Child Care Business Opportunity Fund
WBDC is pleased to offer grants of up to $25,000 to qualified child care businesses.
WBDC, in partnership with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC), is offering grants of up to $25,000 to qualified child care businesses in Connecticut through its Child Care Business Opportunity Fund.
Designed to help licensed and aspiring child care businesses grow, the Opportunity Fund has grant programs targeting different stages of business, from start-ups to those ready to expand.
Current Grant Programs to Meet a Variety of Needs
Grant application portal, and no-cost grant application support, is available in English & Spanish.
Start-Up Grants
- Up to $5,000 for family homes, $10,000 for group homes, and $25,000 for centers for start-up operating expenses
- Open to aspiring & licensed child care providers open for less than 1 year
- Applications closed Feb 29, 2024; next round anticipated to open by Sept 2024
Expansion Grants
- Up to $25,000 to create slots, maximize enrollment, and/or create new revenue streams
- Open to licensed providers operating with enrolled children for 2+ years
- Applications closed Feb 29, 2024; next round anticipated to open by Sept 2024
Emergency Facilities Grants
- Up to $15,000 for urgent facilities projects to remain open & safe
- Open to licensed providers operating with enrolled children for 6+ months
- Applications closed Apr 30, 2024; next round anticipated to open by Sept 2024
FCC Incubator Pilot Start-up Grant Program
- Up to $5,000 for individuals approved to operate in an OEC-approved Family Child Care Incubator (e.g., YMCA New Britain)
- Grants to support start-up operating expenses within the first 6 months of operation
- Applications currently open – eligible individuals will receive a direct invite to apply
Learn About Our Grants
Ready to learn more about how you can apply?
Sign up for an info session and click through these boxes to make sure you have all the information you need to make your application strong!
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.
- No upcoming live sessions
If you missed the live session, or want to rewatch it, you can access it here:
Grant Prep Class: Financial Templates
Watch this session to get guidance on preparing 3 of the documents needed for your grant application — your use of funds tracker, 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!).
Business advising is an important part of our grant application process. We encourage applicants to create a profile on our grant portal and look over the application questions. If you have any issues, we encourage you to reach out.
Our team can guide you on eligibility requirements and selecting the right grant program for you. You can also meet with a WBDC Business Advisor to assist you with your application once you’ve started it. Appointments are available at no-cost in English and Spanish. Support in other languages may be possible – reach out to us.
Fill out this form to request an appointment.
For the Start-up and Expansion Grant Programs, grant awards are not made on a first come, first served basis. All eligible applications are considered once the application period closes. Funds are set aside on an ongoing basis for Emergency Facilities Grant recipients.
This is a competitive process and WBDC may not be able to fund all applicants. You must be licensed, or pending licensure, with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in order to be eligible. You must also meet the eligibility of the grant program and submit a complete application to be considered.
If you have multiple OEC licenses, you may submit an application for each location/license number. However, the following policies apply for multiple awards:
- Full-time programs can receive up to 2 grants per year, but not in subsequent cycles, in addition to a Technology Grant.
- Part-time programs can receive 1 grant per year.
- Child care owners that have multiple OEC licenses can receive grants, following the above policies, for no more than 3 sites in a year.
WBDC has distributed over $6.65 million across Connecticut, through 615 Child Care Business Grant awards. These grants have supported the creation or maintenance of 2,270 jobs and 10,104 slots.
These grants are made possible through the generous financial support of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC).
