>MN Awarded Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grant
First Children's Finance is the proud recipient of the Bush Foundation's Community Innovation Grant for the Greater Than Minnesota (>MN) Project!
"Our inaugural Community Innovation Grant recipients are tackling a range of issues impacting quality of life in their communities," said Molly Matheson Gruen, the Bush Foundation's community innovation manager. "And they are doing it in a way that ensures all voices are heard and that the solutions will endure."
>MN is a statewide initiative to address rural early care and education needs in Greater Minnesota. Visit greaterthanmn.org to learn more.
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 First Children's Finance Receives DHS Contract
FCF was recently awarded a $400,000 contract with the Minnesota Department of Human Services to provide loans and business planning assistance to early care and education programs in Minnesota.
Child care providers didn't get into the business because they wanted to be a CEO - but they have to be. Center directors and family child care owners are educators and entrepreneurs. But cash flow and strategic planning probably aren't the first things on their mind. That's where we come in.
High quality early care and education is an investment not only for our children, but for the child care businesses tasked with serving them. With the Parent Aware quality rating and improvement system ramping up and an unprecedented amount of funding tied to quality on the state's horizon, it has never been more important to ensure that Minnesota has a robust supply of high quality, sustainable child care options for children and families. And, in order for those investments to be sound, child care programs must have access to business and financial resources.
Are you a Parent Aware rated program looking to improve or expand your facility? Do you need help planning for quality and the future? Let us help. Contact Jim to learn more about our Loan Fund, or Heidi for more info on our business trainings, one-on-one help, and provider learning cohorts.
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Grunewald Speaks to Business Leaders in Northern MN
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Image by Tony Potter, Hibbing Daily Tribune
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Rob Grunewald, economist for Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, gave a presentation discussing "Minnesota's economic outlook and the role of early childhood education" during a business leaders luncheon forum recently at Hibbing Park Hotel.
From the Hibbing Daily Tribune:
The solution to providing the workforce with qualified workers long-term - the country's youth. "Early childhood growth is very important," Grunewald said. "I'm convinced that if we make changes and teach children what's important early, that'll have the greatest impact."
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