1. What is the Children's Investment Fund?

The purpose of the Children's Investment Fund (FUND) is to help non-profit child care providers throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to expand or improve their physical space, by providing financing and technical assistance. Quality facilities is one of the key components of quality care. The FUND offers financing for facilities-related projects in the form of affordable loans, as well as technical assistance to help providers plan and manage capital projects. The FUND also administers several pools of grant funding on behalf of other entities, which can in some cases be used, alone or together with a FUND loan and/or other financing, to fund applicant projects. By providing direct financing, establishing linkages to other financing sources, and strengthening the ability of child care providers to plan and manage the business aspects of their operations, the FUND strives to serve as a flexible vehicle for enhancing child care program quality and organizational stability.

The FUND is designed to demonstrate to providers the value of effective planning and the use of loans to address capital needs and the import of facilities on quality care. Through the FUND, capital improvements are paid for over their useful life rather than all at once. Improvements or expansions supported by the FUND often create the revenue to repay the loan.

2. What kinds of projects does the FUND support?

The FUND strives to serve as a flexible tool, offering assistance with a range of capital projects designed to improve the quality of programs, expand program capacity and/or help programs to run more cost efficiently.  Eligible projects include:

• Acquisition of property for use as child care space;
  
  
• Full-scale renovation or build-out of space for child care;
  
  
• quality enhancements to existing space;
  
  
• major or minor renovations, including build-out of new space;
  
  
• projects which improve a center's appearance and marketability, such as painting and carpeting;
  
  
• addressing code problems, such as deleading, installation of a sprinkler, or providing a second means of egress;
  
  
• improving outdoor play space, including assistance with design, landscaping or equipment purchase;
  
  
• projects which enhance the energy efficiency of a center, such as new storm windows and boiler replacement;
  
  
• handicapped accessibility; and
  
  
• equipment purchases, including child care related equipment, as well as office equipment, such as computers and copying machines.

The FUND also provides technical assistance: the FUND staff can provide general business and financial planning, and the FUND can also make referrals and provide some assistance for other professional support (for example: architectural, engineering, space planning, or legal assistance).

If you are uncertain about whether the project you have in mind is eligible for support from the FUND, please call, we'd be happy to discuss it with you.