How philanthropy is changing the game and empowering the marginalized: ECFC, WKKF, RCCF and MCF #gamechangers

Alabama’s child care crisis is a microcosm of the nation’s distress, and it is one of the reasons women – who often have to choose between caring for their children and working full-time – have been most affected by the pandemic. The National Women’s Law Center says that 275,000 women left the workforce in January 2021 alone, meaning they are no longer working or looking for work. Since the pandemic began, 5.3 million women have lost jobs nationwide.  That is one reason the work of groups like the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC) is so important. ECFC is a 30-year-old, nationwide partnership of early childhood funders who are combining resources and best practices to impact the lives of children from birth to eight years old.

The ECFC recently awarded Alabama Institute for Social Justice (AISJ) with two grants totaling $230,000 as part of its Raising Child Care Fund (RCCF) project. RCCF is a pooled-funding initiative to help support community-based organizations in child care advocacy. From child care centers, to home-based child care providers, to the families that use those providers, RCCF donations are meant to create lasting solutions to child care problems. In September 2020, AISJ received a one-year, $50,000 RCCF grant to Increase Public Investment in Early Learning (IPIEL) and COVID-19 Response. AISJ later received a two-year, $180,000 grant to extend the implementation of goals beyond the end of the 2020 grant. The goals of RCCF are aligned with AISJ’s mission and purpose: 1) increasing child care providers’ participation in crafting state and local policy; 2) building better coordination among grantees receiving RCCF funding, other advocacy groups, child care providers, and parents; and 3) providing financial resources to ensure that families most affected by injustice and inequality have increased and equitable access to quality child care.

As part of this effort, AISJ’s fundamental mission is to help child care centers get their businesses up and running again, since many have faced overwhelming consequences as a result of the pandemic. Child care center directors are struggling mightily to figure out how to move forward in a post-COVID world. This project will provide immediate assistance to providers to formally identify and address their business and operational needs. ECFC’s collaborative funding during this unprecedented time demonstrates the value of philanthropy in making substantial investments in movement-building work.  Foundations build and sustain positive change when they provide long-term, general-operating support to grassroots organizations, as well as encourage the amplification of voices in underserved communities. When AISJ transformed from a child-care-only organization, funding from the Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF) in Seattle helped us to develop and expand our justice work. And funding from the WK Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) in Battle Creek, Michigan, has enabled AISJ to reconnect with hundreds of child care providers that have long been part of our organization's history. It is that history of cooperation, as well as the lingering system issues that child care workers continue to experience, that facilitated the readiness of our base. Funders have supported us as we have been quietly building and cultivating relationships.

Today, our body of work is clear, and our base – which includes dedicated child care providers across Alabama – is strong and motivated. These providers, who are predominantly minority women working in some of the most marginalized communities across the state, understand child care issues in ways that are not simply specific to this moment, but cumulative. Some have more than 30 years of child care experience.  Misconceptions about child care workers have caused them to be undervalued and underfunded. Contrary to popular opinion, these women are qualified, experienced professionals with strong business acumen who have historically been grossly under-resourced. Some are licensed social workers, and others are working on doctorates in their respective fields. One such child care provider is a leader in The Alabama Movement for Child Care™ (TAMCC™), Elizabeth Sankey, who is a highly successful business woman that fully understands the difference between a "gift" and a "burden." She and I have spent many hours discussing the impacts of COVID-19 and what child care in a post-COVID world must look like, if providers are to be successful in their efforts.  "I am so tired of getting crumbs," says Mrs. Sankey, who has been providing child care for more than 30 years in the Southlawn community of Montgomery's west side.  She understands, in depth, how the current method of child care funding actually creates a financial burden for providers, as well as producing a schism among workers within their business models due to the inconsistencies in how funding is allocated from birth to age four. She has talked about the need for real collaborations, including those between child care and the Alabama State Department of Education. In the past, Mrs. Sankey was part of child care "pilot programs" that proved how ill-equipped they were to be a part of such efforts. "Sister, I have gray hair to this day because of the full-time administrative help that was needed just to fill out the paperwork," she said.  This is what AISJ strives to convey when we talk about the high administrative burden that is often tied to these "gifts," and how child care is funded, and the regulations that keep providers tied down in ways that are not properly sourced. Mrs. Sankey shared examples of funding opportunities that totaled $120,000, although the true cost to provide a quality, competitive service is actually $240,000. And on top of that, like so many others, Mrs. Sankey has lost many of the staff she’s trained over the years to the fast-food industry, which offers slightly better wages plus health benefits. And right now, finding people to work is a nationwide problem for child care. Therefore, she has to pay more for personnel cost, if she can find the help. "We are being pushed into paying $15 an hour for entry level positions," she says. "We are providing a service with the State of Alabama to keep children that they are charged with providing child care for, and we can't do that when child care is not properly funded."  This is what providers are saying, and these are the types of meaningful conversations that philanthropy helps to facilitate. It is a central theme in how, as an organization, we think about what policy needs to address and look like for those actually doing the work and not simply maintaining the status quo. These and other such funders are changing the game and giving voice to the most marginalized. And that's where the real power lies, that is, in the voices, stories, and experiences of the people. #ECFC #RCCF #WKKF #MCF #gamechangers

‌ ‌ ‌