PRESS RELEASE: Birth to Five Illinois Announces $2.5 Million Now Available
PRESS RELEASE: Birth to Five Illinois Announces $2.5 Million Now Available
PRESS RELEASE
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For more information, contact:
Maggie Koller (she/her)
Communications Manager
(309) 233-0434
mkoller@birthtofiveil.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2025
BIRTH TO FIVE ILLINOIS ANNOUNCES $2.5 MILLION NOW AVAILABLE
Funding Opportunity for Early Childhood Collaborations in Illinois
Birth to Five Illinois is accepting fiscal year 2026 subcontract proposals from Local Early Childhood Collaborations. The organization defines a Local Early Childhood Collaboration as community partners like caregivers, small business owners, and educators, working as a collective to improve local early learning and care opportunities for families.
With funds received through its contract with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Birth to Five Illinois currently supports 40 Local Early Childhood Collaborations. These and other existing Early Childhood Collaborations can apply for up to $75,000 to complete activities such as:
Conducting outreach to families with children from birth to age five to share resources and support program enrollment.
Updating online and physical resource banks with information for families.
Translating materials with cultural sensitivity into common languages to increase access for local community members.
“Birth to Five Illinois strongly believes in the power of community action to identify and solve tough challenges, especially when bolstered with sustained financial support,” said Cicely Fleming, Director for Birth to Five Illinois. “With the awarding of these subcontracts, Birth to Five Illinois will have distributed more than $11.8 million over four years to community-based groups working toward improving local Early Childhood opportunities.”
Applications must be submitted by 11:00pm on Thursday, July 31, 2025. For information regarding eligibility, requirements, fundable activities, and a link to the application, visit: www.birthtofiveil.com/fy25subcontracts.
Details for these Birth to Five Illinois subcontracts will be discussed during a virtual informational webinar on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 11:00am. Register here on Zoom.
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About Birth to Five Illinois
Birth to Five Illinois’ mission is to create a statewide regional infrastructure that will amplify input from communities in the development of policies and funding priorities. We support the mobilization of communities to build and sustain equitable access to inclusive, high-quality early childhood services for all children and families in the state of Illinois.