Grantor Name: Thunderbirds Charities
Program Name: Open Table Child Care Initiative
Grant Amount: $50,000
Recipient Name: Open Table, Inc.
Overview of Use of Funds: Good Works Grant Writing is overjoyed to congratulate our client, Open Table, for being selected to receive a $50,000 foundation grant from Thunderbirds Charities for their Child Care Initiative! Open Table is working with First Things First (FTF) to help increase the number of quality childcare programs in Maricopa County, AZ to break the cycle of generational poverty by improving quality early learning. Research shows that children who participate in quality childcare score higher on school readiness assessments and are more likely to do well in school and graduate from high school. However, childcare providers need support to deliver quality care. Many operate in low-income communities where resources are limited and profit margins are razor-thin. Open Table will leverage 17 years of evidence-driven models mobilizing community social capital to help move struggling preschools to increase and sustain high-quality early learning in Maricopa County.
Overview of Grant Objective/Impact: The Open Table Child Care Initiative is done in collaboration with FTF to identify struggling preschools and child care centers in Maricopa County that participate in the FTF Quality First program and are seeking to improve their quality and sustainability. The Open Table Network Table ™ model will be used to connect child care centers to a team of trained community volunteers to invest their social capital (e.g., resources in their social and business networks) to find viable solutions to the challenges these child care centers face (e.g., skilled teacher recruitment from the Table’s networks, improving health and safety, and addressing classroom environment needs), helping them to increase and sustain higher quality early learning. Thunderbirds Charities has provided a $50,000 foundation grant to help the program expand from 10 childcare centers to 20. Open Table is excited to expand the Network Table model and build stronger communities of support around childcare centers and preschools.