ECHO Fund Grants
The Early Childhood Opportunity (ECHO) Fund is an innovative grant program that seeks to increase access to high-quality early care and education for Louisiana children, birth through age four, by directly funding childcare programs and the nonprofits that serve them.
Since 2018, the Early Childhood Opportunity (ECHO) Fund has enhanced early childhood education by providing over 2,300 grants totaling more than $ 13 million. Our ongoing commitment is to increase access, foster ingenuity, and elevate the quality of early learning in the region.
Agenda for Children is proud to announce the 2025 Admin Wage Enhancement Grant for Program Staff and Part-Time Educators!
The 2025 Admin Wage Enhancement Grant (Program Staff and Part-Time Educators) is designed to strengthen the early childhood education workforce in Orleans Parish by offering targeted financial support to early learning centers. It specifically aims to recognize the essential contributions of non-educator staff who are critical to maintaining safe, healthy, and high-quality learning environments, but who are not eligible for the existing educator wage enhancement program.
The purpose of the 2025 Afmin Wage Enhancement Grant (for Program Staff and Part-Time Educators) is to provide one-time bonus payments to eligible employees — including administrative staff, janitorial staff, cafeteria workers, maintenance personnel, part-time educators, and coaching staff — working at licensed Type III early childcare centers actively serving children in Orleans Parish.
*This grant will provide funding for one-time direct bonus payments to eligible and approved staff. (See eligibility criteria below.)
Grant Timeline
- Application Opens: Friday May 6, 2025
- Application Deadline: Friday, May 16, 2025, at 5:00 PM
Eligibility Criteria
There are two levels of eligibility requirements for this grant: 1) Site-Level and 2) Employee-Level.
- Site-Level: To be eligible to apply for this grant your site must:
- Operate in Orleans Parish
- Be a licensed Type III early learning program (including HS and EHS)
- Be currently open and operating (with at least one actively enrolled child)
- Be able to submit proof of payment that demonstrate state and federal taxes are being paid (official payroll reports, canceled checks)
- Be in good standing with Agenda for Children, ECHO Fund, and LDOE Licensing requirements
2. Employee-Level: To be eligible to receive this bonus, staff member must meet the following criteria:
- Staff member must be employed since January 1, 2025
- Staff member must be either:
- A part-time educator, employed at a Type III early learning center in Orleans Parish, paid through official employer payroll so that detailed payroll reports and/or canceled checks can be submitted as verification of employment and of bonus payment.
OR - A part-time OR full-time program staff, employed at a Type III early learning center in Orleans Parish, in one of the following roles:
- Administrative staff (not including owners)
- janitorial staff
- cook/cafeteria staff
- maintenance staff
- coaching staff
- Paid through official employer payroll so that detailed payroll reports and/or paycheck stubs must be submitted as verification of employment and of bonus payment in close-out report.
The following site types are ineligible for this grant opportunity:
- Family Child Care Centers
- School-based Sites that are not Type III
- Sites not in good standing with LDOE or Agenda for Children
- Sites with overdue ECHO Grant Close-out Reports
The following employees are ineligible for this grant opportunity:
- Educators that received Round 5 or 6 of the Wage Enhancement
- Site owners
- Independent contractors (1099 employees)
All applications must be submitted through Foundant, the ECHO Fund’s Grant Management System.
Funding Amount
Grant awards will be allocated per staff member, however official award amounts will be determined once all applications are received and processed.
Application Process
All applicants must first pass an eligibility quiz and then complete and submit the grant application through Foundant, the ECHO Fund’s Grant Management System. Here is a PDF copy of the application for preview purposes only.
Questions?
Contact the ECHO Grant Team at echofund@agendaforchildren.org. Support is available during our regularly scheduled hours of operation (Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM).