EARLY CHILDHOOD
Our focus on early childhood care and education (ECCE)
Children thrive when they have the support of responsive, nurturing families and access to high-quality early learning experiences. These early influences contribute significantly to brain development, school readiness, and long-term wellbeing.
Robins Foundation has long prioritized early childhood care and education (ECCE) because it has the power to change lives, improve a child’s developmental trajectory, strengthen families, and generate lasting impact across our community. We’re committed to elevating ECCE for children from prenatal to age five, and to continually learning and improving how we invest in this critical stage of development.
Virginia ranks as the 10th most expensive state for childcare expenses. On average, infant child care costs in Virginia consume over 13% of household income for middle-income families, double what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines as “affordable.” This means that only 22.6% of Virginians can afford infant care and many lower-income families cannot afford child care at all.
Access to high-quality early childhood experiences sets children and their support systems up for long-term success by:
- Equipping parents to be their children’s best first teachers
- Providing support for child development and general well-being
- Preparing children for school and lifelong learning
Our second ECCE SPARK grant cycle of 2026 is now open.
Vision to Impact
We believe the path to a brighter future for Richmond’s children starts now. With a renewed, community-driven strategy guiding our approach, we’re doubling down on the programs, partnerships, and policies that support young children, their families, and those who care for them.
Our 4 Focus Areas
1
Family Engagement
Parents are their children’s ‘first teachers,’ and children’s experiences during their first five years of life have major impacts on school readiness. We are committed to supporting nonprofits that help parents and caregivers build their skills and knowledge and gain access to affordable, high-quality early childhood services. This includes efforts to rethink how services can be delivered in a family-centric way and strategically expanding programs that specifically address the needs and concerns of our region’s families.
2
High Quality Programs
Access to high quality programming is critical to the healthy development of young children. These programs help provide children with a solid foundation for their social, emotional, cognitive, and academic growth. That is why we are committed to supporting diverse ECCE providers, recognizing that a wide-variety of program models are necessary to meet the unique needs of young children and their support systems.
3
Workforce Supports
Our current ECCE system faces massive challenges in the form of worker shortages, sub-living wages, and limited government support. These persistent issues make it increasingly difficult for the region’s early childhood workforce to adequately serve our children. These issues also make this career path even more difficult to pursue for individuals who are committed to supporting our youngest residents. We are dedicated to supporting efforts that expand staffing for ECCE providers, offer professional development opportunities, strengthen the early childhood workforce pipeline, and help pay early childhood educators what they deserve.
4
Policy & Advocacy
An effective early childhood system is not possible without transforming local, state, and federal policies. We are committed to supporting policy & advocacy partners, civic leaders, and grassroots coalitions as they work to both increase public awareness about the importance of ECCE and to support strategic policy initiatives that benefit providers, teachers, families, and other members of the early childhood community.
Lack of access to ECCE impacts us all
Access to early care and education programs is an important issue that impacts families across the socioeconomic spectrum. Efforts to better support the early childhood system and strengthen the existing landscape of early care and education programs have the potential to benefit nearly all families in the region.
Visit our News & Resources page to find articles and resources on early childhood care and education, and read about Robins’ commitment to this space.
Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) Grants
Robins Foundation invests in children ages 0–5 and their families through two distinct grant opportunities: SPARK Grants and SEED Grants.
| SPARK Grants | SEED Grants |
|---|---|
Supporting Programs that Advance Readiness for Kids SPARK Grants fuel innovative nonprofit programs that ignite early learning, strengthen family engagement, foster workforce development, and support advocacy efforts. | Strengthening Early Education Delivery SEED Grants help to grow and strengthen high-quality early care and education settings. |
| SPARK Grants are for: Nonprofit organizations that focus on programs that support young children (ages 0–5), families with young children, or advocacy for young children. | SEED Grants are for: Small nonprofit early childhood care and education providers that serve children 0 to 5 and have a specific, time-sensitive need. |
Funding examples include, but are not limited to:
See below for more details. | Funding examples include, but are not limited to:
See below for more details. |
| SPARK Grant amount: Grants begin at $25,000 | SEED Grant amount: Flexible grants of up to $25,000 |
| SPARK Grant schedule & timeline: There are two grant cycles (opportunities to apply for SPARK Grants) each year. Although the timelines may change slightly, generally the first cycle opens in January with grants awarded in June, and the second cycle opens in July with grants awarded in December. If you are registered through our grant portal, you will be notified when the grant cycles open. The SPARK Grant application process is more complex and grants take longer to be awarded and processed. From pre-application to grant award is typically five months. Organizations are eligible for SPARK grants every other grant cycle. | SEED Grant schedule & timeline: SEED Grants are typically awarded within 30 days of applying. The SEED Grant application process is streamlined, and grants are awarded more quickly. Organizations are eligible for SEED grants once every calendar year. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. |
| How to apply: Click here to access the grants portal to complete a profile and be notified when the grant cycle opens. If you have previously created a login and profile in our grants portal, AkoyaGo, you do not need to do so again. | How to apply: Click here to fill out the streamlined SEED Grant application (no login required). |
Not sure which grant program you should apply for? Please reach out to Stephanie Keller, Early Childhood Program and Operations Coordinator, at stephanie.keller@robinsfdn.org.
Eligibility Requirements
Which projects and organizations are eligible?
- Primarily support children and their families during prenatal stages through age 5
- Serve community members in Richmond City, Chesterfield, Henrico, and/or Petersburg
- Qualify as 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations
What we don’t fund
While we deeply value the many ways organizations strengthen our community, some proposals fall outside Robins Foundation’s current funding priorities. We do not fund projects that focus solely on:
- Travel to conferences, meetings, or other events
- Addressing budget shortfalls or cash flow needs
- Capital investments or major building projects
- Religious-based activities
Robins Foundation values the many ways faith-based organizations contribute to the vitality and well-being of communities. Robins Foundation may award grants to organizations with religious affiliations provided that Foundation funds are used solely to support programs or initiatives that are secular in curriculum, activities, and admissions practices.
Foundation funds may not be used for religious worship, instruction, proselytization, or activities that require participation in religious practice. Funded programs must be open to participants regardless of religious belief and must not discriminate on the basis of religion.
- A note about the ineligibility of proposals that focus on basic needs: Robins Foundation recognizes that housing insecurity, limited access to nutritious food, and a lack of other basic necessities pose serious challenges to a child’s healthy development and school readiness. However, due to finite resources, our board has made the strategic decision to focus on early childhood care & education, rather than basic needs.
Not sure if you’re eligible for one of our grants?
Any questions about your eligibility can be directed to grants@robinsfdn.org.