Early Care and Development Foundation of Becker County
Becker County
Donate
To comply with bank requirements and prevent delays in deposits, all checks must be issued to West Central Initiative, with “Early Care and Development Foundation of Becker County” in your check’s memo field.
Credit card payments will list West Central Initiative as the merchant on your bill but by using this donation page, your donation will be given to the Early Care and Development Foundation of Becker County.
Designating West Central Initiative as the payee ensures that the Internal Revenue Service recognizes your tax-deductible contribution.
Overview
The Early Care & Development Foundation of Becker County (ECDF) exists to strengthen children, families and workforce in our communities through supporting child care now and into the future. ECDF was created in 2022 by a group of leaders in our communities who wanted to create long-term child care solutions throughout Becker County.
The Need
First Children’s Finance conducted a needs analysis of the child care needs in Becker County. The analysis revealed:
- Becker County has a child care shortage of over 600 spots especially infant and toddler care.
- The child care shortage has severely impacted parents living in Becker County.
- Nearly 33% of survey respondents declined employment or withdrew from the workforce due to child care issues.
Why it Matters
If families can’t find quality childcare then they won’t move to our communities, or they will be forced to move away, or they might consider quitting their job to stay home with their children because they have no other option.
Your Support Matters!
Your tax-deductible donation will stay in Becker County and support our mission to strengthen children, families, and workforce in our communities through supporting child care now and into the future.
Through a grant application process, the funds will be used for growth and retention of child care in Becker County. Funds will be awarded to projects and initiatives for:
- Training/Professionalism
- Capacity/Additional Support
- Equipment/Facility Improvements
- Awareness/Appreciation
When children thrive so do our Becker County communities
View the Early Care and Development Foundation of Becker County Brochure
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Grant Application
Purpose: The Early Care and Development Foundation of Becker County exists to strengthen children, families, and workforce in our communities through supporting child care now and into the future.
Eligibility:
● Program must be located in Becker County
● Must be a licensed Rule 2 or Rule 3 child care provider or be in the process of
becoming licensed, or actively providing child care services
● Be in good standing with license
Deadline:
Applications are accepted between March, 30 – April, 13 at 11:59 pm.
Size of Grant Awards:
The ECDF uses the earnings on its fund to make grant awards. Each July, the earnings are analyzed to set the limit of available grant dollars for the coming year. Grants are generally between $500-$2,500.
Grant Focus Areas for Funding that include projects that focus on Growth and/or Retention such as:
● Training/Professionalism
● Capacity/Additional Support
● Equipment/Facility Improvements
● Awareness/Appreciation
Questions? email ecdfofbeckercounty@gmail.com
Please complete and submit the online grant application below. Following your submission you will receive an email confirmation, to the email address provided in the application, with your application details as verification.
We look forward to reviewing all requests and we’ll notify all applicants of decisions by May 4, 2026.
