United States 
What We're Learning: The Bridgespan Group's Early Childhood Funder Guide
Working toward the future we imagine – where learning sparks opportunity and thriving belongs to everyone – is not just about dreaming of a different world. It’s about taking concrete action now to make that brighter future a reality. One challenge, of course, is identifying which actions. Another challenge is sufficient funding to sustain those actions over the long term. This is particularly true in a fragmented, deeply strained system like early care and learning in the US – and especially right now, when the scope of actions needed to support children and families is vast.
While we don’t have a crystal ball, a new funder guide from The Bridgespan Group offers the next best thing: a synthesis of the promising work underway to improve and reorient systems for children and families.
The guide organizes efforts into these four key areas of needed investment where funders can take action to accelerate change.
The time to invest in those who are working to build a brighter future for children and families is now. Shannon Rudisill, executive director of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative recently wrote a sobering reminder of the moment facing children and families in the US: “Parents are forced into impossible choices between going to work to feed their families and risking detention without due process. Young children are internalizing fear at an age when their world should be defined by safety and care.”
We urgently need the inspiration provided by the many visionaries, builders, and helpers outlined in this report – and they urgently need our investment.
Dive deeper into the areas where funders can take catalytic action for young children and families on 3/12: “How Philanthropy Can Help Every Child Thrive.”
