From the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! On September 19, 1783, the first hot air balloon showcased humans in flight for the first time ever to human eyes at the palace of Versailles in France. When asked by a skeptic what possible use a human in flight could be, Leonardo DaVinci, who was in the crowd that day replied, “Friend, what use is a newborn baby?” DaVinci saw the possibility in the spark of an idea, and EPIC is inspired by this notion and others in our observance and support for current innovative and ambitious projects in Colorado communities and at the legislative level, and partnerships and funding streams that are paving the way towards a stronger childcare infrastructure and workforce and Colorado for all. READ ON for some highlights of what’s happening in… Creativity in Community Partnerships: When is Empty Space Community Space? More than ever, creativity and innovation are needed in our communities to make programming, places, and resources of all kinds accessible to our population at large. In early care and education, ideas about real estate, funding, and endeavors that bring together partners with mutually beneficial resources and knowledge are continuing to take shape around the state. This month, we are highlighting the Revive Community Church Project in Arvada, which is developing its vision of adapting their new space, The Bridge, to house community partners that will provide direct and indirect services addressing economic, relational, and spiritual vulnerability. Their vision includes the development of affordable housing, workforce development, health care services, and other mutually beneficial services/tenants that generate revenues and create opportunities for Revive Church to serve others. The project also includes plans to utilize a significant portion of real estate for childcare and Revive is in talks with an operator with the plan to complete the project by Late 2022. EPIC will continue to highlight this work as it moves forward as one of Building Up’s Projects of Promise to track progress and aid in the development of regulatory barriers to help this and other endeavors thrive. Stay tuned for more news! Progress at the Legislative Level EPIC is very proud to have our own President and CEO, Nicole Riehl, advocate alongside EPIC members and ECE stakeholders to support several bills this legislative session. Among these are bills that will create a refundable tax credit for early educators, help build a database of real estate throughout the state that can be an asset to developing childcare capacity, support the removal of financial barriers to early care and education businesses, and of course, the Universal PreK bill. This pivotal bill was signed into law on April 25, making preschool within reach for thousands of Colorado families. EPIC is proud to have advocated for additional Funding and Support for ECE with the passing of House Bill 22-213 which will provide an additional $100 million in funding. This includes investments in capacity, workforce, and diverse systems of delivery. […]
https://www.epicimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/preschoolersbuildingwithblocks.jpeg10011500Colorado EPIC/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/epic-logo-sm.pngColorado EPIC2022-06-03 15:40:442025-06-12 14:26:24Innovation and Community Support: A Powerful Recipe for Change
From the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! It has been bittersweet to see the snow melt away, put away our ski gear and begin to see and hear the first signs of Spring, from the occasional birdsong to tiny tulip leaves and purple flowers making themselves known as we walk familiar paths in the neighborhood. At EPIC, we are busier than ever with the legislative session, numerous incredible community projects in early education and employee benefit development that we have the honor of supporting and guiding forward, and our pursuit of innovation and unique partnerships to develop the infrastructure of Colorado’s childcare. We have been so lucky in the first quarter to have not only completed the inaugural Employer Based Childcare Design Lab but also to support to begin to rethink the possibilities of how early education support impacts and benefits all business operations. Read on for an update on our statewide initiative, Building Up! A Building ‘UP-date’ The Building Up Advisory Group Kickoff Meeting was held on February 23rd, with Real Estate, Finance, and General advisors from the early childcare and education sector starting the discussion around efforts to identify promising project and policy solutions to explore. In addition, EPIC consulted with the Reinvestment Fund, a national CDFI, to compile and analyze critical financial data for the early childcare and education sector. This data will be utilized for the pending landscape analysis being conducted in partnership with the Common Sense Institute to illuminate the true cost of care and challenges plaguing the childcare business model. The landscape analysis is expected to be complete by May 2022, and EPIC will be planning an event with business and economic development leaders in late May to highlight the opportunities revealed through the landscape analysis. During the kickoff, Building Up advisory members met with group members in their prospective areas of expertise. Highlights from these discussions included: supporting small businesses that experience common barriers to accessing loans and other forms of financial and capital development support real property and business tax changes, incentivizing inclusion in affordable housing projects for land owners and developers, creating an online database to match businesses with potential real estate sites, work with the faith-based community and public entities to identify potential childcare facility locations subsidy and fund development opportunities for those pursuing childcare businesses, changes in underwriting requirements for early care and education businesses, as well the continued pursuit of loan guarantee programs to support landlords and business owners alike in the viability and sustainability of their businesses. We have already had the chance to see firsthand prototypes and models of some of these systems and ideas, and the potential impact these can have on early education development in our communities is very exciting. The Building Up real estate and finance groups met separately on April 11th and 14th alongside key members of our general advisory to expand on these conversations and identify next steps and promising […]
EPIC has recently partnered with the office of early childhood and CDHS to offer expertise and support to Colorado businesses in a unique opportunity for employers to gain the knowledge necessary to plan an on-site or near-site childcare facility through direct support and community partnerships while developing a competitive grant application for up to $800,000 in state funding for their projects. “A ski resort in Steamboat Springs, a community hospital in Grand Junction, and a food hall project in downtown Pueblo. On the face of it, they don’t have much in common, but all three have ambitious plans to launch childcare centers for their employees within the next two years.” Read more to learn about the Design Lab in this Chalkbeat article.
