First grantees announced
The Children’s Opportunity Alliance is pleased to announce the grant recipients from our first funding cycle. These four organizations will help further our work and fulfill our mission to better serve children and families in Montgomery County.
Action in Montgomery (AIM) is a broad-based community power organization rooted in Montgomery County’s neighborhoods and congregations. AIM is a non-partisan, multi-faith, multi-racial organization dedicated to making Montgomery County and the State of Maryland a better place to live and thrive. This grant will support organizing teams of BIPOC parents to address structural barriers related to access to early childhood education.
Grant amount: $40,000
CentroNía’s mission for nearly 40 years has been to educate children and youth and strengthen families in a multicultural bilingual environment. This grant will allow CentroNía to prepare and deliver video trainings for Montgomery County educators on high-quality early instruction and care that is responsive to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse children, including those exhibiting learning and developmental delays.
Grant amount: $15,000
Montgomery County Food Council (MCFC) builds an equitable, resilient, and sustainable local food system through collaboration, transformation, and cultivation. Feeding America estimates at least 33,840, or 14%, of children in Montgomery County are food insecure, with an estimated 10,660 of those children being under the age of 6. This grant will support young children and families experiencing food insecurity by increasing SNAP program awareness and participation in Montgomery County. MCFC has a goal of completing SNAP applications for 300 children from ages 0-15.
Grant amount: $10,000
Montgomery Housing Partnership, Inc. (MHP) preserves and expands affordable housing, empowers families, strengthens neighborhoods, and provides support services to families in their housing units. This grant will support MHP’s Play and Learn program, which provides kindergarten readiness opportunities for low-income children and English Language Learners.
Grant amount: $40,000
We received 19 applications for this initial grant cycle, totaling $736,504 in requests to support early care and education programs and systems work in Montgomery County. We organized a review committee of seven individuals, representing parents, early childhood providers, funders, and Alliance Board members and staff. The review committee discussed each grant, keeping in mind our values of equity, innovation, diversity of portfolio, and filling gaps that are not being addressed through other sources of funding in our community.