Caregiver Supports (Grandfamilies) Grant

The William Penn Foundation aims to enhance caregiver support for 15,000 pregnant and parenting families in Philadelphia by 2035. The initiative recognizes the critical link between caregivers' well-being and children's development. It seeks to empower families through community-based programs that promote early learning and parenting skills. The focus includes vulnerable populations such as grandparents and immigrant families, ensuring access to resources that enable children to thrive. Progress will be measured through comprehensive grantee reporting.

By 2035, the Foundation will fund programming that provides caregiver support and opportunities for early learning for 15,000 pregnant and parenting families with young children.
All families can benefit from increased resources and opportunities to maximize their ability to support their children’s early development.
In Philadelphia, a stagnant and stubborn poverty rate and a high rate of adverse experiences compound the need for programs and services that can empower and support families. Research shows a strong connection between parents’ economic, psychological, and social well-being and children’s healthy development and early learning. As a result, programs that support caregivers and children jointly can produce greater benefits than those that focus on only parents or children.
In order to produce these benefits for more Philadelphians, we are seeking to increase opportunities for pregnant and parenting families with young children to engage in programs and experiences that help them position their children for success.
We recognize that there are many ways that organizations and communities can contribute to advancing this objective. Possible efforts may include community-based programs such as home visiting; programs that provide opportunities for caregivers and children to learn together; and programs that build at-home parenting strategies and skills. Among needed efforts are programs and services designed to support particularly vulnerable or underserved populations such as grandparents raising their grandchildren or immigrant and refugee families with young children.
We are seeking to support projects and programs that organizations in Philadelphia believe will be most effective in making progress on the objective above.
We measure our progress for this objective through grantee reporting on program activities, enrollment, and participation.