From the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Perhaps your family was watching alongside mine and many others around the world as Winter Olympians from around the globe (some hailing from Colorado!) competed on the world’s biggest sports stage. It is incredible to think about the dedication and willingness to push the boundaries required to reach a level where you serve as the example of excellence for all others. EPIC is dedicated to working with our membership and a wide range of partners to push the boundaries and engage in legislative and community efforts that embrace innovation in such a way that can be modeled, shared with others, and demonstrated as a success across our country. Rooted in the desire to prioritize the development and retention of workforce talent while meeting the needs of families and communities, EPIC is leading transformative community efforts to reduce the costs of childcare, create access to quality early education services for those who need it most, and build support across sectors for this work. READ ON! 2022 Community Initiatives Snapshot Employer Based Childcare Design Lab: The First of Its Kind EPIC has recently partnered with state partners in the Office of Early Childhood to create and present Colorado’s first Employer Based Childcare Design Lab, guiding and supporting 10 employers/partnerships from a range of sectors in Colorado communities as they seek to create on or near-site early childcare and education services. With a goal of serving employees and families in their community, the lab provides broad training, resources, and education in everything from financial modeling to workforce development and real estate, so design lab participants can take their project from concept to completion. Over the past 5 months, through both live sessions and individualized coaching and technical assistance, these project partners have engaged in community partnerships, innovative model development, and comprehensive business planning. Additionally, EPIC has supported these projects in planning for investments to support high-quality environments and programs within their plans, including above-market wages, lower student-to-child ratios, and ensuring both families and caregivers have supports they can count on at work. When complete, these community endeavors will collectively provide nearly 500 new spots for young children in high-quality education and care, with 275 of those spots becoming available for infants and toddlers. In addition, nearly 140 new jobs will be created through this effort, with an anticipated total investment of over $20 million in the construction and ongoing quality supports and initiatives within each operation. A Couple Project Sneak Peaks… Fuel & Iron Food Hall (Pueblo, Co) Originally conceived as an opportunity to provide an incubator and a catalyst in the community in historic downtown Pueblo, the Fuel & Iron food hall project will house 28 single and multi-family affordable housing units, 5 food vendors, and now a 40-50 slot early care and education center to serve onsite employees, residents, and members of the community. […]
From the Desk of The Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez As I was preparing to write this blog post, I was reflecting on this winter season and the turning of the new year, and how much I had relaxed once it finally snowed. Somehow, I knew that it would come, and when I saw the first flakes fall on my home in Boulder, I felt a new energy and calm and even a little more confidence in my day! At EPIC, we are more excited than ever to share details on the work we are doing alongside business leaders and community partners to develop innovative and creative solutions for the longstanding challenges that face childcare business owners, the workforce, and the business community alike. EPIC is off to a great start in 2022, leading key efforts to directly increase childcare access and availability, strengthen the early childhood workforce, and develop public-private partnerships that address the childcare infrastructure needs of employers and working families in Colorado. EPIC’s Policy Committee is proud to present our 2022 Policy Priorities below. We hope you will join EPIC in our efforts to leverage the voice of the business community to develop policy and build infrastructure to support the workforce of today while developing the workforce of tomorrow. 2022 Advocacy & Policy Priorities Universal Access to Preschool Implementation of funding and program administration to ensure children have high-quality preschool education experiences while supporting the diverse care, access, and affordability choices of families and working parents within a mixed delivery system of services. Well-Designed System for Families Informing the creation and design of a new Department of Early Childhood in Colorado to create a more aligned, user-friendly, transparent, and effective system of resources that centers itself on serving the needs of families, young children, and the practitioners serving them. Early Childhood Infrastructure & Facilities Establish incentives, expand financial resources, and address regulatory barriers to entry to ensure communities and local employers can innovatively design, create, and sustain early childcare and education services that meet the needs of their local workforce. Industry Workforce & Voice Create incentives for early childhood professionals and business owners to enter and remain in the sector through sustainable investments, career/business supports, and innovative career pathways. Promote and advocate for a sufficient supply of early childhood services, a strong small business industry voice, and the stabilization of the early childhood sector through the development, design, and ongoing implementation of early childhood funds and programs.
