San Diego CA— The San Diego Foundation has announced grant funding is available for nonprofit organizations working to support children ages 0-5 and their families with increased access to childcare, a service critical to pandemic and economic recovery in San Diego County.
The 2021 Early Childhood Initiative (ECI) Responsive Grant supports nonprofit organizations addressing emerging needs in the San Diego region. According to the December 2020 report, Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon General’s Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress, and Health, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma represent an urgent public health crisis with wide-reaching health and societal impacts. Grant application criteria is informed by this report, as well as by regional data and local stakeholders, and reflects that ACEs is an important issue impacting many children, families and service providers that deliver care in San Diego County.
Ensuring young children have opportunities to thrive and families have access to supportive services is crucial in nurturing early childhood development and care. For this reason, the following are strategies that will be eligible for funding for the 2021 grant cycle: abuse prevention; mental and behavioral health support; and health equity.
To be considered for the 2021 ECI grant cycle, nonprofits proposing projects must work to expand childcare for low-to-moderate-income communities and populations experiencing health inequities or negative social determinants of health. The San Diego Foundation will accept requests up to $25,000. The deadline to apply is April 23 at 5:00pm. For more information about the Early Childhood Initiative, or to apply for a grant, visit SDFoundation.org/EarlyChildhoodInitiative.
The San Diego Foundation Early Childhood Initiative builds upon a regional vision that supports both immediate impact initiatives and systems-level change in early education. The initiative was founded on the belief that early childhood care and education is essential to the health, development and future success of San Diego children and the regional economy.
The ECI Responsive Grant is one component of the Early Childhood Initiative’s collaborative work with regional partners to strengthen families, increase health equity, bolster the regional workforce, and support economic growth.