The Women’s Business Development Council is offering grants to qualified Connecticut child care businesses preparing to expand.
Donor Name: Women’s Business Development Council
State: Connecticut
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/31/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Women’s Business Development Council offering cash grants of up to $25,000 to support OEC-licensed family homes (DCFH), group homes (DCGH), and centers (DCCC) in financial need with their expansion goals. This grant program is designed to help licensed child care businesses grow their operations and create additional slots.
Grant funds will be awarded to eligible businesses operating for at least 2 years with enrolled children that are: seeking to increase licensed capacity or meaningfully increase enrollment at their existing location (must be increasing by 3 or more full-time equivalent slots); open a new location; grow from family home to group home, or group home to center; or create new revenue streams for the business outside of additional enrollment. Grants will be awarded for applications that will have a measurable impact on the business, its growth and profitability.
Eligibility Criteria
Those that meet all of the following criteria are encouraged to apply:
- In business full time as a CT OEC-licensed family home, group, or center with enrolled children for at least 2 years
- Have a minimum of 75% of licensed capacity currently enrolled, including school age children
- OR Current enrollment at 75% of adjusted licensed capacity based on business model
- (For instance, a Family Home with licensed capacity of 9 that never takes school-age children would calculate their enrollment based on 6 regular age — e.g., 5 currently enrolled / 6 adjusted capacity = 83% enrollment)
- In good standing with the CT Department of Revenue Services (DRS), or on a payment plan for back-owed taxes
- Profitable in at least 1 of the past 3 years, or broke even if a nonprofit
- Have a business banking relationship (or will form one before award)
- Have a formal, digital bookkeeping/financial system (e.g., QuickBooks, ProCare, Formal Excel workbook)
- Have a demonstrable financial need
- If expanding to a new location, close to becoming licensed by OEC as a family home, group home, or center with location approved by CT Department of Public Health
- Have a record of annual sales/revenue in last 12 months less than $2,500,000.
If there are more qualified applications than can fund this round, priority will be given to the following programs:
- Serve infants and toddlers
- Currently receive Care4Kids
- NAFCC or NAEYC Accredited, or Head Start Approved
- State and/or federally funded (i.e., Care4Kids, School Readiness, Child Day Care Contract, State Head Start, Federal Head Start, and DCF)
- Located in an ECE underserved community, including those in a town with high SVI (=/> .6) and/or CAATI score =/> 5
- For-profit programs that operate full-time
- Active WBDC advising client, receiving technical assistance beyond grants.
For more information, visit WBDC.
