Lehigh Valley Community Foundation is seeking applications to offer flexible funding to organizations that provide comprehensive approaches in engaging youth and their families in seeking a pathway for meaningful life aspirations.
Donor Name: Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
State: Pennsylvania
County: Lehigh County (PA) and Northumberland County (PA)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/27/2023
Size of the Grant: $5,000 – $20,000
Details:
The Community Foundation manages the funds for several different area-of-interest funds that are focused on supporting Lehigh Valley youth & families.
Funding Priorities
- Youth & Families and Early Childhood
- Early childhood is one of the most critical periods of a child’s development. Ninety percent of the brain has developed by age 5. In addition to the importance of quality childcare for children and their families, quality childcare is a fundamental requirement of a vibrant, healthy economy. Yet, in the Lehigh Valley, and across the country, there is a crisis occurring in early childhood education. There are simply not enough high-quality childcare centers for the number of children that need care in the Lehigh Valley.
- In the Lehigh Valley,
- 61 childcare centers and 146 childcare classrooms have closed since 2020.
- 1,015 children have been impacted by these closures.
- 2,688 additional children could be served if programs were fully staffed.
The crisis state of early childcare is impacting children, families, communities, and the entire region’s economy. Children are not able to be in safe, quality care during a critical age, communities are not able to gain increased employment and tax revenue, parents are not able to enter or re-enter the workforce creating worker shortages while also increasing poverty for the region.
Funding Focus
The critical issues that LVCF is focusing funding on in the 2022-2023 Youth & Families grant making cycle for supporting the early childcare sector (ages 0-5) are the following:
- Centers that are expanding the number of children that can be served in high-quality early childhood centers in the age range of 0-5 years old. LVCF will give preference to centers that are providing high-quality care for children beyond the hours of 9:00 am – 3:00 pm.
- Programs that focus on addressing challenging behaviors and/or diagnosed mental health needs in children (ages 0-5)
- Programs or services that equip childcare workers with the necessary resources to care for children with challenging behaviors and/or high mental health needs
- Programs or services that provide high-quality care for children with challenging behaviors and/or mental health needs
- Home visitation programs in which health and/or early education professionals routinely visit the home to provide care and/or services for children from 0-5 and their parents.
- Organizations that are delivering programs or services to address one or more of the above stated issues will be prioritized for receiving a general operating grant.
Funding Information
- Funding amount available: Nearly $200,000
- Grant amounts will range from $5,000 – $20,000
Eligibility Criteria
Be a qualified charitable organization:
- 501(c) (3) public charity or verified charitable entity (e.g., schools, colleges and universities, religious institutions, town and municipal governments, etc.)
- Organizations may apply through a fiscal sponsor.
- Deliver early childcare services or programs in Lehigh or/and Northampton county (ies). Definition of youth is those who are ages 0-5 years old.
For more information, visit Community Foundation.
