Organizing and Advocacy Ecosystems
Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund was awarded a two-year, $500,000 grant to support its movement-building efforts. The CARE Fund unites advocacy and organizing groups, campaigns, and coalitions across a cross-sectoral care continuum – including early care and education, aging and disability care, and paid family and medical leave – to align on advancing comprehensive, equitable care policies and systems nationally and with a focus on states like New Mexico and Michigan.
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) was awarded a three-year, $450,000 grant for its State Immigration Project, aiming to elevate and prioritize the needs and perspectives of immigrant children and their families. This initiative focuses on advancing inclusive economic, nutrition, and healthcare policies across 15 states, directly addressing the barriers immigrant children and their families face to ensure equitable access to essential services.
Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition received a three-year, $300,000 grant to strengthen its advocacy on behalf of immigrant families and their children. At a time when immigrant communities face heightened risks, PIF’s work is critical in advancing policies that safeguard immigrant families’ well-being and ensure their children can thrive in safe and supportive environments.
Researchers, Policy-makers, Journalists, and Early Childhood Workers
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) was awarded a two-year, $200,000 grant to help establish SRCD’s Child Policy Hub. This grant includes support for SRCD’s inaugural child policy track at its 2025 biennial meeting, designed to bridge connections between child development researchers and policymakers, aiming to foster relationships and set a stronger foundation for evidence-based and inclusive policymaking that centers children.
The Guardian was awarded a $30,000 grant to support research for a journalistic series examining social, economic, and racial disparities affecting young children in the United States and elevating the experiences and voices of communities marginalized by injustice.
Harvard Graduate School of Education was awarded a $30,000 grant to support a project aimed at protecting faculty members whose work on equity and justice makes them targets of politically motivated attacks. This initiative will gather insights from faculty, administrators, legal scholars, and other stakeholders to develop a support network that ensures scholars can continue their critical work without compromising their well-being.
Erikson Institute was awarded a $150,000 grant, as FCD sunsets its Early Care and Education Workforce Initiative. Under the leadership of its President, Dr. Mariana Souto-Manning, the grant will support Erikson in reassessing its strategies, with a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion in early childhood education.
Learning Grants for Parent Organizing and Advocacy
As the Foundation explores ways to advance social justice for young children marginalized by racism, xenophobia, and economic inequality, it is pleased to provide $75,000 in individual one-year general operating grants to the five organizations listed below. These organizations are dedicated to organizing parents marginalized by injustice to influence state and federal policy and improve the lives of children and families. The organizations represent a diverse array of parent groups, each working with distinct communities.
- Community Change, Washington, DC
- MomsRising, Bellevue, WA
- Mothering Justice, Detroit, MI
- Parent Voices California, Oakland, CA
- United Parent Leaders Action Network, Chicago, IL
The Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia, PA
$400,000 over two years to support its Transforming Evidence Funders Network (TEFN) in the development of a new strategic plan, long-term organizational structure, business plan, fundraising strategy and partnerships, and accompanying communications strategies. TEFN convenes public and private funders to break down silos among research, policy, and practice to address complex societal challenges, fostering impactful social change initiatives. This grant aims to accelerate systemic changes in research funding systems.
Early Care and Education Grants
National Association of Educators for Young Children, Washington, DC
$100,00 over one year to support the National Association of Educators for Young Children (NAEYC) in building stronger alliances with families to provide a more powerful advocacy front for equity in early care and education. This grant enables NAEYC to engage with parent groups, provide pass-through funding, and offer technical assistance to grassroots organizations and NAEYC affiliates in two states. The work aims to strengthen family-educator collaboration and develop aligned advocacy messaging around issues of supply, quality, compensation, and affordability of early care and education.
Young Scholars Program
Saili Kulkarni, Ph.D., Tower Foundation of San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
$225,000 over two years. Building on a prior project and drawing on Disability Critical Race Theory, which highlights intersections of racism and ableism, Dr. Kulkarni argues that early childhood education (ECE) has historically viewed disabilities as a negative reflection on students and families. This has led to inequitable disciplinary practices with Black children with disabilities being disproportionately removed from classrooms and schools compared to other students with disabilities. Kulkarni proposes qualitative data collection and analysis to examine educational partners’ (families, educators, and school leaders) beliefs about discipline in ECE across three urban U.S. districts, which are making policy movements to reduce harsh and exclusionary discipline policies. She will then co-develop with families, educators, and administrators an online professional learning workshop series, which aims to promote restorative/humanizing practices and reduce harsh and exclusionary discipline practices for young children of color with disabilities. Following this, she will pilot the workshop series and study its implementation in shaping educators’ and administrators’ beliefs and perspectives about utilizing restorative and humanizing practices for young children of color with disabilities.
Demi Gabrielle Siskind, Ph.D., Start Early, Chicago, IL
$225,000 over three years. The political and policy landscape against equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts in education is shifting rapidly. Dr. Siskind proposes a multi-phase project that aims to produce timely information about how early childhood leaders and educators are navigating the new landscape of legislation that restricts using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and teaching about race and racism in classrooms to provide equitable learning experiences for young children and families, especially those of color. First, Siskind proposes conducting a policy analysis to map the current landscape of policies restricting or limiting the use of CRT and teaching about race and racism in classrooms serving prekindergarten through grade 3. She then proposes leveraging the policy variation with a sequential mixed-methods study to: a) identify whether teacher training or classroom practices, materials, or curriculum related to using CRT and teaching about race and racism are restricted or limited in classrooms across states; and b) understand how ECE systems leaders and the workforce are interpreting and following these policies. In doing so, Siskind aims to understand how ECE systems leaders and the workforce are navigating policies restricting the use of CRT, adjusting their approach to teaching about race and racism in classrooms, as well as what their attitudes and perceived ramifications might be in light of such policies. In turn, these insights shed light on a rapidly evolving political landscape, and can begin to generate insights into how CRT-restrictive legislation may shape the development of young children of color.