Best Early Childhood Development Grants in Kentucky

The Community Possible Grant Program by U.S. Bank aims to foster economic and workforce advancement, as well as safe and affordable housing. By partnering with 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, the program seeks to drive lasting change within communities through collaborative grantmaking. Priority is given to organizations that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and that address multiple pillars of work, home, and play. This initiative reflects U.S. Bank's commitment to creating a more equitable society.

The Kentucky Comprehensive Literacy (KyCL) Grant, funded by the Kentucky Department of Education, aims to enhance literacy programs across the state. Notably, an extension for questions has been announced until November 25, 2025, due to an omitted certification form. A new FAQ will be available around November 27th. Interested applicants should submit inquiries to KDERFP@education.ky.gov to ensure timely responses.

SC Johnson Grants aim to enhance community welfare through charitable contributions, focusing on health, sustainability, and opportunity. Since 1937, the company has committed five percent of its pretax profits to support registered charities and nonprofit organizations, especially in areas where it operates. The grant program prioritizes initiatives addressing healthcare access, environmental conservation, and educational equity, ensuring that efforts align with the values of community service and corporate responsibility.

The Stranahan Foundation’s Early Childhood Education grant program aims to enhance access to high-quality early education for low-income children. Funding up to $1.5 million is available for innovative proposals that improve professional development for early educators. Key priorities include scalable coaching models, leadership development for under-resourced communities, and community-wide substitute teacher pools. This initiative is designed to tackle significant gaps identified in early childhood education and support effective learning environments.

The Student Research Grant in Early Childhood Language Development, funded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation, supports master's and doctoral students conducting research on early language development. With up to three grants of $2,000 each available, this initiative honors Arlene M. and Noel D. Matkin. Eligible candidates must be enrolled full-time in accredited programs, focusing on research that benefits young children facing language delays or disorders.

The 15 and the Mahomies Foundation Grants aim to enhance the lives of children by supporting health, wellness, and community initiatives. This private foundation seeks to fund 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, focusing on charitable causes. Grant requests are reviewed quarterly, and applicants must meet eligibility criteria. However, the foundation does not accept applications from individuals or for non-charitable items such as autographs or game tickets.

The PNC Foundation's Grow Up Great Grant is a significant initiative aimed at enhancing educational opportunities for children from birth to age 5. With a commitment of $500 million, this program focuses on improving school readiness through support in vocabulary development, social-emotional learning, and the arts. By partnering with community-based nonprofits, PNC aims to foster stronger, smarter, and healthier communities, ensuring a brighter future for the next generation.

The United Way of the Bluegrass offers a Basic Needs Grant aimed at supporting low-income and underserved residents in Central Kentucky. This grant focuses on providing essential services such as food, health care, financial assistance, and more. With a funding ceiling of $10,000 per grant year, it ensures targeted support for programs serving single-county residents. This initiative highlights the commitment to fostering education, stability, and basic needs within the community.

The Childcare Grant from the Patterson Family Foundation supports organizations in Kansas and western Missouri that enhance childcare services. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, school districts, and government entities focused on expanding childcare capacity, improving facilities, and making services more affordable for working families. Applications will be accepted through a Letter of Intent starting April 1, 2025, with a commitment to fostering thriving rural communities. The foundation emphasizes collaboration and sustainability in childcare initiatives.

The Ohio Children’s Foundation Grant aims to enhance the lives of at-risk children and families through funding for early childhood education programs. With nearly $1 million awarded in grants over three years, the Foundation supports initiatives that promote school readiness, advocate for public policies, and provide resources for parents. Prioritizing children aged 0-5, the Foundation seeks innovative programs that address early brain development and minimize toxic stress, ensuring a brighter future for vulnerable families.

The On My Way to Kindergarten Program offers essential resources to prepare children aged 3-5 for kindergarten. Developed with input from educators, it includes a bilingual activity book and online access to games, songs, and crafts in both Spanish and English. Funded by The Larry and Helen Hoag Foundation, this initiative aims to empower at-risk children and their families, ensuring they have the tools needed for a successful transition into school.

The CAPTRUST National Partnership Grant aims to support local and national charities that serve children's needs. Each year, a Charity of Choice is selected, typically receiving a grant of over $100,000, while additional national grants are awarded to organizations aligned with the CCF mission. This initiative represents 40% of the CAPTRUST Community Foundation's annual giving budget, underscoring its commitment to impactful charitable partnerships.

The Dr. Chao-ying & Sue Wu Early Learning Scholarship, established by the Chuckanut Health Foundation in 2022, honors the vital contributions of Dr. Chao-ying and Sue Wu to the health and education of Whatcom youth. This scholarship aims to eliminate financial barriers for local students pursuing careers in early learning, reflecting the Foundation's commitment to investing in community potential and fostering opportunities for future generations.

