
Our goal: Increase the likelihood that all children enter kindergarten “ready to learn” and experience early school success.
The early years of a child’s life are a critical time for learning, but we know that fewer than half of all kindergarteners come to school kindergarten-ready, with significant disparities by race and income. Parents and caregivers are deeply committed to giving their children the strongest possible start, but may not have access to the resources they need to maximize children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.
Our Early Impact portfolio funds direct impact and ecosystem organizations that support families and early learning environments in expanding their use of evidence-based practices that are proven to make a difference in the early lives of children, setting them on the path toward early and later school success.
Our Learnings
Early childhood plays a critical role in later school success.
There is widespread underinvestment and fragmentation in early childhood.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated disparities among our nation’s youngest learners.
The early childhood sector is struggling to attract or retain enough providers to meet demand.
The pandemic and decrease in childcare options mean parents need more support.
Parent coaching, even when virtual, can be effective in impacting parent behavior and child outcomes that are predictive of kindergarten readiness.
There is continued demand for improved teacher-family communication and engagement, and family engagement solutions are delivering on student outcomes.
Grantee Spotlight
Learn more about some of the work funded by the Early Impact portfolio.

Centering Healthcare Institute
Improving children’s outcomes through group-based prenatal and pediatric healthcare.

TalkingPoints
Scaling the use of AI-powered translation to strengthen teachers’ connections to non-English speaking families.

Tools of the Mind
Building children’s executive function skills through teacher professional development focused on purposeful play.

Waterford Upstart
Increasing access to high-quality Pre-K education for students across the country.
Our Questions
What types of early learning curricula (supplemental, comprehensive, and subject-specific) are the most scalable with positive impact?
What impact do reappraisal interventions have on emotional resilience in early education settings, how long will the effects last, and is there potential to impact other outcomes?