The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood is dedicated to fostering innovative research and development projects aimed at improving the welfare of young children, from infancy through age seven, within the United States. The foundation defines welfare broadly, encompassing child support, acculturation, societal integration, and childcare. Grants are awarded to projects that show significant potential for professional interest and have a direct benefit with potential national application. The foundation seeks to provide seed money for imaginative proposals that have the greatest potential to positively impact young children on a national scale. Due to limited funding capacity, the foundation prioritizes projects with the highest potential for broad impact.

Funding is provided in three primary focus areas: Parenting Education, Early Childhood Welfare, and Early Childhood Education and Play. Parenting Education grants support programs that help parents create nurturing environments, including those focused on developmental psychology, cultural child-rearing differences, pedagogy, health, prenatal care, and emotional support. Early Childhood Welfare funding is allocated to projects that promote safe, nurturing, and socially enriching environments for children in diverse cultural contexts. Grants for Early Childhood Education and Play are directed toward initiatives that enhance early childhood teaching and learning, including the development of innovative curricula, research-based pedagogical standards, and creative play materials.

The foundation imposes several funding limitations. It does not support programs outside the United States, ongoing operational or expansion costs for existing programs, capital purchases or renovations, single events, individual artistic or literary projects, for-profit entities, political or religious organizations, or programs with religious content. Additionally, the foundation does not fund medical research applicable to both adults and children. Overhead expenses are limited to 15% of direct project costs, and multiple-year funding requests are restricted to the first year only, encouraging recipients to seek additional funders for sustained efforts.

The grant application process consists of two steps: a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) and, if invited, a Full Proposal. The next deadline for LOI submissions is May 31, 2025. The LOI must include the organization’s official name, contact details, website, mission summary, recent program history, tax-exempt status, federal tax ID, annual budget, grant request amount, funding sources, project title, a narrative description of the proposed work, and an explanation of how the project aligns with the foundation’s goals. Applicants must also demonstrate how their proposal is innovative. LOIs that do not follow the prescribed format will not be considered. If selected, applicants will be invited via email to submit a full proposal for further review.

The foundation prioritizes funding for proposals that are forward-thinking, challenge traditional norms, and promote new approaches to early childhood development. It seeks projects with well-defined implementation methods that push the boundaries of academic, social, and cultural studies. Successful past grant recipients have included universities and research institutions working on projects related to artificial intelligence in childhood education, parental engagement in learning, cognitive development through play, and innovative teaching methodologies.

For additional inquiries or written correspondence, applicants may contact the foundation at info@earlychildhoodfoundation.org or via mail addressed to Amanda Liedtka, CPA, P.O. Box 746, Lock Haven, PA, 17745. The foundation's contact phone number is +1 570 484 5155.