Early Childhood Grantmaking Program
| Our Priorities
This competitive grant program prioritizes nonprofits working in the areas of early childhood care and education.
ACF seeks to support organizations making an impact by:
- Strengthening the skills of caregivers
- Providing tuition assistance to increase access to quality care
- Expanding child care capacity
| Our Process
Each organization seeking funding should first review our grantmaking guidelines and determine whether its proposal meets the criteria and priorities of ACF.
Download the 2025 Early Childhood grant guidelines.
May 1st & May 6th 2025
1:00 PM MT
Office Hours
April 28, 2025
Application is Open
May 29, 2025
Application Closes
June - August 2025
Staff Review
September 2025
ACF Board Approves Grant Awards
September - October 2025
Award Notification & Grant Agreements Sent
October 2025
Checks Mailed
If the organization meets the guidelines, begin the application process by navigating to the grant application platform. All applicants will need to create an account in ACF’s grant management system.
| Our Criteria
We seek out grant applicants who can showcase:
- Alignment with one of ACF’s Early Childhood priorities.
- Commitment to serving under-resourced people and geographies.
- Meaningful depth and duration of contact with those served.
- Clearly articulated metrics and demonstrated impact and positive outcomes for children and families.
ACF’s early childhood grantmaking program is a competitive process and not all requests will be funded. Each application is assessed on its own merit against the scoring criteria.
Each application is scored using a rubric. Check back in April for the 2025 grant guidelines and rubric.
Scott Kenner
Grants Manager
