The business of providing care to young children can be very challenging. Child care directors of early education and care (ECE) and out-of-school time (OST) centers are required to balance multiple and complex responsibilities as administrators, fundraisers, facility managers, educators, and advocates often at the same time. Many programs are located in spaces and buildings not originally designed for licensed childcare, which creates another set of challenges. The prospect of moving locations, renovating a facility, or building a new center can be daunting and seemingly impossible. Most child care staff have never undertaken a major facility improvement project, making it hard for them to know where to begin.
Through our annual Facility Needs Assessment survey (most recently conducted this September), we found that more than 40 non-profit ECE and OST programs across Massachusetts are beginning to plan a significant renovation or new construction project. These programs collectively serve 4,500 children. Our mission is to support the creation of high-quality educational spaces for children to learn and develop. These spaces are key to organizational success and longevity for ECE and OST organizations.
A Unique Training Opportunity
In 2002, Children’s Investment Fund (the Fund) created the Building Stronger Centers (BSC) Training Institute – an intensive, week-long training to provide child care center directors, staff and board members the resources to tackle their projects. BSC was designed to build the capacity of center-based ECE and OST programs to plan and implement facility improvement projects. The four-day training covers all phases of the development process and provides access to highly-skilled consultants, architects, and financing experts. Support from the Klarman Family Foundation, the Barr Foundation, and others, has permitted the Fund to train 106 organizations serving over 11,000 children.
BSC provides organizations with a crucial knowledge base, a network of colleagues, and the opportunity to connect with consultants that have expertise in creating high quality ECE and OST settings. After centers participate in BSC, the Fund offers additional training opportunities, project-specific technical assistance, and access to early-stage and long-term financing. Organizations have found BSC to be a catalyst for advancing their facility projects. Eleven out of the state’s 21 Early Education and Out of School Time Capital Fund (EEOST) grantees to date have attended BSC.
Lessons Learned
As we plan for our 10th BSC session in May 2018, we reflect on some of the key points from the training. The top four “lessons learned” for providers undertaking a major facility improvement project are:
- Assess your organization’s financial and managerial capacity to develop a facility project. Why undertake a facilities project? What are you trying to achieve? How will a new or improved facility impact your current and future operations? Are you able to support debt or develop a successful capital fundraising strategy? These are some of the questions organizations must ask themselves early in the process.
- Use professional consultants. ECE and OST directors are accustomed to addressing facility issues with little-to-no use of external resources. We strongly emphasize building an experienced team of consultants including an architect, project manager and/or development consultant.
- The Fund has resources to help pay for consultants. ECE and OST organizations serving low-income children tend to shy away from debt. But the most successful organizations have invested in conceptual planning and predevelopment work before beginning renovation or construction projects. These costs can be significant but necessary to laying the groundwork for a successful project and the Fund can help support providers who need to incur these costs.
- Involve your staff, Board members, and other stakeholders. Leadership is key and directors cannot do it alone. It’s important to generate support inside and outside your organization. Get your Board to become champions for the project. Have them attend trainings like BSC. Also, make sure you engage your staff for their input and vision for the new space.
Facility improvement projects are difficult, time consuming, and costly. But they are also transformative for organizations and the children they serve. Resources like the Fund, organizations that have already completed successful projects, and consultants with expertise in ECE and OST are here to help. As one BSC participant commented, “I have been inspired and motivated to do things I never would have considered before. My whole set of expectations, assumptions, and beliefs have been dramatically shifted. I now have a clear picture of where my program should be going.”