$20K for changemakers with transformative ideas & firsthand insight in early childhood

About the Imagine Award

The Imagine Award by the Promise Fund offers $20,000 in flexible funding (see definition in FAQs) and a six-month cohort-based learning experience for community-rooted early childhood leaders with ideas for transformative impact. ​​Award recipients are at the idea stage and will launch a pilot within six months, testing their solutions with real users, gathering feedback, and refining their approach.

Imagine Award recipients will learn strategies for designing and executing lightweight tests for rapid learning while gaining clarity on their idea's direction using impact and business models. They will craft a compelling story about their work to build future partnerships and run a focused pilot with strong feedback loops for gathering data, all while growing alongside a supportive peer community.

What We Provide

Our grant dollars are flexible and meant to be used at award recipients’ discretion for the pursuit of tests or a pilot of a transformative idea. Read the FAQ for more information.

Direct, one-on-one support from our team to help you learn, get tailored help, and make relevant connections.

Multi-day gathering for peer connection, learning, and pilot design.

Access to a bench of mentors to guide you as you transition out of the program and navigate next steps with your pilot.

Light, tailored coaching to support pilot preparation, launch, and implementation.

Ongoing peer community and resources to continue learning and collaboration

The Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program seeks applications for Development and Implementation Grants to support evidence-based home visiting programs for expectant families and young children. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, these grants aim to enhance maternal and child health, improve parenting practices, and foster early childhood development within tribal communities, ultimately promoting better socio-economic outcomes and reducing instances of child maltreatment.

Request for Proposals: Launchpad Funds

Background

Coefficient Giving is increasing its giving, primarily to prepare for the billions of dollars in new philanthropic capital that may become available in the coming years. Our increased giving in global health and wellbeing is a temporary surge, with two objectives: to smooth funding and pull forward initiatives we expect to be cost-effective, and to help create an ecosystem of regrantors and implementers with the capacity to allocate this new money as cost-effectively as possible. Additional context on our scaling is provided in this blog post. 

With new potential capital on the way, we want to increase the supply of actionable and fundable plans to address some of the world’s hardest problems. We’re looking for specific, credible strategies to convert funding into measurable progress. Our ideal funds are:

However, we are also open to funds that are thematic and don’t have a quantified goal — for example, a fund organized around a promising type of intervention. Such funds still need to be led by a single, identifiable person who is accountable for the fund’s direction.

Through this request for EOIs, we aim to seed or scale Launchpad Funds that can grow to $100m+ over the next few years. We don’t seek scale for its own sake; it is a proxy for the ambition of the fund, and a signal that the problem is large and tractable enough to justify deploying significantly more capital over time.

What we will fund

• We expect to support established ideas that have either not yet secured anchor support or could significantly scale beyond their existing level of funding.
• This funding can cover operating expenses, but we expect most of it to be used for activities that make progress on the fund’s goals — whether through regranting or direct implementation.
• For exceptional proposals, we may consider funding levels beyond $50m. We anticipate higher funding levels will involve more thought partnership from our team.
• While we don’t expect to make grants longer than 36 months, funded proposals may later be considered for additional funding beyond the initial period.

Fall 2026 Early Childhood Education Funding Cycle

Overall Early Childhood Education Program Blueprint

The Stranahan Foundation’s Early Childhood Education grant program supports efforts to improve access to high-quality early care and education for young children (birth to five), especially those from low-income families. We do this by investing in strategies that strengthen, support, and retain a high-quality, thriving early educator workforce.

The Foundation has a history of supporting professional development (PD) and learning systems through its Provider strategy (). We believe strong professional development systems are essential for building a skilled early childhood workforce and creating positive learning environments for young children.

The Fall 2026 funding cycle is available for organizations that align with this Provider strategy.

Funding Opportunity

This funding opportunity will provide up to $750,000 to support early childhood education providers in strengthening existing professional development (PD) systems. Funding is intended to improve a specific area of an established PD system—not to build a brand-new system from scratch or put the foundational elements in place.

What kind of improvements can funding support?

Organizations should focus their projects on strengthening their professional development systems. The Stranahan Foundation defines a strong professional development system as one that includes:

• Connect learning opportunities that build on one another over time.
• Use adult learning best practices.
• Align staff learning to educator competencies, credentials, career growth, or compensation.
• Provide learning experiences that are individualized, scaffolded, and responsive to educators’ needs, experience, and goals.
• Have dedicated leadership and organizational capacity to support ongoing implementation.

