early education workforce development – Jan 21

Posted by Stranahan Foundation on November 26, 2024

Stranahan Foundation invites applications for early education workforce development

The Stranahan Foundation was created in 1944 by brothers Frank D. and Robert A. Stranahan, founders of the Champion Spark Plug Company in Toledo, Ohio.

The foundation has issued its spring 2025 early childhood education funding cycle. The grantmaking program focuses on increasing access to high-quality early care and education for young children (birth to 5)—especially those from low-income families—by investing in developing and retaining a high-quality, thriving early educator workforce.

The spring 2025 funding cycle will support nonprofit organizations and projects focused on advancing the foundation’s innovation and proven professional development strategies outlined below:

Innovation: This strategy focuses on developing, piloting, and refining new approaches to improve the knowledge, skills, or practices of aspiring and existing early childhood professionals.

Proven Professional Development: This strategy focuses on expanding or modifying a clearly defined, proven professional development model to enable future expansion or implementation in a new childhood setting.

This cycle has up to $1.5 million in funding available. Based on the highest needs surfaced through the foundation’s recent engagement and discussions with ECE leaders and educators in the 2024 provider cycle, the foundation is exclusively interested in models and approaches designed to do one of the following: build the capacity of early childhood leaders, coaches, or mentor teachers to deliver or support instructional coaching; support early childhood professionals in building the skills necessary to support children’s social-emotional health and effectively address challenging behaviors; and grow the pipeline of high-quality, well-trained early childhood leaders and teachers.

Applicants may request funding up to $500,000 to be paid over three years. However, only proposals that include multiple collaborators or take a systems-based approach are anticipated to receive funding at the highest level. The foundation anticipates awarding up to five grants, averaging approximately $300,000, as part of this funding cycle.

This call is open to local, state, and national U.S.-based nonprofit organizations, fiscally sponsored organizations, public school districts, and higher education institutions. Organizations must have a commitment to serving early childhood providers and professionals whose student populations comprise at least 60 percent of children from low-income families (the foundation defines “low-income” as income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level or 50 percent of the area’s median household income); and a demonstrated track record of collaborating with families, communities, and early childhood professionals on developing and refining its programs and any proposed projects.

Letters of interest are due January 21, 2025, at 12 noon ET. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals, due March 21, 2025, at 12 noon ET.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Stranahan Foundation website.

Deadline: January 21, 2025 at 12 noon ET