The William & Lottie Daniel Fund Child Care Scholarship provides funding to licensed nonprofit child care programs serving working families in Santa Barbara County.
Donor Name: Santa Barbara Foundation
State: California
County: Santa Barbara County (CA)
Type of Grant: Scholarship
Deadline: 04/30/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Grants support year-round programs that deliver high-quality early learning experiences and align with community-wide child development goals.
Priorities
The Daniel Fund provides scholarship funding to licensed nonprofit child care programs to subsidize tuition costs for eligible working families in Santa Barbara County.
The Daniel Fund supports licensed nonprofit programs serving children from birth through 6th grade. In alignment with Countywide child care needs, priority is given to programs serving children ages 0–5, particularly infants and toddlers, where the shortage of licensed care is most severe.
For Programs serving children 0-5 years of age:
- Implement age-appropriate curriculum for kindergarten readiness
- Engage in quality improvement processes, such as Santa Barbara County’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and/or NAEYC accreditation.
- Adopt best practices for parent engagement, such as the Family Standard in accreditation and/or the Five Protective Factors Framework.
- Use standardized child development assessment or screening tools, such as Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) or the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile.
For Programs serving school-age children (grades TK-6):
- Demonstrate participation in quality improvement processes, such as Child and Youth Development Program Accreditation.
- Align with student achievement goals set by local school district.
Funding Information
The maximum award for a Daniel Fund Grant is $50,000.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant organizations must:
- Be a certified 501(c)(3) non-profit or apply through a qualified 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. Applications that do not contain a valid EIN (Tax ID) number will not be considered.
- Public entities such as schools, universities, and libraries may apply through an affiliated or supporting 501(c)(3) organization.
Applicant program must:
- Currently operating an established licensed child care program serving Santa Barbara County children/families.
- Be fully licensed by the State of California to provide child care for the age groups served.
- Be in compliance with the applicable local, regional and state codes governing child care facilities.
- Employ qualified staff appropriate to the age groups served.
- The Daniel Grant Program is designed to support working parents/guardians therefore applicant agencies must operate at least during standard business hours.
- Licensed child care programs for school-age children must be open on weekdays when school is not in session.
- Provide a year-round child care program with minimal closures. Programs may not close for more than two consecutive weeks per year.
Family eligibility requirements
- Scholarships may be awarded only to families who:
- Reside in Santa Barbara County.
- Have working parent(s)/guardian(s). For the purposes of this program, “parents” include single parents, dual parents, and authorized representatives of children not in the care of their natural or legal parent(s).
- Have a child enrolled full-time in the grant applicant’s licensed child care program.
- If a child’s placement changes during the scholarship period, the scholarship may be reassigned to another eligible family.
- Contribute a portion of tuition costs based on the program’s adopted sliding fee scale.
For more information, visit Santa Barbara Foundation.
