ABRB: Always Be Removing Barriers! (Part Two: Finances)

We hear from so many programs that at times it can be a struggle to connect your FANTASTIC programming to the families in your community!

We want to offer you some things we've learned as we have worked to adapt and meet the needs of our own communities (which is definitely ALWAYS a work in progress!).

The following is a small excerpt from C2L: Curriculum Guide Volume One. This guide is designed to support your programming, structure, and help recruit and retain teachers! Let's consider the lens of finance. There is an order for planning your ECFE programming that seems to work best: 1. finances/budget, 2.space, 3.staffing, 4. program design 5. family recruitment. However, a wise program is not operating in a vacuum. Programs need to stay in touch with their community through things like Parent Advisory Groups, Focus Groups, and formal and informal conversations with other organizations in your community that serve parents and young children to learn what they know about families and availability/barriers.

Finance for Programs:

· Does the program have a cost? Can a sliding scale fee be offered to help ensure equitable access for all? (If you are a MN ECFE program, make sure you are adhering to the requirements for this laid out by state statue. Click HERE to see the statue)

· Can you remove the cost to families completely? Think outside the box on this one.

· Do you have a local organization who may sponsor your group? (Lions Club, Rotary, etc)

· If the program offers a shorter time frame, fewer weeks of programming, less time each meeting, can the program absorb or eliminate the cost to families?

This is part two of four. In the next installments, we'll cover transportation, and content.

Have you seen our NEW product? Song cards to support your work! Song Cards are available for pre-order now.

Colorful, durable with the lyrics to each song on the back of the card! Each song also has a QR code on the back which brings you to a video of Jen or Beka singing the song.

Also, it is not too late to give feedback on our product - as we are working on Volume

Two of C2L, we deeply appreciate your feedback on Volume One. We want to continue to work on products that support the important work that you are doing! Click HERE to go to our feedback survey!