Press Release:

Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning receives $250K grant to support existing child care programs and families

ATLANTA, Ga., (April 20, 2020) – The Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning (Foundation), the nonprofit arm of Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) was recently awarded a $250,000 grant provided by the Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Recovery and Response Fund, a partnership between the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta. The grant funding will provide direct assistance to child care programs and families located within the 23-county Atlanta metro area by addressing two critical needs: child care assistance for essential workers and financial assistance for child care providers.

“Essential workers are scrambling to find childcare during the crisis and many are not equipped to pay the cost. We intend to provide additional child and parent services scholarships to eligible essential workers with this funding,” said Commissioner Amy Jacobs, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. “The grant will also enable one-time incentive payments to open and closed child care programs to help cover ongoing expenses or lost revenues.”

The grant application will launch April 23 on the Foundation’s website, www.gaearlyed.org, and close on April 30.

“The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta have been tremendous partners during this global epidemic,” said Carrie Ashbee, executive Director of the Foundation. “This funding will empower shuttered child care programs to open their doors once again as parents get back to work. Likewise, it will provide immediate support to providers who were able to stay open and care for children of essential employees as they worked on the front lines during this crisis.”

For more information on this grant and other funding opportunities, please visit www.gaearlyed.org.