WBDC is pleased to offer grants of up to $25,000 to qualified start-up child care businesses
Are you almost a Connecticut licensed child care provider with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC), or have you recently become licensed with OEC? Are you in need of funding to help cover some of your start-up operating costs? Then this WBDC Start-Up Grant may be right for you!
We will be offering one-time cash grants of up to $5,000 for family home providers, up to $10,000 for group homes and up to $25,000 for centers to help individuals in financial need become licensed and operating child care providers with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC). This grant program is designed to support aspiring, unlicensed, and newly licensed child care providers in need of financial assistance to cover start-up operating expenses. It is open to those in process of becoming a licensed and operating family home (DCFH), group home (DCGH), or child care center (DCCC), and those operating as a family home, group home, or center with enrolled children for less than one year.
Make sure to read the Eligibility section below before beginning the process to apply. We also encourage you to attend an Information Session (scroll down for link).
This is a competitive process and the WBDC will not be able to fund all strong applicants.
Next round will be open August 12 - September 9
Sign up now for a Grant Information Session!
If you are ineligible or otherwise need funding for your business, contact us at (203) 353-1750 x129 or childcarebusiness@ctwbdc.org to explore alternate funding opportunities.
Join us for a Grant Information Session to learn about what the grant can be used for, eligibility requirements, and what information we’re looking for in the application. If you have attended a Grant Information Session in the past year, the information will be similar, but you may want to listen to the latest below.
Wednesday, August 7 from 1:15PM – 2:30PM – Register Here
Wednesday, August 7 from 6:00PM-7:30PM – Register Here
We will have a variety of classes to help you complete your grant application. Dates coming soon!
Grant Prep Class: Financial Templates
This session will help you prepare some of the key documents needed for your grant application — your historical & current financial statements, as well as your financial projections. This session will walk you through gathering your financials and filling out the WBDC financial templates (or your own version).
Tuesday, August 20 from 1:00-2:30PM (English) Click Here
Wednesday, August 21 from 5:30-7:00PM (Spanish) Click Here
Those that meet the above criteria are encouraged to apply.
If there are more qualified applications than we can fund this round, priority will be given to the following programs:
Not the right grant for you? See our other Child Care Business Grant programs.
Before you begin your application, you will be required to create a profile in WBDC’s eCenter portal to provide general information about you and your business.
If you are an existing WBDC client that has used eCenter before to register for classes, you will need to review and update your eCenter Profile by logging into eCenter, and clicking “My Information” on the left.
If you are an existing WBDC client that has not used eCenter before, click the link below to get to our eCenter. Then click “Forgot Password” in the top right corner. Enter your email and follow the on-screen prompts to access to your profile. Once logged in, click “My Information” on the left to complete or update your information.
Here are the components of the application:
Profile, Contact, and Eligibility
Section A: Background about Your Business
Section B: Use of Grant Funds
Section C: Narrative of Your Business
Section D: Supporting Documents for Uploading
Section E: Compliance and Consent
What we’re looking for in an application:
WBDC Business Advisors are available to help answer your questions after you have attended a live or on-demand information session. Appointments available in English or Spanish during standard business hours and evenings. If you need an appointment in a different language, accommodations may be possible.
Request an appointment at:
https://ctwbdc.wufoo.com/forms/z6mvzcg167rfc6/
Download the Proposed Use of Funds’ Tracker below and fill in to indicate your proposed use of funds with the contractor/vendor, and cost of each item. This will serve as a cover sheet for your back-up use of funds documentation.
Access Here in Google Sheets / Download to Microsoft Excel Here
We have optional templates for you to use for your historical and projected financial documents.
If you are a family home (DCFH), a Balance Sheet is not required. If you utilize QuickBooks or another digital system, you should use financial statements from there, instead of the WBDC templates.
Historical Financials Template (English/Spanish):
Access Here in Google Sheets / Download to Microsoft Excel Here
Financial Projections Template (English/Spanish) – complete for 1 year only:
Access Here in Google Sheets / Download to Microsoft Excel Here
Please request your letter from the CT Dept. of Revenue Services (DRS) myconneCT online center: 𝗺𝘆𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗖𝗧 (ct.gov)
Here is a tutorial to on how to request the status letter: Requesting a Status Letter (of Good Standing) (ct.gov)
Click here to see an example of what your status letter should like. Please note that if it does not look like this – it is the wrong document.
If myconneCT doesn’t work, you can obtain your Letter of Good Standing from the CT DRS by visiting: https://drsindtax.ct.gov/AUT/welcomeindividual.aspx. You will need to log in using the EIN of your LLC, or your Social Security/Tax ID number used to file your taxes. If you file your taxes jointly with your spouse, you will need to use the main Social Security/Tax ID number used to file your taxes.
These grants are made possible through the generous financial support of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC).
