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Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo awarded $516,000 Grant from Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to support small home-based child care providers

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Wed, Jul 8th 2020 12:00 pm

The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo announced a $516,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to support small home-based child care providers through the Small Grants for Small Children program. 

The Community Foundation will work with the Childcare Resource Network serving Erie County, the Niagara Community Action Program Inc. and ACCORD to distribute grants of $2,000 to more than 250 home-based child care providers across Erie, Niagara, Wyoming and Allegany counties. Child care providers will have flexibility to use the funds as they best see fit to help them reopen or remain open to continue to provide high-quality care for children. 

A press release said, “Child care providers are struggling to accommodate the changing needs of families while balancing this with their own needs for reliable income and fears of being exposed to COVID-19. Most challenged are the small home-based child care programs that serve between three and 12 children. Currently, they are ineligible for many of the federal and state supports available to small businesses. This is exacerbated by the fact that most programs supporting small business do not have child care on their radar.”

The grant to the Community Foundation is part of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s $1 million total investment to support small home-based child care providers across Western New York. Grants have also been distributed to the Rochester Area Community Foundation, Chautauqua Community Foundation and Cattaraugus Community Foundation. This program is modeled after the long-standing Small Grants to Small Children developed by the Adirondack Foundation. 

“Child care is essential now more than ever,” said Amber Slichta, vice president of programs at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “Small home-based child care providers rarely qualify for support and, in turn, do not view themselves as small businesses. It’s important that we continue to fill these gaps and uplift these providers, as they are often the only option for working families in rural areas and urban neighborhoods.” 

Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Executive Vice President Betsy Constantine said, “As we move toward COVID-19 recovery efforts in our community, these child care grants made possible by the generosity of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation will make a big impact in Western New York. The regional collaboration between the foundations and the Childcare Resource Networks will ensure that we can support child care providers during a critical time of building back in our community.”

About Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

For more than a century, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has enhanced and encouraged long-term philanthropy in the Western New York community. A 501 (c)(3) organization, the Community Foundation’s mission is: Connecting people, ideas and resources to improve lives in Western New York. Established in 1919, the Community Foundation has made the most of the generosity of individuals, families, foundations and organizations who entrust charitable assets to the Community Foundation’s care. Learn more at cfgb.org.

About Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation is a grantmaking organization dedicated primarily to sustained investment in the quality of life of the people of Southeast Michigan and Western New York. The two areas reflect Wilson’s devotion to his hometown of Detroit and greater Buffalo, home of his Buffalo Bills franchise. Prior to his passing in 2014, Wilson requested a significant share of his estate be used to continue a lifelong generosity of spirit by funding the foundation that bears his name. The foundation has a grantmaking capacity of $1.2 billion over a 20-year period, which expires Jan. 8, 2035. This structure is consistent with Wilson’s desire for the foundation’s impact to be immediate, substantial, measurable and overseen by those who knew him best. 

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