Minnesota
FCF’s Minnesota team is co-located in our national headquarters in Minneapolis, MN. As the oldest state office, the Minnesota team has developed alongside the national vision for our organization. Programs and services have been continuously been offered across Minnesota since our founding in 1991.
Today, Minnesota’s team members can be found in every region of the state, serving child care business clients and communities in rural areas, population centers and the Twin Cities metro area. Although the need for excellent child care exists in every community, the Minnesota team recognizes the need for a diversity of approaches to serve rural child care businesses, BIPOC entrepreneurs, and community partners.
Business Sustainability Services
FCF grows the supply and sustainability of excellent care. Our business development programs and services assist entrepreneurs to launch, stabilize, improve, and expand child care businesses. We approach child care leaders as entrepreneurs, increasing their capacity to start and operate financially sustainable child care businesses.
Child care businesses in Minnesota are eligible to participate in a variety of trainings, workshops, cohorts, and individual consultation at no cost.
We are offering a business sustainability series with varying approaches to child care based on your business.
Learn about FCF’s impact in Minnesota:
2023-24 Minnesota Activities & Impact
December 2023 Facility Revitalization Grant Impact Report!
Our Services
January-May 2025 Business Trainings
Winter-Spring 2025 Business Leadership Cohorts for Child Care Centers
Winter-Spring 2025 Business Leadership Cohorts for Family Child Care
Individual Business Consultation
Child Care Facility Revitalization Grant
Email us at InfoMN@firstchildrensfinance.org to inquire more about our services, learn more about the business sustainability model or how best we can serve you as an early child care business owner.
Economic Status of the Minnesota Child Care Industry
Each spring, First Children’s Finance collaborates with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to survey Minnesota child care business owners about the economic conditions that they face and then shares the results of the survey with the public.
Overall, the industry continues to face significant challenges, with many providers relying on state aid to survive. Additionally, competition with public schools and reliance on state grants highlight the industry’s fragile financial health.
This article from Tu-Uyen Tran of the Federal Reserve goes into deeper details on the challenges facing the child care sector.
Access to Technology Grants for Child Care Businesses in Minnesota
First Children’s Finance is pleased to provide Minnesota providers Access to Technology Grants funded by the State of Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families. These grants will help licensed child care businesses access technology for business management. Grant rounds will be available twice each year. For more information on this program, visit our Minnesota Grants page.
First Children’s Finance Community Projects
Check out this feature of work in Minnesota, showing how communities can grow their supply of child care with the right investment.
First Children’s Finance Cohorts
Interested in Business Leadership Cohorts? Watch this video to learn more about how a cohort can impact your child care business.
Rural Child Care Innovation Program
The Rural Child Care Innovation Program (RCCIP) is an innovative community engagement process designed to increase the supply of high-quality child care in rural communities. The purpose of RCCIP is to guide communities in identifying the scope and size of their child care challenges, and to empower and support communities to develop solutions to address these challenges.
Rural communities are selected through a competitive application process that will open in 2023.
New Ulm Success Story
First Children’s Finance worked with New Ulm, MN, to identify the number of child care slots needed in the community. Based on that work, New Ulm built a new facility under the provisions of the Minnesota Special Family Child Care license program. The center is home to four family child care programs that can provide up to 48 new child care slots! First Children’s Finance was privileged to work with New Ulm to help make this project a reality.
FCF Releases Report on Status of MN Child Care Business
As one of the nation’s leaders in growing the supply and business sustainability of excellent child care, First Children’s Finance analyzed the health of Minnesota’s child care businesses coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. FCF conducted a survey of child care business owners in spring 2023 and is pleased to share its analysis of the findings in a new report.
The Health of Minnesota’s Child Care Businesses in the Post-Pandemic Era.
Meet Our Regional Team
Michele Hutchinson
Huda Kahin
Marilu Plamann
