Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form

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Organization Name: Early Connections Learning Centers
Legal Name (if Different): The Colorado Springs Child Nursery Centers, Inc
Also Known As: N/A
Mailing Address: 104 East Rio Grande Street
City: Colorado Springs
State: CO
Postal Code: 80903
Main Phone: 719-632-1754
Main Fax: 719-632-2343
Organization Website: https://www.earlyconnections.org/
Employer ID Number: 84-0632406
Organization Tax Status: 501(c)(3)

Proposal Information

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Today’s Date: 02/20/2025
Requested Amount: $7,500

Project Title: Early Connections’ Early Care and Education Program
Project Description:

Established in 1897, Early Connections Learning Centers is Colorado’s oldest nonprofit early care and learning organization. Our mission is to provide high quality, comprehensive early care and education for ALL children. Our “whole child" approach to early care and education incorporates a proven curriculum, family engagement and support, nutritious meals, behavioral health, and health and safety consultation and training for children and teachers, because ALL children deserve access to the best start in life, regardless of their family’s income level. Serving approximately 300 children daily, we operate three full-day, full-year centers for ages birth to five years and before and after care and summer programming for school-aged children.

Our early care and education program benefits two generations of families. For all children, the first five years are critical to their school and life success. Many lower-income children enter kindergarten significantly behind their wealthier peers. Our early care and education program focuses on school readiness, helping young children develop the skills and attributes they need to enter school prepared to learn and succeed. For low-income parents, we provide reliable, affordable, high quality child care. This is a crucial need for working parents. In El Paso County, high quality child care can cost nearly 50% of a single parent’s income, forcing them to base their child care decisions on affordability rather than on quality. Access to dependable, affordable child care enables parents to work or continue their education, fostering self-sufficiency and economic stability.

We measure our success using Teaching Strategies GOLD, a Colorado Department of Education-approved school readiness assessment that evaluates developmental domains critical for school success. Our goal is for all children to demonstrate progress and growth throughout the year and for 90% of our children to meet or exceed “widely-held expectations” for their age.

Total Project Budget: $6,271,494

Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): Joseph Henry Edmondson Foundation (committed-$20,000); Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (committed-$10,000); Hester and Edwin Giddings Foundation (committed-$5,000); T. Rowe Price Foundation (committed-$5,000); Pikes Peak Area Rotary Endowment (committed-$3,200); Jack in the Box Foundation (committed-$2,500); Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation (potential-$100,000); Pikes Peak United Way (potential-$100,000)

Project Duration: This project is ongoing
Geographical Area Served: We serve families throughout El Paso County with most living in Colorado Springs
Age Group To Be Served: 6 weeks to 14 years

Contact Information

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Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Ms.
Contact First Name: Sophia
Contact Last Name: Kelly
Contact Title: Development Specialist
Contact Phone: 79-381-4826
Contact Email: grants@earlyconnections.org