Jessie B. Cox Trust: Request for Proposals
Increasing Access to Early Childhood Education in New England
Background and Purpose
The Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust makes grants in the six New England states in the fields of education,
environment and health. Within these areas, the focus has narrowed:
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Education: access to early childhood education
Environment: habitat conservation
Health: access to health care
After a strategic planning process to prepare for its final three years, 2014 to 2017, the Cox Trust has
decided to partner with a limited number of projects or initiatives. The Trust will accept proposals
from organizations with a successful track record that seek to significantly scale their operations to
expand young children’s access to high quality early childhood education. Projects or initiatives
must be located in New England, be regional, citywide or statewide in scope, and are poised to
significantly scale efforts. By “scale”, the Cox Trust refers to the expansion, replication, and
adaptation of programs to new geographic areas or populations, or the deepening of programs within
an already-served area. Scale can also refer to the implementation of new ways to increase impact. By
focusing on scaling efforts, the Cox Trust hopes to catalyze innovative efforts to prepare young
children ages three to five for kindergarten, jumpstarting their life-long learning and success. In doing
so, the Trust will have helped to develop replicable models of interest to other funders and to
government.
Although President Obama has proposed a dramatic expansion of publicly-funded preschool, it is
unlikely that cash-strapped states and the embattled Congress will dedicate sufficient funding to make
universal pre-K a reality any time soon. Even so, local governments, school districts, community
groups, and funders across New England are increasingly aware of research that establishes the longterm benefits of high quality early learning opportunities. Some are joining together to take concrete
steps that connect resources to offer children better access to these opportunities. These efforts are
pockets of innovation--often involving collaborative public-private partnerships--where real and
measureable progress is being made. They serve as models for the early childhood education field in
general and for any future statewide or federal rollout.
Selection Criteria
The Cox Trust will seek to partner with the strongest and most effective organizations and initiatives in
New England to further increase their reach and impact. The most successful efforts share some
common characteristics and capacities:
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Parental/caregiver outreach is a primary, not sideline strategy. Particular focus is given to lowincome families who benefit the most from high-quality early learning experiences
There is evident strong local, citywide or regional leadership
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Jessie B. Cox Trust: Request for Proposals
Increasing Access to Early Childhood Education in New England
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Partners have worked together enough to develop deep trust and to weather staff changes.
Hallmarks of such mature relationship includes robust systems for finances, technology, and
internal communications
Partners have developed commonly agreed-upon goals that are intricately connected to a
regular evaluative feedback loop (identify and review goals -> data collection -> data analysis > data sharing/interpretation -> lessons learned -> action -> repeat)
Partners pay attention to quality even as they focus on access
A written strategic plan is in place identifying action priorities
Production of school readiness outcomes is a central tenet and drives decision-making
Sustainable and diversified funding sources are identified
Anticipated Measures of Progress
By partnering with four to five New England organizations or coalitions that aim to scale their model
programs and initiatives designed to advance children’s school readiness, the Cox Trust aims to
produce the following outcomes:
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Increased number of young children enrolled in high quality early childhood education
Increased number of parents involved in high quality early childhood education
Increased school readiness and improved home environments as measured by research-based
assessments
Increased connections between different systems that work with children and their families
(e.g. schools, childcare providers, colleges/universities, libraries, etc.)
Increased capacity of groups and/or systems to deepen and sustain their work over time
Development of a distinguished portfolio of interest to other funders and to government
Funding Commitment
The Cox Trust will partner with chosen groups for three years, unless a shorter commitment is needed.
Average grant size will be between $100,000 and $150,000 per year. In addition to grants, the Cox
Trust may bring grantees together for learning opportunities and to explore ways to sustain and
deepen scaling efforts. Grantees may also be eligible to receive small technical assistance grants to
further advance their work.
Application Process
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Submit a two-to-three-page concept paper by email to jbcoxtrust@gmafoundations.com by May
15, 2014. Include the following:
o Description of existing efforts and accomplishments to date
o Status and goals of scaling plans
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Jessie B. Cox Trust: Request for Proposals
Increasing Access to Early Childhood Education in New England
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o Specifics on how Cox Trust funds will advance scaling efforts, including leverage
opportunities and geographic priorities
o Timeline of major activities
o List of partners
o Draft project budget for each year of the request
Notifications for concept paper decisions by August 1, 2014
Only for chosen concepts, submit full proposals by September 1, 2014
Notifications on final grant decisions by November 1, 2014
**Only 501(c)(3) organizations in good standing are eligible to apply.
Contact Information
For information regarding the grants process, please contact:
Katy Fyrberg, Foundation Assistant
617-391-3094
kfyrberg@gmafoundations.com
Jessie B. Cox Trust
c/o GMA Foundations
77 Summer Street, 8th Floor
Boston, MA 02110-1004
617-426-7080
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