Director, Raising Child Care Fund

Overview

For more than 30 years, the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC) has brought together national, regional, and local funders committed to supporting young children and their families. ECFC works to increase the effectiveness of philanthropic investment in systemic, equity-focused approaches to early childhood and to advance policies and practices that support children from prenatal through age eight, their families, and the early childhood field. Through shared learning, collaborative funding, and coordinated policy efforts, ECFC helps funders align their investments, learn from one another, and leverage their collective influence. ECFC is fiscally sponsored by Third Sector New England, Inc. (TSNE), which formally employs ECFC staff, including the RCCF Director.

The Raising Child Care Fund (RCCF), a philanthropic fund hosted by ECFC, launched in 2019 to channel philanthropic resources to grassroots organizations that work alongside families, early educators, caregivers, and providers to build power and advance a more equitable child care system. RCCF's Theory of Change centers the voices of those who most rely on and work in child care, especially people who have historically been disenfranchised and excluded from decisions that affect them. RCCF invests in their leadership and organizing, grounded in the belief that those closest to the challenges facing child care must help lead the movement for change. Alongside its grantmaking, RCCF engages funders in learning about grassroots organizing as an essential, historically underfunded strategy for social change and connects organizers with additional funding, resources, and relationships.

RCCF has raised nearly $30 million from private foundations. Today, 16 foundations support its work in 19 states and Washington, DC. More than 75% of RCCF's grantee partners are led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. The Fund provides unrestricted support, giving grassroots organizations the flexibility to pursue child care-focused organizing and power-building strategies responsive to their communities.

ECFC is a fiscally sponsored project of TSNE (tsne.org).

To learn more, please visit: ECFC | Raising Child Care Fund | 2025 Impact Report

Summary

Launched in 2019 by the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC), the Raising Child Care Fund (RCCF) invests in the people and organizations building power for a more equitable child care system. RCCF supports grassroots organizers who work alongside parents, early educators, caregivers, and providers and brings funders together to learn, invest, and act more strategically. What began as an idea among a small group of foundations has grown into a national network supporting organizing across 19 states and the District of Columbia.

RCCF enters its next chapter at a pivotal moment for child care, grassroots movements, and philanthropy. Its grantee partners are demonstrating what sustained organizing can achieve, from advancing universal child care and defending public investments to strengthening coalitions and building community leadership. At the same time, a shifting political and funding landscape is requiring philanthropic institutions to make difficult choices about where and how to invest, making RCCF's role in connecting funders with movements and communities increasingly important.

ECFC is seeking nominations and applications for the next Director of the Raising Child Care Fund
to build on RCCF's strong foundation and guide its next phase. The Director will lead strategy, fundraising, grantmaking, funder engagement and education, and relationships with grantees and movement partners. A central priority will be strengthening RCCF's financial sustainability and expanding its philanthropic constituency by retaining committed partners and developing relationships with funders and allies who recognize child care's connections to economic opportunity, workforce development, racial and gender equity, immigrant justice, and other issues affecting children and families.

Reporting to the ECFC Executive Director, the RCCF Director will be a leader who can move credibly between philanthropy and movements and understands both the urgency of community-led change and the opportunities and constraints of institutional philanthropy. They will bring a deep appreciation for grassroots organizing and power building; the judgment to know when philanthropy should lead, convene, leverage its influence, or step back; and the ability to make a compelling case for sustained investment. The next Director will build new relationships and alliances while stewarding the values, partnerships, and community-led approach that have made RCCF effective.

Responsibilities

The RCCF Director provides strategic and day-to-day leadership for the Fund, with a particular focus on fundraising and strengthening RCCF's philanthropic constituency, alongside responsibility for grantmaking, funder engagement and education, partnerships, and organizational strategy. Working closely with the ECFC Executive Director, the Director will build on RCCF's established model while helping the Fund navigate a changing philanthropic landscape and plan thoughtfully for its long-term sustainability and impact.

The Director will join an experienced team of RCCF staff and consultants and work in close partnership with committed grantees and funding partners. The incoming Director will also have the opportunity to assess the Fund's capacity and shape additional staffing to support its evolving needs. RCCF is currently completing a strategic planning process that will inform its next phase, including its governance and decision-making structures. Throughout this evolution, maintaining meaningful grantee participation and community-informed decision-making will remain central to RCCF's approach.

Essential Functions

Grantmaking & Grantee Relationships

Lead RCCF's grantmaking strategy, including priorities related to geography, organizing capacity, and equitable investment in organizations led by and serving communities most affected by inequities in child care.

Cultivate trusted relationships with grantee partners and collaborate with RCCF staff and national, state, and local partners to identify opportunities to strengthen grassroots organizing and power building.

Ensure grantee perspectives meaningfully inform RCCF's strategy and grantmaking, and continue to evolve practices that center transparency, trust, accountability, and the expertise of organizers and community leaders.

Fund Development, Funder Relationships, and Fiscal Stewardship

Develop and execute a robust fundraising strategy that sustains RCCF's existing philanthropic partnerships, strengthens its long-term financial sustainability, and expands the Fund's constituency across new funders and sectors.

Cultivate and steward relationships with current and prospective funders; develop funding opportunities and proposals; and oversee reporting and other funder commitments.

Lead funder engagement and education to deepen understanding of grassroots organizing and power building as essential strategies for advancing change in child care, of equitable approaches to grantmaking, and of the connections between child care and adjacent movements and issues.

Steward RCCF's budget and financial resources in partnership with the ECFC Executive Director, TSNE fiscal staff, and RCCF's evolving governance structure, including grant levels and durations, contracts, and the effective deployment of incoming and outgoing funds.

Work with ECFC leadership, RCCF partners, and the Fund's evolving governance structure to translate strategic priorities into funding and grantmaking decisions and support effective decision-making through periods of change.

Leadership, Communications & Partnerships

Provide leadership for RCCF staff and consultants by setting clear priorities, assessing capacity needs, and shaping the team and resources ne