Iowa Rural Child Care Planning Program

Sacha Wise
515.348.6156
sacha.wise@iowaeda.com

The Iowa Economic Development Authority is offering funding for planning initiatives addressing child care needs through a professional third-party partner.

Projects may analyze the feasibility of developing of a new child care center, expanding an existing one, or supporting in-home providers. Planning activities should help to better understand the geographic market, demographics, competition, financials, and other variables so that communities can be equipped to take proactive steps toward addressing their child care needs.

The third party professional must be named in the application.

Eligible applicants:

• City, county, and federally recognized tribal governments
• Federally designated nonprofit agencies and foundations
• Public and private schools serving pre-K through grade 12
• Institutions of higher education

Eligible communities must have a population of less than 20,000 and not be contiguous to a city with a population greater than 40,000.

County-wide applications will be accepted if the county is one of the 88 least-populous counties in Iowa.

Up to $20,000

A $10,000 cash match is required.

Links to the application instructions and the online application portal are available on the program website.