https://www.epicimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/colorado-state-capital-denver-1279371_1280.jpg9601280Colorado EPIC/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/epic-logo-sm.pngColorado EPIC2022-02-02 12:32:032025-06-12 14:24:56Action and Policy Priorities in 2022
Innovation and Community Support: A Powerful Recipe for Change
/in BlogFrom the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! On September 19, 1783, the first hot air balloon showcased humans in flight for the first time ever to human eyes at the palace of Versailles in France. When asked by a skeptic what possible use a human in flight could be, Leonardo DaVinci, who was in the crowd that day replied, “Friend, what use is a newborn baby?” DaVinci saw the possibility in the spark of an idea, and EPIC is inspired by this notion and others in our observance and support for current innovative and ambitious projects in Colorado communities and at the legislative level, and partnerships and funding streams that are paving the way towards a stronger childcare infrastructure and workforce and Colorado for all. READ ON for some highlights of what’s happening in… Creativity in Community Partnerships: When is Empty Space Community Space? More than ever, creativity and innovation are needed in our communities to make programming, places, and resources of all kinds accessible to our population at large. In early care and education, ideas about real estate, funding, and endeavors that bring together partners with mutually beneficial resources and knowledge are continuing to take shape around the state. This month, we are highlighting the Revive Community Church Project in Arvada, which is developing its vision of adapting their new space, The Bridge, to house community partners that will provide direct and indirect services addressing economic, relational, and spiritual vulnerability. Their vision includes the development of affordable housing, workforce development, health care services, and other mutually beneficial services/tenants that generate revenues and create opportunities for Revive Church to serve others. The project also includes plans to utilize a significant portion of real estate for childcare and Revive is in talks with an operator with the plan to complete the project by Late 2022. EPIC will continue to highlight this work as it moves forward as one of Building Up’s Projects of Promise to track progress and aid in the development of regulatory barriers to help this and other endeavors thrive. Stay tuned for more news! Progress at the Legislative Level EPIC is very proud to have our own President and CEO, Nicole Riehl, advocate alongside EPIC members and ECE stakeholders to support several bills this legislative session. Among these are bills that will create a refundable tax credit for early educators, help build a database of real estate throughout the state that can be an asset to developing childcare capacity, support the removal of financial barriers to early care and education businesses, and of course, the Universal PreK bill. This pivotal bill was signed into law on April 25, making preschool within reach for thousands of Colorado families. EPIC is proud to have advocated for additional Funding and Support for ECE with the passing of House Bill 22-213 which will provide an additional $100 million in funding. This includes investments in capacity, workforce, and diverse systems of delivery. […]
A Building ‘UP-date’
/in BlogFrom the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! It has been bittersweet to see the snow melt away, put away our ski gear and begin to see and hear the first signs of Spring, from the occasional birdsong to tiny tulip leaves and purple flowers making themselves known as we walk familiar paths in the neighborhood. At EPIC, we are busier than ever with the legislative session, numerous incredible community projects in early education and employee benefit development that we have the honor of supporting and guiding forward, and our pursuit of innovation and unique partnerships to develop the infrastructure of Colorado’s childcare. We have been so lucky in the first quarter to have not only completed the inaugural Employer Based Childcare Design Lab but also to support to begin to rethink the possibilities of how early education support impacts and benefits all business operations. Read on for an update on our statewide initiative, Building Up! A Building ‘UP-date’ The Building Up Advisory Group Kickoff Meeting was held on February 23rd, with Real Estate, Finance, and General advisors from the early childcare and education sector starting the discussion around efforts to identify promising project and policy solutions to explore. In addition, EPIC consulted with the Reinvestment Fund, a national CDFI, to compile and analyze critical financial data for the early childcare and education sector. This data will be utilized for the pending landscape analysis being conducted in partnership with the Common Sense Institute to illuminate the true cost of care and challenges plaguing the childcare business model. The landscape analysis is expected to be complete by May 2022, and EPIC will be planning an event with business and economic development leaders in late May to highlight the opportunities revealed through the landscape analysis. During the kickoff, Building Up advisory members met with group members in their prospective areas of expertise. Highlights from these discussions included: supporting small businesses that experience common barriers to accessing loans and other forms of financial and capital development support real property and business tax changes, incentivizing inclusion in affordable housing projects for land owners and developers, creating an online database to match businesses with potential real estate sites, work with the faith-based community and public entities to identify potential childcare facility locations subsidy and fund development opportunities for those pursuing childcare businesses, changes in underwriting requirements for early care and education businesses, as well the continued pursuit of loan guarantee programs to support landlords and business owners alike in the viability and sustainability of their businesses. We have already had the chance to see firsthand prototypes and models of some of these systems and ideas, and the potential impact these can have on early education development in our communities is very exciting. The Building Up real estate and finance groups met separately on April 11th and 14th alongside key members of our general advisory to expand on these conversations and identify next steps and promising […]
Colorado effort helps employers create on-site childcare in “The Design Lab”
/in BlogEPIC has recently partnered with the office of early childhood and CDHS to offer expertise and support to Colorado businesses in a unique opportunity for employers to gain the knowledge necessary to plan an on-site or near-site childcare facility through direct support and community partnerships while developing a competitive grant application for up to $800,000 in state funding for their projects. “A ski resort in Steamboat Springs, a community hospital in Grand Junction, and a food hall project in downtown Pueblo. On the face of it, they don’t have much in common, but all three have ambitious plans to launch childcare centers for their employees within the next two years.” Read more to learn about the Design Lab in this Chalkbeat article.
