Child care capacity-building grant opportunity coming July 6!

The Washington State Department of Commerce is releasing a notice of funding opportunity for its Child Care Partnership (CCPG) Program on Wednesday, July 6!

The agency is interested in funding collaborative coalition-like partnerships to conduct assessment and planning activities to increase the total number of child care slots, especially in "child care deserts," or areas with limited or no child care. To learn more about child care deserts in Washington State, view the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, & Families' interactive map.

Additional consideration will be assigned to prioritize projects in child care deserts that:

• Are proposed by “By and For Organizations”[1]
• Are operating in small rural communities[2]
• Include intentional outreach to serve Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) families and historically underserved populations - including children with disabilities and special needs

Grants cannot be used for capital projects or construction, but can help prepare a community to competitively access funds for capital projects to provide child care and early learning. Eligible Project Proposers (to carry the contract) must meet all qualifications 1-4:

1. Licensed to do business in the state of Washington.
2. Populations served must be located in the state of Washington.
3. Must be headquartered in the state of Washington.
4. Meets one of the following entity designations:

• Federally recognized Washington tribe;
• Local government entity;
• Nonprofit organization registered with the Washington Secretary of State as a nonprofit corporation and has a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); or
• Public agency.

To help reduce proposal barriers the Department of Commerce will offer:

• Connection to community partners to help with language access to help complete the NOFO, upon request
• Two-week question and answer period
• Two online application webinars on Thursday, July 13, 3:30-4:30 p.m. and Monday, July 17, noon-1 p.m. (recorded)
• Open office hours to answer questions on Tuesday, July 18, 2-2:30 p.m. and Thursday, July 20, 8:30-9 a.m. on Zoom to answer questions about the grant
• An open NOFO submission period of 8 weeks before closing on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

The application deadline is Thursday, August 31.

[1] By and For Organization definition:

1. By and For organizations are operated by and for the community they serve;
2. Their primary mission and history is serving a specific community and they are culturally based, directed, and substantially controlled by individuals from the population they serve;
3. At the core of their programs, the organizations embody the community’s central cultural values; and
4. The communities served by these nonprofit by and for organizations include: Ethnic and racial minorities; Immigrants and refugees; Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+; Individuals with disabilities or who are deaf; and Native Americans.

2 Rural Community definition: Small rural counties with 35,000 residents or less, or cities with 8,500 residents or less according to OFM 2020. Census.[1]