Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood Grant

Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood
Last Updated: March 10, 2026

Summary

The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood provides grants to support innovative projects aimed at improving the welfare of young children in the U.S. The foundation focuses on early childhood welfare, education, and parenting education, promoting safe environments and effective teaching methods. Grants are awarded to projects with significant potential impact on children's lives, emphasizing national application and interest. Eligibility requires 501(c)(3) status, while ineligibility includes funding for foreign programs and capital equipment.

Overview

Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood is an incubator of promising research and development projects that appear likely to improve the welfare of young children, from infancy through 7 years, in the United States. Welfare is broadly defined to support, acculturation, societal integration and childcare. Grants are only made if a successful project outcome will likely be of significant interest to other professionals, within the grantee’s field of endeavor, and would have a direct benefit and potential national application. The Foundation’s goal is to provide seed money to implement those imaginative proposals that exhibit the greatest chance of improving the lives of young children, on a national scale. Because of the Foundation’s limited funding capability, it seeks to maximize a grant's potential impact. Program Areas The Foundation provides funding in the following areas Early Childhood Welfare Providing a safe and nurturing environment is essential as is imparting the skills of social living in a culturally diverse world. Therefore, the Foundation supports projects that seek to perfect child rearing practices and to identify models that can provide creative, caring environments in which all young children thrive. Early Childhood Education and Play We seek to improve the quality of both early childhood teaching and learning, through the development of innovative curricula and research based pedagogical standards, as well as the design of imaginative play materials and learning environments. Parenting Education To help parents create nurturing environments for their children, we support programs that teach parents about developmental psychology, cultural child rearing differences, pedagogy, issues of health, prenatal care and diet, as well as programs which provide both cognitive and emotional support to parents.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Organization must have a  501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status letter from the IRS and its’ Federal Tax ID#.

Ineligibility

​The Foundation will not fund:programs outside of the United Statesthe operation or expansion of existing programs​the purchase or renovation of capital equipmentthe staging of single events (e.g., concerts, seminars, etc.)the creation or acquisition of works of art or literature​the activities of single individuals or for-profit entities​political or religious organizations​programs with religious content​programs to benefit children residing in foreign countriesmedical research applicable to both adults and childrenThe Foundation will not fund arbitrary or excessive allocations of indirect expenses even if a project is worthy. The Foundation’s Board will only approve a maximum of 15% of a project’s direct expenses, when earmarked as general and/or administrative overhead.Consistent with the Foundation’s mission, as an incubator of innovative research and development directed to improving the general welfare of young children, we will not fund more than the first year of multiple year projects. It is our belief that having multiple funders, of those worthy projects that demand more sustained efforts, increases the likelihood of their success by ensuring broader oversight and greater long term promotional possibilities.