The Ounce of Prevention 2012 Annual Report

10
It’s not enough to advocate successfully for new federal
funding streams and policies in support of quality
early childhood experiences. We must also ensure that
those new dollars reap promised results that can drive
future investments in a sustained funding stream.
11
IMPROVING QUALITY FOR ALL
YOUNG CHILDREN
Capitalizing on a new federal funding opportunity through the Early Learning
Challenge, the First Five Years Fund partnered with the BUILD Initiative
to highlight the need for increased investment in quality early learning
programs. This partnership powerfully and irrefutably demonstrated that
quality services are needed throughout the country, that state lawmakers
on both sides of the political aisle are committed to creating those quality
services, and that states have realistic, measurable plans for how they can
use federal funding to improve school readiness for at-risk children.
*Original funding for FFYF came from the Buffett Early
Childhood Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Irving
Harris Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation and
Pritzker Children’s Initiative.
**Additional funding for the collaborative was provided by
the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, Buffett Early Childhood Fund,
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, David and Lucile Packard
Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Robert R. McCormick
Foundation, Kresge Foundation, The Heinz Endowments,
William Penn Foundation, Rauch Foundation, George Gund
Foundation and the Early Childhood Funders’ Collaborative.
This year the First Five Years Fund (FFYF),
which was created by the Ounce in partnership
with five national philanthropies* in 2007,
helped to achieve one of the most significant
federal policy developments in recent memory:
the launch of the Early Learning Challenge
(ELC), a competitive grant for states to improve
the quality and effectiveness of their early
learning systems infrastructure. The ELC
provides $500 million in federal funding and
the opportunity to build the systems and
supports necessary to better meet existing need
for quality early learning programs—and to
ensure those programs are sustained.
With leadership and anchor support from the
Irving Harris Foundation,** FFYF formed an
innovative partnership with the BUILD Initiative,
a long-time ally with expertise in state systemsbuilding
approaches. The partnership was called
the Early Learning Challenge Collaborative, and its
goals were to cultivate interest among governors
in applying for ELC funding, strengthen states’
applications through ongoing support from
experts and track the progress and success of
winning states so that FFYF and its partners could
advocate on Capitol Hill for continued funding.
The collaborative convened state teams, early
learning experts and education reform leaders
for a two-day working session in September
2011. That October, 37 states submitted ELC
applications. Ultimately, nine states—California,
Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and
Washington—received Phase One grants, though
$2 billion worth of demand clearly outstripped
available grant funding. That demand made
a clear, compelling case for ongoing federal
investment in building early learning systems.
Leveraging existing and new partnerships, FFYF
ultimately achieved another dramatic victory:
securing an additional $133 million to
support early learning systems-building in five
other states in fall 2012—Colorado, New Mexico,
Oregon, Wisconsin and Illinois. Ounce staff
partnered with the state of Illinois to
apply for ELC funds. Illinois is now eligible
for a $35 million grant to implement new
school-readiness assessments, create a quality
rating system for birth-to-five programs
and build infrastructures to identify and link
high-needs children to services.
“This new partnership allowed us to capitalize
on what some have called a ‘once-in-threegenerations
opportunity,’” said Phyllis
Glink, executive director, the Irving Harris
Foundation. “We were able to provide states
and the field with valuable resources that
were made stronger because of the
collaborative. The lessons learned and the
states’ successes will provide a body of
evidence to make the case for continued
investments in quality early learning systems.”
Ounce of Prevention Fund: 2012 Annual Report