Education

Early Childhood Development & Education

The Powell Foundation seeks to ensure that all children benefit from high-quality early learning environments and services that foster their healthy development, foundational skill-building, school readiness, and lifelong success.

Our Early Childhood investments are focused in the following areas

High-Quality
Providers &
Educators

Supportive
Caregivers

High-Capacity
Sector

Photo Courtesy of: Collaborative for Children

We invest in organizations who champion efforts to:

Develop, sustain, and scale the availability of high-quality early childhood programs for infants, toddlers, and young children.
Train and build the capacity of early childhood educators and providers.
Strengthen the knowledge and capability of parents and other caregivers to nurture and guide their children’s early development and learning.
Improve the coordination and reach of the intersecting systems impacting early childhood.

The Powell Foundation is interested in understanding the extent to which our Early Childhood investments impact the following population-level indicators:

Number of children who are on a positive developmental trajectory by age 3

Number of high-quality early childhood seats

Number of eligible children enrolled in early childhood programs

Percentage of children who demonstrate Kindergarten readiness

Narrowing disparate outcomes along the lines of race, gender, income, language, and ability

Grantee Spotlights

Collaborative for Children

Collaborative for Children seeks to meaningfully improve the quality of early childhood education and care for Greater Houston’s children. Grant funding will help Collaborative for Children scale its Centers of Excellence program and will improve early learning outcomes for thousands of Houston children.

BookSpring

BookSpring’s mission is to build early literacy in children and families through education, healthcare, and the community. In 2021, the Texas Education Agency and Texas Association for the Education of Young Children selected BookSpring as the facilitator of the statewide Birth to Kinder Reading Initiative: Books Beginning at Birth (B3). Grant funds will support BookSpring’s digital and print distribution programs: Early Books for Me, ReadWell, and Books Beginning at Birth (B3).

AVANCE-Austin

AVANCE-Austin provides educational content for predominantly Latino families through programs that ensure school readiness for young children, educate parents about their role as their child’s first and most important teacher, and facilitate opportunities for young families to build community. Powell Foundation funding will support the delivery of AVANCE-Austin’s Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP) model, a holistic, evidence-based, two-generation intervention.

Interested in applying?

Review our Application Process for deadlines, qualifications, and more.