• Gather regular feedback from staff and families.
• Use standardized assessment and evaluation tools to understand what is working and where improvements are needed.
• Make ongoing improvements based on what is learned.
• Support reflective practice, peer learning, and collaborative inquiry among educators.

• Offer both individual and group learning opportunities, such as training, professional learning communities, coaching, and mentoring.
• Provide learning opportunities on an ongoing basis rather than in a one-and-done situation.
• Connect internal and external learning opportunities to make the best use of available resources.
• Support classroom implementation through observation, modeling, feedback, and continuous improvement cycles.

• Provide learning experiences that are practical, relevant, and easy to apply in daily work.
• Include fundamental topics such as family engagement, effective instruction, developmentally appropriate practice, and classroom management.
• Align with established standards, research, and effective practices in the early childhood field.
• Equip educators to support all learners, including multilingual learners, children with disabilities, and children impacted by trauma or adverse experiences.

The Fifth Third Foundation offers grants to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area, focusing on education, arts, community development, and health services. It aims to enhance community vibrancy and provide opportunities, supporting various funding interests from several benefactors. Eligible organizations must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits operating in Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern Kentucky. The foundation prioritizes initiatives that empower women, support children, and promote environmental conservation, among other charitable purposes.

The Alleghany Foundation, a private 501(c)(3) organization in Virginia, focuses on enhancing the quality of life in the Alleghany Highlands through strategic funding initiatives. It seeks grant applications that address key areas such as economic transformation, educational excellence, health and wellness, community capacity, and civic leadership. By prioritizing innovative projects and supporting local organizations, the Foundation aims to foster sustainable growth and community engagement, ensuring a vibrant future for the region.

The Brinker International Charitable Giving Program focuses on giving back to communities through support for kids, hunger, and education. Organizations eligible for funding must be 501c(3) non-profits and submit requests at least six weeks prior to events. The program does not support individuals, political or religious organizations, or explicit discrimination policies. Funding is provided through monetary donations or in-kind contributions like dining certificates.

The WKKF Grant, offered by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is dedicated to fostering a future where every child and family thrives. With a focus on nurturing early education, accessible healthcare, and equitable food systems, this grant supports initiatives that empower communities across the U.S. and parts of Mexico and Haiti. Organizations meeting IRS regulations and being legal entities, particularly 501(c)(3) nonprofits, are encouraged to apply for funding to create lasting impacts in their communities.

The PNC Foundation aims to enhance the lives of individuals in local communities through partnerships with nonprofit organizations. Their focus includes promoting educational opportunities, particularly for early childhood education, and supporting economic development initiatives. Grants are available for organizations that benefit low- to moderate-income families and enhance community growth. The foundation prioritizes programs that foster sustainability and diversity, ensuring a lasting impact on the communities they serve.

The FDC Foundation, established in 2008, is a private non-profit dedicated to providing grants to 501(c)(3) public charities across three main areas: Health & Nutrition, Education, and Housing. The foundation supports initiatives that improve nutrition, assist diabetic individuals, enhance early childhood development, and promote housing opportunities for those in need. However, it does not fund for-profit entities or international organizations, nor does it provide grants for specific excluded purposes.

The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood provides grants to support innovative projects aimed at improving the welfare of young children in the U.S. The foundation focuses on early childhood welfare, education, and parenting education, promoting safe environments and effective teaching methods. Grants are awarded to projects with significant potential impact on children's lives, emphasizing national application and interest. Eligibility requires 501(c)(3) status, while ineligibility includes funding for foreign programs and capital equipment.

The Child Well-Being Grant Program, established by the Doris Duke Foundation, focuses on promoting the healthy development of children and preventing abuse. With a commitment to addressing systemic inequities, the program supports initiatives that strengthen social service systems and foster partnerships to enhance access to services. It prioritizes funding for projects that encourage community-based interventions and the development of future leaders dedicated to improving child welfare, ensuring all children have the opportunity to thrive in safe and supportive environments.

The Global Health and Wellbeing Grantmaking program by Coefficient Giving focuses on addressing critical health and welfare issues worldwide. With an emphasis on proactive engagement and evidence-based solutions, the initiative supports projects that improve health outcomes and wellbeing. The program prioritizes funding for organizations tackling neglected global health challenges, advocating for effective philanthropy, and enhancing the lives of both humans and animals in vulnerable communities.

The J.W. Couch Foundation Grant focuses on supporting Wildlife Conservation nonprofit organizations that align with their mission of community betterment and environmental protection. The foundation seeks partnerships with organizations that promote animal wellbeing, early childhood education, teacher support, and outdoor activities. Eligible applicants must be registered 501(c)3 nonprofits or for-profit entities aligned with their charitable programs. This grant emphasizes collaboration and community engagement to create lasting impacts.