Tip! Inquire if your company has partnerships or offers discounts for certain child care provider services. some larger companies will sometimes negotiate discount plans with local child care providers to help offset child care costs.

Today childcare centers are gaining importance as a profitable business. Many people are seeking advice to obtain grants to start their own childcare center, expand their program, or upgrade their facilities.

One way to locate financing for your childcare business is to:

Check with your local bank

Research and obtain venture capital

Seek gifts and loans from family and friends

Look for advice from incubator organizations

Obtain counsel from local small business and women’s associations

In a few states, special loan programs have been developed to help childcare centers access immediate funds at affordable rates, like Washington and Oregon’s Cascadian Child Care Fund.

On-line Resources

Independent childcare business owners can also try the Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, a service of The Foundation Center at www.fdncenter.org. For a small fee per month (payable by credit card), the Foundation Center offers online listings of Grants to Individuals in the U.S.

Requesting Guidelines and Applications

Once you have completed your initial research and found potential grant funding, the next step involves contacting them and request their latest application and funding guidelines. If the program is operated by a foundation, also request their annual report. It is a good idea to view some common grant applications online so you know what to look for when your information comes in.

Tip! Whether your choice to enroll in an online child care program is for a future career in childcare; or part of your continuing education program to enhance your current profession, online classes are designed to meet your individual needs and time schedule.

Grant/Funding Information Processing

Once you have received various funding information packets and applications, read them carefully and make notes about specific guidelines. Review which of the funding opportunities are available for a childcare center and whether your business plan fits their criteria. Examples of information you would find on a funding information packet would be: the type of program for which funding is available, eligibility requirements, location and populations served, and application deadlines, and so on.

Contact Funding Agencies Directly

Funding guidelines and applications can be quite extensive. While reviewing the guidelines and application, make notes of any questions you may have. Most funding agencies will assist you in completing your application for funding, and will appreciate that you have taken the time to get all the facts before submitting your proposal. Funding proposals are often set aside and not reviewed due to incomplete information, therefore it is critical to review your application to ensure you have met all the eligibility requirements and submitted all the necessary paperwork.

Prepare Your Cover Letter and Proposal

A cover letter is usually required with each proposal submitted. Again, check the guidelines of the funding agencies. Each agency will have different paperwork requirements.

Don’t Give Up

The best advice you can receive as you begin your quest for funding for your childcare center is not to become discouraged. Funding agencies typically receive a lot more proposals than they fund. So apply to more than one funding organization, and follow each organization’s instructions very carefully as to what they want in a proposal, and you will have a much better chance of obtaining funding for your childcare center.

Tip! The first and probably most important part of good child care is having enough qualified people to run a child care center. The younger the children at the care center are the more people that are needed to take care of them because very young children need individual attention, unlike centers with older children that can work in groups or are even independent.

For more information about small business grants, visit Small Business Grants.
For information about child day care, visit Child Day Care.

David Chandler
For your FREE Stock Market Trading Mini Course:
“What The Wall Street Hot Shots Won’t Tell You!” go to: The Stock Market Genie

Bookmark to: