Advancing Childcare Solutions in Texas: Key Insights from AFN’s Member Convening at the RAISE TX Summit

FROM FRAN ROSEBUSH BAYLOR, CENTRAL TEXAS PROGRAM OFFICER, ASSET FUNDERS NETWORK

JANUARY 2025

AFN Short Take is a blog series highlighting insights and perspectives from recent AFN programming events.

On January 22, AFN convened members and grantmakers across Texas at the 2025 RAISE Texas Summit to discuss philanthropy’s role in expanding access to quality, affordable childcare in the state.

This gathering took place amidst a growing childcare crisis in Texas. Nearly 95,000 children under six are on subsidy waitlists, the annual average childcare cost is $11,000 per family, and insufficient childcare causes a $9.39 billion loss to the state economy each year. These challenges are particularly pressing in a state home to 10% of the US population’s children aged six and under, and 60% of them have all available parents in the workforce.

Childcare: A Critical Driver for Household Economic Security

Affordable, accessible childcare is more than a convenience—it’s a critical driver of household economic stability and mobility. It empowers parents to participate in the workforce, strengthens local economies, and provides children with a strong foundation for future success. Without reliable childcare, families face immense challenges in pursuing financial security and upward mobility, and the ripple effects are felt across communities and businesses alike.

At AFN, we recognize that solving these challenges—in Texas and across the country—requires coordinated action across local, state, and federal levels, with philanthropy playing a pivotal role in driving innovative and scalable solutions.

What’s Working: Innovations Where Philanthropy Made a Difference

The convening showcased successful strategies where philanthropy has already made a significant impact.

Transforming Local Funding for Childcare in Travis County
Former Austin City Council Member, Alison Alter, detailed how Travis County advocates, leaders, and philanthropy collaborated to place a childcare funding measure on the ballot last November. The initiative, approved by voters, will generate $75 million annually to address childcare needs in the county. She credited philanthropy for building this ecosystem of providers and funding the human capital and outside expertise: “The AFN Central Texas chapter helped build our credibility on this issue. What we did in Travis County with the help of philanthropy is how you truly begin to change systems at scale. Going through a simple ROI exercise, you can estimate that every $1 someone invested in the campaign yields $1800 a year of return.”

“What we did in Travis County with the help of philanthropy is how you truly begin to change systems at scale.”

Building a Workforce Pipeline with Dallas College
Rob DeHaas of Dallas College detailed the creation of Texas’ first four-year degree program in early childhood education at a community college, which was made possible through actions of philanthropy and early childhood leaders. This program addresses a critical teacher shortage while creating economic mobility pathways for educators. DeHaas noted, “Philanthropy and many of the people in this room were instrumental in getting the legislation passed in 2017, opening doors for us to engage in conversations we hadn’t historically been part of.”

Tackling Childcare Deserts in San Antonio
Mark Larson with Early Matters San Antonio described how a Shared Services Alliance was created to address childcare deserts by strengthening early learning environments. This innovative approach brought together leaders from multiple sectors to build an ecosystem-level solution. Larson shared: “The system isn’t broken. An early childhood system didn’t exist in the first place. The Shared Services Alliance helps us capture the value of ecosystem-level thinking, which we know works in business and K-12 education.”

Meeting the Moment: Philanthropic Investments for the Road Ahead

Through discussion and reflection, participants identified key areas where philanthropy can deepen its impact on childcare solutions:

Narrative and Messaging
The current wave of return-to-office policies creates a unique opportunity for philanthropy to shape childcare conversations at local and state levels. Investing in data and strategic messaging can highlight the impact of these policies on families and workplaces facing expensive childcare and long waitlists. This approach can drive awareness and influence decision-making during this critical moment.

Community Navigator Programs
Many low- to moderate-income families facing childcare challenges also have other pressing needs. Investments in navigator programs are essential, as they help parents navigate the complex childcare landscape and connect with additional resources. These programs, which center families in trusted community spaces like childcare centers, provide valuable support by addressing both childcare and broader needs. Sharing lessons and models from communities that have successfully piloted these programs can help scale solutions.

State and Local Policy Advocacy
Statewide systems change requires sustained advocacy, but many organizations tasked with coordinating state-level solutions lack the capacity to drive this work effectively. Philanthropy can support these efforts by funding the human capital needed to innovate, build relationships, and pursue long-term policy goals. As Brooke Freeland of the Couch Family Foundation pointed out, advocacy goes beyond lobbying—it includes education and other strategies that contribute to lasting change.

At the same time, local policy wins can often go unnoticed outside their communities. Philanthropy can highlight these successes at the HOA, municipal, or county levels and share them with broader networks of early childhood stakeholders. By filling gaps—such as funding community polling or lending credibility to an issue—philanthropy can help elevate local victories, ensuring they are shared and leveraged for broader impact across regions.

Programmatic Innovation
System-level change often begins with successful local pilot programs that demonstrate the viability of new concepts. Philanthropy can invest in these early-stage initiatives, supporting their testing and refinement for eventual scaling. Another opportunity is aggregating resources for early childhood care providers, enabling cost reductions and improved efficiency, especially in areas like quality assurance and licensing services, which can be expensive and time-consuming at smaller scales.

This convening underscored the power of collaboration and highlighted the momentum behind childcare solutions in Texas. Participants left energized by a community of peers committed to strengthening household economic stability across the state through affordable, accessible childcare.