The First Thousand Days Grant is designed to support the physical, mental, emotional, and social development of children during the critical “first thousand days of life” (roughly the first three years).
Donor Name: St. Croix Valley Foundation (SCVF)
State: Minnesota, Wisconsin
County: Burnett County (WI), Chisago County (MN), Pierce County (WI), Polk County (WI), Saint Croix County (WI), Washington County (MN)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/09/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The corresponding First Thousand Days grant program will fund organizations and programs that prepare children to succeed when they enter school.
The grant program acknowledges that there are several domains of early childhood development including: Physical, Cognitive, Communicative, Social and Emotional, and Adaptive.
- Physical: The development of the senses as well as gross and fine motor skills.
- Cognitive: The ability to mentally process information.
- Communicative: The ability to comprehend, utilize, and manipulate language.
- Socioemotional: “The process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success.”
- Adaptive: Self-care (eating, drinking, getting dressed, etc.).
The program also recognizes that “there is considerable overlap across these domains and competencies” and therefore intends to fund programs and organizations that foster children’s development and learning in multiple domains. In addition, acknowledging that parental well-being is directly linked to the health and development of their children, the program also aims to fund programs and organizations that support mental health, combat isolation, and foster child-parent attachment. Examples of programs and organizations likely to be a good fit for this grant opportunity include:
- Training, enrichment, workshops and seminars for parents/caregivers, teachers, and other adults working with young children.
- Efforts to increase knowledge of child/brain development and the lasting impact of high-quality early childhood education.
- Programming that supports communication and deepening relationships between caregivers and young children.
Funding Categories
- General Operating Support: Organizations deploying regional programming throughout SCVF’s six-county region and with the First Thousand Days at the core of their mission and programs may apply for General Operating Support.
- Program Support: Organizations deploying local programming (one community or county within SCVF’s six county region) focused on the First Thousand Days may apply for Program Support.
Funding Information
- General Operating Support: $5,000-$25,000.
- Program Support: $500- $5,000.
Grant Period
Grant funds must be expended within one year.
Uses of funds
The grant request must be focused on at least one of the above domains of early childhood development; the funding may be used to develop, enhance, or expand programs/services or organizational capacity. Eligible expenses may include staffing, training, services and programs, and operational costs related to enhancing or adding capacity or infrastructure to organizations, programs, or services.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicant must provide programming/services within the six county SCVF service area (Chisago and Washington counties in MN; Burnett, Polk, St. Croix, and Pierce counties in WI).
- Applicant must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; a governmental entity, tribal entity, educational or religious organization defined as tax exempt; or partner with an eligible fiscal agent.
For more information, visit SCVF.
