Vermont Business Magazine Building Bright Futures (BBF) is now accepting grant applications for the Vermont Early Childhood Fund (VECF). The application portal opened on Friday, September 29, at 8 am and will close on Friday, November 10, at 5 pm.
VECF supports creative solutions to improve the well-being of children through age 8, their families, and the Vermont communities where they live. Thanks to a federal grant awarded to the state of Vermont in late 2022, the VECF will be able to expand its funding tenfold this year, from $105,000 for projects carried out in 2023 to $1.1 million for 2024 projects. Expanded VECF funding is slated to continue in 2025 and 2026.
VECF was established in 2021 thanks to a grant from a private donor and was able to continue to fund projects in 2022 and 2023 with support from the Sunflower Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation.
In late 2022, Vermont was awarded a $23 million federal grant to strengthen the state’s early childhood system, support the early childhood workforce, and improve the quality and availability of services for family and children from prenatal to age 8. The Vermont Integration Project: Building Integration in Vermont’s Birth–5 Early Childhood Systems (VIP B–5) will provide a total of $6 million in subgrants over a three-year period to local communities. The first round of funding will distribute $1.1 million to support Vermont’s early childhood system.
Starting with this round of applications, VECF will offer two separate grant programs: the Opportunity Grant and the Innovation Grant. The VECF Opportunity Grant will provide one-time funding ranging from $10,000 to $80,000 to about 20 recipients, with the goal of supporting easy-to-achieve solutions with direct results. The VECF Innovation Grant will provide up to two grants of $150,000 to $200,000, with the goal of creating innovative, replicable solutions to address some of Vermont’s most persistent barriers to serving children and families.
Grants are open to nonprofits, businesses, municipalities, and schools. To be eligible, projects will focus on families and children from the prenatal period through age 8.
BBF will provide more details about VECF grants on Wednesday, Oct. 4, with information sessions offered at noon to 1 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. Participants should select the session that works best for their schedules; each session will offer the same content. BBF will also host a series of VECF question and answer sessions on Thursday, Oct. 19 (1–2 p.m. or 6–7 p.m.) and Thursday, Nov. 2 (noon–1 p.m. or 6–7 p.m.) All sessions will take place virtually. For more information, visit buildingbrightfutures.org/vecf/.
The mission of Building Bright Futures (BBF) is to improve the well-being of each and every child and family in Vermont by using evidence to inform policy and bringing voices together to discuss critical challenges and problem-solve. Building Bright Futures (BBF) is Vermont’s early childhood public-private partnership, charged under Vermont Title 33 § Chapter 46 and the Federal Head Start Act (Public Law 110-134) as Vermont’s Early Childhood State Advisory Council (SAC), the mechanism used to advise the Governor and Legislature on the well-being of children in the prenatal period through age 8 and their families. BBF maintains the vision and strategic plan for Vermont’s Early Childhood System. BBF’s Network infrastructure includes 12 Regional Councils, seven VECAP Committees, and the State Advisory Council. Learn more at buildingbrightfutures.org.
Source: Sept. 29, 2023 (WILLISTON, Vt.)—Building Bright Futures