By investing in supporting the thriving of young children and their families, funders can help lay the foundation for those children to thrive for the rest of their lives—with benefits for all communities across the United States. This guide identifies four critical areas for philanthropic investment by individual donors and foundations that build on the progress of the last decade and address key needs of children and families.

In 2015, The Bridgespan Group and the Pritzker Children’s Initiative published a guide making the case for philanthropic investments to ensure that all children in the United States arrive at kindergarten fully ready to learn, supporting the thriving of young children. A decade later, expanded private and public investment has driven progress, and further research has sharpened the case. We set out to refresh our guidance with this publication, hoping it will help foundations, individual donors, and the advisors and staff who support them as they discern and make investments to support our youngest children and their families.

Research across multiple disciplines has demonstrated that the foundation for success in life begins during pregnancy and continues through age 5, and that investments in early childhood can have a lasting impact. When children thrive during their earliest years, they are more likely to thrive for their entire lives. And entire communities are better off when the thriving of young children and families is supported. So, whether a funder’s giving has focused on K–12 or post-secondary education, women’s or children’s health, gender equity, housing, economic mobility, or specific geographies, funders will find a compelling rationale for investing in early childhood development in ways that will strengthen impact in their priority areas.

Building on the progress of the past decade, this guide discusses four especially critical opportunities for philanthropic investment:

  • Closing gaps in family supports to ensure all families with young children can access evidence-based services tailored to their needs
  • Nurturing community-led solutions for families with young children, supporting the thriving of young children
  • Building the chorus of supporters to cultivate broad-based support and a bench of influential champions for young children and their families
  • Strengthening public investment and advancing smart policies to ensure public systems can reliably support the thriving of young children and families

Read the full article about supporting young children and families by Katherine (Kat) Kaufmann, Maggie Davies, and Rebecca Brondfield at The Bridgespan Group.