The William Penn Foundation is accepting proposals for its Increasing Enrollment in High-Quality Early Childhood Education grant opportunity. This initiative aims to expand the availability and utilization of high-quality early learning opportunities for children from birth to age five in Philadelphia. The Foundation seeks to build upon recent progress—where nearly half of all early childhood education (ECE) seats in the city are now rated high quality—by addressing systemic challenges and supporting innovative strategies that promote access to and sustainability of high-quality ECE programs.

The grant is focused on supporting projects that either increase the number of high-quality ECE seats, transform existing seats to meet high-quality standards, or help providers maintain full enrollment in already high-quality classrooms. High-quality is specifically defined in this RFP as programs achieving STAR 3 or STAR 4 ratings under Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS quality rating system. Proposed projects should aim to improve ECE opportunities for children from birth to five and must be implemented within Philadelphia.

Examples of eligible strategies include workforce recruitment and training to meet staffing needs, technical assistance paired with financial resources to help programs achieve high-quality ratings, training to support improved STAR ratings, reducing suspension and expulsion to ensure seat utilization, or helping families navigate and enroll in high-quality programs. Partnerships are encouraged to leverage complementary expertise and extend impact.

Proposals may request up to two years of funding, with a maximum request of $1 million for direct expenses. Overhead is allowed and calculated using a standard formula outlined on the Foundation’s website. The total funding pool for this RFP is $5 million. Of this, at least $1 million will be reserved for organizations with annual budgets under $1 million and/or those led by individuals from historically excluded or marginalized groups.

The grant does not support tuition scholarships, loan repayment, independent research, or capital projects for single providers. It also excludes projects focused solely on one provider or that fail to define high quality by STAR 3 or 4 ratings. A separate RFP for statewide advocacy will be released in December 2025.

Applications must be submitted through the William Penn Foundation Grants Portal by April 25, 2025. An optional informational webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time, with a recorded version available afterward. For further details or assistance, applicants may contact the Foundation at grants@williampennfoundation.org or by phone at (215) 988-1830.