The early years, from birth to age five, shape a child’s learning, development and future—but public investment falls far short of what families and communities want and need. Our investments focus on harnessing the power of parents and providers to change policy and increase access to better early care and learning options for all families. We support advocates, grassroots networks, coalition builders and media working to shift policy and public narratives to recognize the essential value of child care and early learning.
Unlocking New Futures for Learners and Families
Education can open doors to brighter futures for families. We fund solutions that ensure parents and their young children get the education they need to thrive. When families succeed, entire communities grow stronger, more resilient and more connected, enriching us all.
Untapped Potential for Generational Change
Untapped Potential for Generational Change
We invest in solutions that reimagine the possibilities of education and caregiving, renewing the promise of our child care and postsecondary systems as engines of family opportunity. Millions of parents in the US face impossible trade-offs between raising children and pursuing education or training that could unlock greater opportunity for their families. By ensuring children receive safe, nurturing care in the early years and parents have options for gaining new skills and expertise beyond high school, we shape a brighter future where families learn, grow and thrive together.
Raising New Possibilities for Parents and their Children
Access to child care can alleviate the weight of impossible choices facing all parents, including those who want to pursue postsecondary education or work, while also setting our youngest learners up for success. Yet the US invests 28 times less in the care of young children than other OECD countries. At this current level of public investment, there are many more parents and children without the kind of care support they need.
Often excluded from conversations that shape our care and education systems, student parents make up a sizable share of postsecondary students in the US—representing one in five current US college students and 12 million more with some college experience but no degree. These learners are driven by dreams for a better future for their families, but are often held back by fragmented systems that fail to recognize their dedication as both caregivers and students. The burden of these impossible choices weighs heavy for today’s students and disproportionately impacts students of color; one in three Black and Indigenous college students, and one in five Latino students are parents.
We fund solutions that reject the false choice between education and family, instead we work to connect education, child care and economic opportunity so all families can thrive.
Making Education Work for Generations to Come
Making Education Work for Generations to Come
We fund initiatives that embrace both learning and care as vital to realizing a brighter future for families in the US. Our partners lead advocacy, research and narrative change efforts that connect education to child care and economic mobility. Together, we’re reimagining systems to create real pathways to a better future, where families no longer have to choose between caregiving and opportunity—they can have both.
Our Investment Priorities
Moving Power and Resources toward Our Youngest Learners
The early years, from birth to age five, shape a child’s learning, development and future—but public investment falls far short of what families and communities want and need. Our investments focus on harnessing the power of parents and providers to change policy and increase access to better early care and learning options for all families. We support advocates, grassroots networks, coalition builders and media working to shift policy and public narratives to recognize the essential value of child care and early learning.
Tapping the Talent and Dreams of Parents
We invest in efforts that recognize parenting students as talented learners, dedicated caregivers and providers for their families, and powerful agents of change for their communities. Parents earn the same grades as students without children, despite significantly higher demands on their time and finances, yet most never complete the education they started. By creating welcoming and effective learning environments for parents, we create ripple effects that echo across generations, benefitting their children and communities for years to come.
We fund federal, state and institutional policy advocacy, along with research and narrative change that acknowledges and includes parenting students in our support systems for learners and working families. This work helps connect education with child care and economic opportunity. Together, we’re unlocking the potential of all parents to succeed in school, at work and at home.
We invest in efforts that recognize parenting students as talented learners, dedicated caregivers and providers for their families, and powerful agents of change for their communities. Parents earn the same grades as students without children, despite significantly higher demands on their time and finances, yet most never complete the education they started. By creating welcoming and effective learning environments for parents, we create ripple effects that echo across generations, benefitting their children and communities for years to come.
We fund federal, state and institutional policy advocacy, along with research and narrative change that acknowledges and includes parenting students in our support systems for learners and working families. This work helps connect education with child care and economic opportunity. Together, we’re unlocking the potential of all parents to succeed in school, at work and at home.
Collaboration for Greater Impact
Collaboration for Greater Impact
We believe the best solutions are built together. That’s why we work alongside other funders and national networks to expand what’s possible. Together, we share learning, align efforts and deepen our collective impact for families across the U.S.
Over a Decade of Trusting Partners to Lead
Over a Decade of Trusting Partners to Lead
Our journey in the US began in 2009 through Omidyar Network, using a hybrid funding model to support for-profit innovators and social-sector changemakers. We invested in solutions to support early childhood education and postsecondary success for parents at scale.
When Imaginable Futures launched in 2020, we saw a catalytic opportunity for those with the most at stake to shape the solutions we need. Since then we have funded advocacy and practice solutions co-designed by parents and families. With the trust of our grantees and partners as our foundation, we deepened our understanding of what families need to thrive, improved support for parenting students in postsecondary institutions and launched advocacy efforts to increase public investment in parents and children.
Today our work is even more rooted in the transformative power of deep connection—between parents and their children, and among those committed to their success.
