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WHAT IS THE ECHO FUND?

Purpose: The Early Childhood Opportunity Fund (ECHO) Fund is Agenda for Children’s innovative grant program that seeks to increase access to high-quality early care and education for children from birth through age four, through directly funding early childhood programs’ needs.

The ECHO Fund directly supports the needs of early learning programs in our region, investing in increased access, ingenuity, and quality for our youngest learners. Since the fund’s inception in 2018, Agenda for Children has distributed over 1,000 grants totaling over $5.7M in ECHO grants.

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WHAT IS THE ECHO FUND?

Funding: The ECHO Fund is made possible through the generous support of national foundations, state funding, individual donors and local educational partners, as well as through the School Readiness Tax Credit program.

Past Grants: COVID Recovery, Hurricane Ida Recovery, Innovation Grants, City Seats & B-3 Micro-Grants, Quality Grants, Seat Augmentation Grants, Facilities Grants

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WHAT IS THE SPRING 2023 WORKFORCE GRANT?

Purpose: The Spring 2023 Orleans Parish ECHO Fund Workforce Grant, made possible through Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) Community Supply Building and Access Expansion (CSBAE), Transform, and Believe! funding, intends to support Family Child Care (FCC) Providers with Academic Approval, Type III early care and education (ECE) programs, and school-based pre-k programs that receive LA4 and/or NSECD funding through direct, one-time grants. Grants are designed to support New Orleans early learning programs who are open with children enrolled as of April 1, 2023 in providing innovative workforce incentives to their classroom educators.

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Grant funds will support providers in implementing innovative workforce incentives to their classroom educators.

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HOW MUCH IS THE GRANT?

Amount: The ECHO Fund Spring 2023 Workforce Grant will provide grants of around $800 per eligible classroom that is open in the EC Portal as of April 15, 2023. Please note that for school-based pre-K providers, only classrooms that receive LA4 and/or NSECD funding are eligible.

All applicants will receive some level of funding as long as:

Proposals reflect clear, actionable goals and a concrete vision on how ECHO funding will directly benefit educators
Proposals are complete and contain all necessary information

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Number of Rooms Open in the Early Childhood Portal as of April 15, 2023	Approximate Total Grant Amount
1	$800.00
2	$1,600.00
3	$2,400.00
4	$3,200.00
5	$4,000.00
6	$4,800.00
7	$5,600.00
8	$6,400.00
9	$7,200.00
10	$8,000.00
11	$8,800.00
12	$9,600.00
13	$10,400.00
14	$11,200.00
15	$12,000.00
16	$12,800.00
17	$13,600.00
18	$14,400.00
19	$15,200.00
20	$16,000.00
21	$16,800.00
22	$17,600.00
23	$18,400.00
24	$19,200.00
25	$20,000.00

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WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

Provider Type:

FCCS with Academic Approval
Type III ECEs
School-based Pre-K Providers with LA4 and/or NSECD

Providers Must:

Be in good standing with ECHO grant reporting requirements, and LDOE licensing requirements
Be currently open with students enrolled as of April 1, 2023.

Providers who are temporarily closed due to an emergency, such as a fire or natural disaster, and/or providers who are currently in the process of opening and have received City Seats allocations for the 2023-2024 school year may be eligible to receive this round of grant funding.
Providers who were temporarily closed for a holiday, such as spring break, are eligible to receive funds.

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TIMELINE

Grant Launch: Friday, April 28th

Application Webinar: Today, May 4th

Application Deadline: Friday, May 12^th

Grant Review: May 15th - June 1^st

Awards Announced: Friday, June 2^nd

Awards Distributed: Week of June 5th

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HOW CAN THIS GRANT BE USED?

Programs can apply for grants that will support expenses that will directly benefit and incentivize early learning program educators.

Grant funds may be used to offer one-time bonuses, though we encourage programs to prioritize innovative ideas that will yield long-term benefits.

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EXAMPLES OF APPROPRIATE USES OF FUNDS

Start-up costs for expanding or offering new benefits to educators, such as 401k accounts, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, etc.

Employer match contributions to educator 401k accounts

Transportation vouchers for educator travel to and from work

Child care vouchers for the educator’s child

Conference attendance

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WHAT WILL NOT BE FUNDED?

Applicants should note that this grant may not be used for anything that does not directly and solely benefit educators. Grant funds may not be used toward other staff (food service, administrative, etc.).

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APPLICATION WALKTHROUGH

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APPLICATION OVERVIEW

Section I - VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY	This section is designed to ensure the applicant is eligible.
Section II - SITE INFORMATION	This section is designed for the applicant to provide basic background information for their site, including address and funding streams received.
Section III -APPROXIMATE GRANT AMOUNT	This section provides additional information on approximate grant amounts based on open classrooms.
Section IV - GRANT REQUEST INFORMATION	This section is designed to understand what the applicant is applying for and why. Applicants should be prepared to describe how they will use the grant with specificity, including supporting documentation and potential benefits.
Section V - FINANCIAL DOCUMENTATION	Applicants will provide a completed W-9 (required) and a Direct Deposit Form (optional).
Section VI -ASSURANCES	Applicants will complete an agreement regarding their application and award requirements.
Section VII - FEEDBACK (OPTIONAL)	Applicants will provide feedback on their application experience.

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WHAT INFORMATION WILL I NEED TO COMPLETE MY APPLICATION?

Number of Open Rooms in EC Portal on April 15, 2023
How you intend on using the funds and their associated benefits
Supporting documentation on use of funds (invoices, etc.)
W-9 and Direct Deposit Form

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HOW WILL GRANT DETERMINATIONS BE MADE?

All applicants will receive some level of funding as long as:

Proposals reflect clear, actionable goals and a concrete vision on how ECHO funding will directly benefit educators
Proposals are complete and contain all necessary information

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WHEN IS GRANT REPORTING DUE?

All funds must be expensed, documented, and reported to Agenda for Children by or before September 1^st, 2023. Please contact our team promptly for guidance on allowable use of funds throughout the grant term.

Failure to spend awarded funds by the deadline, spending on unapproved or inappropriate items, or inconsistency in expense reporting may impact your eligibility for future ECHO grant awards and may result in request to return award funds.

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FAQs

Can I see the questions in advance before I start the application?

PDF versions of the application can be found in these slides and on our website.

Can I fill out the application as a PDF and email it to your team?

No. Applications are only accepted via the application portal.

Can I save my application and resume it later?

Yes. If you encounter any issues, please contact echofund@agendaforchildren.org for assistance.

Can I edit my application after submission?

Applicants may edit their submission at any time before the respective application due date. Once the application closes, edits will no longer be accepted.

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