Business Oregon is accepting applications for its Child Care Infrastructure Program.
Donor Name: Business Oregon
State: Oregon
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/16/2025
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 5-10 Years
Details:
This program is a public investment in overcoming constraints and incentivizing the development and expansion of early learning and care resources. The resulting high quality child care outcomes of this funding aim to further the wellbeing of children, promote economic growth, increase jobs for the care and construction workforce, and enable parents to participate in the labor force.
Projects eligible under this Program are restricted to fixed, immovable assets including new construction, repairs, renovations, modernizations, retrofitting, and property acquisition.
Prioritization
- While all eligible entities are encouraged to apply, this Program will prioritize funding for the following types of programs and projects:
- Culturally specific organizations or early learning programs
- Programs expanding or creating new child care slots
- Programs expanding or offering infant and toddler care
- Programs in the most severe child care deserts, using state child care desert data
- Programs that offer extended hour care
- Programs that accept subsidies such as Employment Related Day Care (ERDC)
- Programs that operate full day (at least six hours per day), and full year (approximately 136 hours a month or 1,632 hours a year)
- Additional areas that will add strength to an application include:
- Degree to which child care slots are created or preserved;
- Impact on licensing or health and safety of children;
- Ability to demonstrate project Readiness to Proceed;
- Ability to demonstrate overall Program Sustainability.
Funding Information
Successful applicants for Minor Renovation and/or Repairs, New Construction or Major Renovation, and Real Property Acquisition grants shall receive no less than a $20,000 grant award and no more than a $2,000,000 grant award.
Project Period
The continued use period for funded child care infrastructure projects will be a minimum of three years but not to exceed ten years.
Eligible Projects and Expenditures
Examples of eligible projects under the Child Care Infrastructure Fund are:
- Construction of new child care facilities
- Renovation, repair, modernization, or retrofitting of existing child care facilities
- Renovation, repair, modernization, or retrofitting of an existing facility for use as child care
- Acquisition of real property to be used for child care that will not be used as a private domicile
Allowable Grant Fund Expenditures (Spending)
The following list provides examples of allowable uses of grant funds. This is not a comprehensive list.
- Predevelopment and planning costs
- Architectural drawings and plans
- Direct project management costs
- System Development Charges
- Construction activities and contingencies
- Water leak mitigation and plumbing
- Electrical work, earthquake retrofits or fire suppression systems
- Americans with Disabilities Act or green building standard upgrades
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that are permanently installed
- Air purification or filtration systems that are permanently installed
- Hazard testing and mitigation
- Demolition
- Modular units
- Classroom updates or refresh such as painting
- Playground and outdoor upgrades that are fixed and immovable
- Real property acquisition to establish a child care facility that is not used as a private domicile.
Eligibility Criteria
For the purposes of this Program, an “Eligible Applicant” is classified as at least one of the following criteria:
- A culturally specific early learning program, as that term is defined in OAR 123-700-0010an early childhood and parent support programs as described under ORS 417.782(1)
- A certified or registered family child care provider as established in ORS 329A.280 or ORS 329.330
- A child care center certified under ORS 329A.280;
- A non-profit organization that operates a child care facility, including those that are exempt under ORS 329A.430(c)
- Federally recognized Indian tribes in Oregon;
- Organizations that support the expansion or establishment of child care providers;
- A school district that meets the 100% match requirement;
- Programs that serve children in publicly funded early learning and care programs including:
- Programs funded by the Early Childhood Equity Fund established under ORS 417.781;
- Relief nurseries;
- Programs that receive subsidies through the Employment Related Day Care subsidy program under ORS 329A.500;
- Oregon Head Start, prekindergarten and Early Head Start programs,
- Entities that receive awards under the Preschool Promise Program established under ORS 329.172 or the Oregon Prekindergarten Program established under ORS 329.175
- Programs that provide early childhood special education or early learning intervention services, as provided by ORS 343.475;
- Municipalities as defined in OAR 123-700-0010;
- Outdoor nature based child care programs;
- New child care providers seeking licensure with documentation that their background check has been cleared
For more information, visit Business Oregon.
