The Women’s Business Development Council is pleased to offer grants of up to $15,000 to qualified child care businesses
This grant program is designed to help licensed child care providers (centers, group, and family homes) cover emergency facilities repair projects to keep their business open and operating safely. Grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to providers that can demonstrate an urgent need, are committed to remaining in business, and cannot cover expenses requested in application through business income or savings.
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.
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This grant will not fund general operating expenses or elective business facilities upgrades – if you are looking for financing to assist with covering these, meet with Samantha Cross (English) or Zayed Rodriguez (Spanish) to explore your options – request an appointment here.
Next round will be open August 12 - November 15.
Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis during this period until funds are exhausted.
We encourage you to attend a Grant Information Session (dates below) and get started on your eCenter Pre-Application.
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 are welcome to attend on of these dates.
Wednesday, August 7 from 1:15PM – 2:30PM (English) – Register Here
Thursday, August 15 from 1:30PM – 2:45PM (English) – Register Here
Wednesday, August 7 from 6:00PM – 7:30PM (Spanish) – Register Here
Tuesday, August 13 from 1:00PM – 2:30PM (Spanish) – Register Here
Applied in the past? We encourage past applicants who are familiar with our grants to skip the Information Session., Instead, book an advising appointment to discuss your grant project and work on your application. We invite you to also join the Grant Prep Sessions most relevant to you.
Once you’ve attended a Grant Information Session, we encourage you to take advantage of the multiple sessions to help you complete your grant application.
Join us as we do a live demo of the grant application portal. Get tips on how to use the portal effectively, from uploading documents, saving your progress, to printing your app.
Friday, August 16 from 10:30-11:00AM (English) Register Here
Saturday, August 17 from 9:00AM-9:45AM (Spanish) Register Here
We will walk you through gathering your financials and filling out the WBDC financial templates for your Profit & Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Projections.
Tuesday, August 20 from 1:00-2:30PM (English) Register Here
Wednesday, August 21 from 5:30-7:00PM (Spanish) Register Here
This session will help you consider what relevant projects or expenses you may have for your business, how it will benefit your business, and how to turn that into your use of funds request & impact statement. We will also guide you on how to gather the backup documents to support your project idea.
Monday, August 26 from 1:00-2:00PM (English/Spanish) Register Here
Those that meet all of the following criteria are encouraged to apply:
*For purposes of the WBDC’s Child Care Business Opportunity Fund grants, the definitions of full-time and part-time are as follows:
Additionally, the following businesses are NOT eligible:
1. Businesses not actively licensed by the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC) as a family home (DCFH), group home (DCGH), or center (DCCC); licensed child care businesses operating part time; businesses operated by a municipality; and businesses without children currently enrolled.
2. Businesses that were awarded a WBDC Start-up Grant, Emergency Facilities Grant, or Expansion Grant in the past 6 months for the same license number.
3. If your business is outside the child care industry and based in Connecticut, WBDC has other grant programs. We encourage you to schedule an appointment with a WBDC Business Advisor or participate in one of our classes to learn more.
4. Businesses outside of Connecticut. Please contact your local SBA Resource Partner including our sister Women’s Business Centers around the U.S., to learn about funding opportunities in your area.
This Emergency Facilities Grant is for urgent facilities repair projects only, for those programs with unmet financial need due to significant revenue shortages. Funds may be used for emergency facilities expenses only and may include:
Expenses to correct an OEC licensing citation of emergency status (i.e., preventing a classroom from being used)
Health Department or Fire Department finding impacting the program’s ability to operate fully
Emergency facility expense impacting the program’s ability to operate or meet basic health and safety (i.e., storm damage to facility, boiler repair, etc.)
Reimbursement of required (non-elective) facilities upgrades made in the last 6 months
INELIGIBLE USES OF FUNDS:
Funds cannot be used for real estate purchases, renovations for a leased building with less than 1 year left on lease, projects that are fully covered by insurance, or wish list upgrades not required for continued operations.
If you received other grant funds, including OEC Stabilization Funds, Infant/Toddler Funding, or OEC-LISC Early Childhood Facilities funding, this WBDC grant cannot be used to cover the same expenses.
This grant will not fund general operating expenses or elective business facilities upgrades – if you are looking for financing to assist with these, meet with Samantha Cross (English) or Zayed Rodriguez (Spanish) to explore your options – request an appointment here.
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.
We have a pre-application process to better support you in assessing your eligibility for this grant program, before you spend time on the full application.
Before you begin your application, you must complete a Pre-Application Form HERE. This form will close in early November, or when funds for the round are exhausted. This will help you review your eligibility and provide us initial information on your project to ensure it is eligible for this grant program. We will contact you within 3 business days of you completing your pre-application form to let you know if we have any questions about your submission, and then provide eligible providers a link to the grant application.
We also ask that you create a profile in WBDC’s eCenter portal HERE 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.
There are four sections of the application. For the first two sections, you will be required to provide a detailed picture of your business.
Section 1: Business Operations & Financial Summary
Section 2: How You Would Use the Grant
Section 3: Narrative of Your Business
Section 4: Supporting Documents for Uploading
Compliance and Consent
Spring 2023 Application Guide containing application questions and a document checklist: DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE
This guide is from the previous grant round. The application opening August 12 will be similar, but not exact, to this application guide. The types of documents you will need to upload remain the same.
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, evenings, and Saturday mornings if needed. If you need an appointment in a different language, accommodations may be possible.
REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT HERE
In addition to our regular advising hours, we are holding bonus office hours for eligible providers actively working on their application. You will receive an invite. Save the date!
Thursday, August 29 from 6:00-7:00PM (English & Spanish)
Thursday, September 5 from 1:00-2:00PM (English & Spanish)
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
Historical financial statements are notrequired for Emergency Facilities Grant applicants. If you would like to provide them to better support your application, you can do so using your existing format (e.g., QuickBooks), or WBDC’s template below.
If you are a family home (DCFH), do not complete the Balance Sheet template.
Historical Financials Template (English/Spanish):
Access Here in Google Sheets / Download to Microsoft Excel Here
Start early on this! You may have to receive a pin by mail to activate your myconneCT account before getting your letter. This letter will show if your state taxes are paid or not.
Please request your letter from the CT DRS myconneCT online center at no cost: 𝗺𝘆𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗖𝗧 (ct.gov)
Here is a tutorial to on how to request the status letter: Requesting a Status Letter (of Good Standing) (ct.gov) . If you are a sole proprietor and file your personal taxes jointly, the letter may be in your spouse’s name. If you did not operate your business in the last tax year,
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. This letter of good standing is not the same as a Certificate of Legal Existence.
