First Children's Finance is pleased to offer business planning resources and access to capital as part of our mission to increase the supply of excellent child care. First Children’s Finance (FCF) works in collaboration with the VT Child Development Division (CDD), Let's Grow Kids and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to administer access to capital programs that will increase the supply of child care in Vermont. Grant projects should be informed by local community needs and must include either start-up of new programs or the expansion of existing programs. FCF's Business Development Specialists are experienced early childhood education leaders who will provide technical assistance throughout the grant application process and grant period to support the strength of the application and the sustainability of the project.
VT Planning Grant Project - Request for Proposals
Welcome to the Request for Proposal form used for the VT Planning Grant Project.
The VT Planning Grant Project will provide in-kind services, child care business assistance and a small financial stipend to prospective child care businesses or community agencies that wish to plan for a capital construction project for a new or expanded child care operation. Acquisition of land and buildings suitable for a child care business often requires upfront expenditures before capital can be raised for the purpose of land or building acquisition. In addition, these upfront expenditures may determine that an intended project is not feasible. Through this request for proposals, First Children’s Finance VT will contract with professional services vendors that can provide services such as appraisals, architectural drawings/images, feasibility assessment, funding identification and management, environmental review, and land use permitting – all services that may be needed to help a capital construction project to move forward in Vermont. Throughout this planning grant project, FCF will provide technical assistance and consulting in the areas of child care business operations, budgeting, staffing, and best practices for child care businesses that receive the in-kind support and funds. Prospective child care businesses or community agencies will apply to use these services as well as a stipend for their time to manage the process. We expect to award 15 of these projects from September 2024-September 2025.
If you have any questions about this application, or you need a copy of the grant guidelines, please reach out to First Children's Finance project coordinator, Cathy Reitz, via email at cathyr@firstchildrensfinance.org.
Submittable Information
- You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to these forms.
- You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
- If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission
- Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
- We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.
Technical Questions?
Check out the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable Customer Support.
Child Care Planning Project
As part of our mission to increase the supply of excellent child care, First Children’s Finance (FCF) is working in partnership with Let’s Grow Kids (LGK) and with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to administer a VT Planning Grant Project. The VT Planning Grant Project will provide in-kind services, child care business assistance and a small financial stipend to prospective child care businesses, employers or community agencies that wish to plan for a capital construction project for a new or expanded child care operation. Often these types of projects require significant investments to scope and fund the construction project. First Children’s Finance will use federal procurement processes to contract with professional services vendors that can provide services to help identify if a project is feasible to move forward with construction. First Children’s Finance VT will contract with pre-construction professional services vendors that can provide services such as appraisals, architectural drawings/images, feasibility assessment, funding identification and management, environmental review, and land use permitting – all services that may be needed to help a capital construction project to move forward in VT. Throughout this planning grant project, FCF will provide technical assistance and consulting in the areas of child care business operations, budgeting, staffing, and best practices for child care businesses that receive this in-kind support and funds. Child care businesses, employers or community agencies can apply to receive these services and a financial stipend. We expect to award at least 15 of these projects from September 2024-September 2025.
Please refer to the full grant guidelines here: Microsoft Word - VT Planning Grant Project Guidelines (firstchildrensfinance.org)
Welcome to the child care planning project application portal. If you have any questions about this application, please reach out to your First Children's Finance technical assister. If you are not sure who that is, you can email VTgrants@firstchildrensfinance.org and we'll make sure someone gets back to you right away.
Keep reading for more information about using our Submittable application platform.
Submittable Information
- You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to these forms.
- You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
- If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission
- Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
- We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.
Technical Questions?
Check out the Submitter Resource Center or contact Submittable Customer Support.