable and high quality care options in low-income neighborhoods.
Funding process:
The Foundation will invite proposals from selected organizations.
3. Better connections between youth and post-secondary education
We will support programs that promote the educational and career success of youth from low- income families through strategies such as:
**enabling these youth to begin earning college credits prior to their high school graduation;
**providing customized supports that enhance college and/or training completion rates; and
**providing stronger vocational orientation and career exposure to low-income high school students, thereby increasing post-secondary participation and completion.
Funding process:
The Foundation will invite proposals from selected organizations.
If you have a program that you feel fits this funding priority and would like to tell us about it, click here to fill out a short LOI.
