Arkansas Small Business Grants for Child Care and Early Childhood Education
Matthew Lesko’s small business grants commercial appears on Little Rock cable with regular frequency. A recent visitor to the Land of Opportunity had been searching on Google for “Arkansas small business grants.” Backtracking from my statistics, I discovered a link to “Matthew Lesko Arkansas State Small Business Grants,” just below the link to the Land of Opportunity. Mr Lesko’s link and corresponding page were laced with keywords like: Free Business Government Grants, Free Government Business Money, and Woman Business Grants.
As Mr. Lesko claims there are 60 grants available within Arkansas, I had the idea for weekly series of posts on grants. This week we present the first two grants programs for child care businesses:
Grant #1 - CPR and First Aid Training Grant
The Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education offers a limited number of grants for training child care employees in CPR and first aid. The grants are available to both child care centers and child care family homes, profit and non-profit operations. The number of grants available is determined by the number of children the center is licensed to provide care. The center must apply two-weeks in advance and receive approval. The training agency invoices the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. Grant payments are sent directly to the training agency. Neither the business nor the emploees receive any funds directly. For full details or to download a grant application, visit the grant page on the Division’s website.
Grant #2 - Child Care Enhancement Grants
The Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education offers Enhancement Grants for “the improvement or enhancement of the quality of child care or to increase the availability of early childhood programs.” Grants are capped at $7,500. Child care provides must “demonstrate age appropriate immunizations for all children in their care to qualify for these grants. ” To download a grant application, visit the grant page on the Division’s website.
By the way, Mr. Lesko’s book is available in the Arkansas SBDC’s Research Center located on the first floor of the UALR College of Business, located at the corner of 28th and University in Little Rock. The center’s hours are 8 to 5 , Monday through Friday. I have also seen the Lesko book in the Central Arkansas Public Libraries and in several libraries around Arkansas. I recommend you visit your local reference section before purchasing Mr. Lesko’s book.
