Which communities are raising money for kids this November? |
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This November, voters from at least nine communities across the country will have a chance to pass local ballot measures to increase funding for children’s programs and services. If voters approve all nine of these initiatives, the total number of local dedicated children’s funds will surpass 50, raising over $1.3 billion annually!
We’re focusing on these initiatives below - if you want more information (or have some to share) please reach out to us:
- Multnomah County, OR
- Multnomah County is pursuing a progressive income tax on high-income earners to fund universal, tuition-free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds by 2030. If passed, the tax would generate an estimated $133 million next year (and $202 million annually by 2026), and funds will be used to add 7,000 new slots by fall 2026 with fair wages for providers and high-quality, culturally responsive opportunities that meet children’s needs.
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San Antonio, TX (renewal)
- On the ballot in San Antonio is a renewal of a ⅛ cent sales tax that generates $38 million annually for Pre-K 4 SA. Pre-K 4 SA serves 2,000 four-year olds annually in its centers while supporting extended school days, increased access, and improved quality for thousands of children in other early childhood education settings. Multiple independent evaluations have shown that students who attend a Pre-K 4 SA program, particularly students who are economically disadvantaged or with limited English proficiency, end the year ahead of their peers in math and language.
- St. Louis, MO
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St. Louis is pursuing a 6 cent (0.6 mill) property tax increase to raise $2.3 million for birth-to-five programs and services, administered by the St. Louis Mental Health Board’s Community Children’s Services Fund. The fund was originally established in 2004 and has a particular focus on children’s mental health, providing psychiatric treatment, substance use prevention, family counseling, and more.
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Escambia County & Leon County, FL
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Escambia County and Leon County are hoping to join the ten other counties in Florida who have dedicated property tax revenue to Children’s Services Councils through two separate efforts. Escambia and Leon are both pursuing 5 cent (0.5 mill) property tax increases to raise $7-8 million annually in each county, which would raise the total property tax revenue of Children’s Services Councils in Florida to over $545 million collectively.
- San Joaquin County, CA
- San Joaquin County’s voters will have the opportunity to pass Measure X, a county-level marijuana tax. 50% of the revenue generated by the tax will be used for child and youth programs including drug intervention and prevention programs, preschool, childhood literacy programs, and after-school programs. It is the only November 2020 ballot measure in California that will raise and dedicate revenue to kids.
- Colorado
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This November, Colorado voters will decide whether to increase tobacco taxes and close the vaping loophole in order to raise revenue. If successful, Measure EE is slated to raise $87 million next year, increasing to $276 million by 2028. This revenue will initially go to backfilling the state education budget and funding affordable housing/eviction assistance, but will also put $2 billion into universal pre-k over the next decade.
- Clackamas County, OR
- The Children’s Safety Levy on the Clackamas County ballot this November would levy a 15 cent (1.5 mill) property tax to raise $7.9 million for children's safety services. While the tax would cost the average homeowner less than $4 per month, it will double the number of children and youth supported by services including mental health treatment and recovery, emergency shelter for victims of child abuse, and teen pregnancy support.
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Cincinnati, OH (renewal)
- Cincinnati Public Schools is pursuing a renewal of its 73 cent (7.34 mill) emergency property tax levy for a period of five years, raising $48 million. Around 30% of the levy is dedicated to funding Cincinnati Preschool Promise, which has helped provide high-quality preschool for nearly 5,000 3- and 4-year-olds since the original levy was passed in 2016 with 62% of the vote.
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Children's Funding Institute 2020
This December 8th - 10th, we are (virtually) holding our annual Children’s Funding Institute. Co-presented with Funding the Next Generation, this year’s online event will feature three days of lectures, workshops, and expert instruction on pursuing a children’s ballot measure in your community.
If you would like to receive details on how to register a team for your community, please click the below button.
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Upcoming Webinars
Creating a Bigger Pie: Revenue-Generating Strategies for Early Childhood Programs
Join our Founder and Director, Elizabeth Gaines, as she discusses how communities can raise more money for their children and youth, including some of the above revenue-generating strategies like property taxes, marijuana taxes, and more.
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Capacity for Equity: What Does It Take to Harness Community Resources Effectively?
Children's cabinets have the job of thinking about the whole child -- which means moving beyond individual silos to strengthen the ecosystem of supports for families. In this moment of upheaval, how can we challenge our understanding of what this means AND take concrete steps that matter in real time?
The Local Children's Cabinet Network invites you to join thought leaders Paul Reville, Karen Pittman, and Elizabeth Gaines to probe how we can think differently and act together to support youth and families equitably. We will also look at how concrete strategies like success coaching can bring the ecosystem of support directly to individual youth and families.
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This Month's Kids Funding Win |
We’re proud to have worked with New Orleans, LA in building their new NOLA Kids Data Book: 2020 Trends in Wellbeing. The data book provides the following tools: a fiscal map of what the city is spending on kids and youth, a wellbeing index on how they are doing, a map of community assets, and outcome analysis on the city's goals. This makes New Orleans one of the few cities in the country with access to this level of data on kids and youth, an important first step to identifying and filling gaps, a goal for the region.
See the new data book and fiscal map here.
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