Grants & Assistance
Rising Futures Expansion Fund
The Rising Futures Expansion Fund is an innovative grant program designed by Reinvestment Fund to support early childhood education providers in Metro Atlanta.
About the Rising Futures Expansion Fund
Building off the success of Reinvestment Fund’s decade-long Fund for Quality program in Philadelphia, Rising Futures Expansion Fund (RFEF) aims to enhance and increase access to high-quality child care across Metro Atlanta.
Through RFEF, eligible providers may apply for planning grants to assist with organizational planning and project predevelopment to ensure a successful and high-quality expansion project.
Grantees will receive a Planning Phase grant up to $12,500 to be used towards architect plans, zoning, permits, environmental assessments, and other pre-development needs. Upon successful completion of the Planning Phase, grantees will be accepted into the Capital Phase and eligible for a capital grant of up to $285,000 to be used towards construction, furniture, equipment, and classroom materials.
Program Features
Planning and Capital Grants
Eligible providers can apply for planning grants to assist with organizational planning and project pre-development. After successfully completing the planning portion of their project, providers will be eligible for a larger capital grant to cover a portion of their expansion’s cost.
Expert Organizational and Business Planning
Reinvestment Fund will use its partnerships and experience in the ECE field to pair each grantee with an expert business consultant to help guide them through the planning and predevelopment process. This direct support is provided at no cost to the provider.
High-Quality Child Care Resources and Support
Reinvestment Fund will provide grantees with a variety of high-quality child care resources, including design guides, best practices for staffing, marketing plans, and child care business management tools. These resources will help grantees not only complete their expansion projects but stabilize and prepare their businesses for the future.
Eligibility
- Be a licensed child care provider seeking to expand licensed capacity.
- For-profit or non-profit childcare organizations.
- Expansion project must be a child care center located in eligible Metro Atlanta communities. *
- Applicant must own or rent the location of the expansion project. Applicants must have site control (a Letter of Intent to lease for 10+ years or a Deed or Agreement of Sale for the proposed expansion site.)
- Minimum of twenty new seats created.
- Projects must be able to be completed within 12 months.
- Maintain a Quality Rated score of 2 or higher.
- Demonstrate a commitment to quality improvement, high-quality facility design, and a clear plan for use of funds.
* Email lawrence.smith@reinvestment.com with the address of your expansion project to understand if you are eligible to apply.
Application — Now Open!
Application submissions will be accepted electronically through Reinvestment Fund’s online grants management platform, SmartSimple. Applications in additional languages are available upon request. If you do not already have a SmartSimple account, you must create one here.
For instructions on creating an account, please visit here.
Once you have an active SmartSimple Account, you will need to complete a Letter of Intent. The letter of intent will include details on your program as well as your planned use of funds. It will also include a document upload for us to run necessary searches and verify your information. Once the Letter of Intent is completed, applicants will be informed on their funding amount and welcome to complete their application.
For any questions please contact Lawrence Smith, contact information is below.