The Design Lab
/in BlogFrom the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Perhaps your family was watching alongside mine and many others around the world as Winter Olympians from around the globe (some hailing from Colorado!) competed on the world’s biggest sports stage. It is incredible to think about the dedication and willingness to push the boundaries required to reach a level where you serve as the example of excellence for all others. EPIC is dedicated to working with our membership and a wide range of partners to push the boundaries and engage in legislative and community efforts that embrace innovation in such a way that can be modeled, shared with others, and demonstrated as a success across our country. Rooted in the desire to prioritize the development and retention of workforce talent while meeting the needs of families and communities, EPIC is leading transformative community efforts to reduce the costs of childcare, create access to quality early education services for those who need it most, and build support across sectors for this work. READ ON! 2022 Community Initiatives Snapshot Employer Based Childcare Design Lab: The First of Its Kind EPIC has recently partnered with state partners in the Office of Early Childhood to create and present Colorado’s first Employer Based Childcare Design Lab, guiding and supporting 10 employers/partnerships from a range of sectors in Colorado communities as they seek to create on or near-site early childcare and education services. With a goal of serving employees and families in their community, the lab provides broad training, resources, and education in everything from financial modeling to workforce development and real estate, so design lab participants can take their project from concept to completion. Over the past 5 months, through both live sessions and individualized coaching and technical assistance, these project partners have engaged in community partnerships, innovative model development, and comprehensive business planning. Additionally, EPIC has supported these projects in planning for investments to support high-quality environments and programs within their plans, including above-market wages, lower student-to-child ratios, and ensuring both families and caregivers have supports they can count on at work. When complete, these community endeavors will collectively provide nearly 500 new spots for young children in high-quality education and care, with 275 of those spots becoming available for infants and toddlers. In addition, nearly 140 new jobs will be created through this effort, with an anticipated total investment of over $20 million in the construction and ongoing quality supports and initiatives within each operation. A Couple Project Sneak Peaks… Fuel & Iron Food Hall (Pueblo, Co) Originally conceived as an opportunity to provide an incubator and a catalyst in the community in historic downtown Pueblo, the Fuel & Iron food hall project will house 28 single and multi-family affordable housing units, 5 food vendors, and now a 40-50 slot early care and education center to serve onsite employees, residents, and members of the community. […]
Action and Policy Priorities in 2022
/in BlogFrom the Desk of The Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez As I was preparing to write this blog post, I was reflecting on this winter season and the turning of the new year, and how much I had relaxed once it finally snowed. Somehow, I knew that it would come, and when I saw the first flakes fall on my home in Boulder, I felt a new energy and calm and even a little more confidence in my day! At EPIC, we are more excited than ever to share details on the work we are doing alongside business leaders and community partners to develop innovative and creative solutions for the longstanding challenges that face childcare business owners, the workforce, and the business community alike. EPIC is off to a great start in 2022, leading key efforts to directly increase childcare access and availability, strengthen the early childhood workforce, and develop public-private partnerships that address the childcare infrastructure needs of employers and working families in Colorado. EPIC’s Policy Committee is proud to present our 2022 Policy Priorities below. We hope you will join EPIC in our efforts to leverage the voice of the business community to develop policy and build infrastructure to support the workforce of today while developing the workforce of tomorrow. 2022 Advocacy & Policy Priorities Universal Access to Preschool Implementation of funding and program administration to ensure children have high-quality preschool education experiences while supporting the diverse care, access, and affordability choices of families and working parents within a mixed delivery system of services. Well-Designed System for Families Informing the creation and design of a new Department of Early Childhood in Colorado to create a more aligned, user-friendly, transparent, and effective system of resources that centers itself on serving the needs of families, young children, and the practitioners serving them. Early Childhood Infrastructure & Facilities Establish incentives, expand financial resources, and address regulatory barriers to entry to ensure communities and local employers can innovatively design, create, and sustain early childcare and education services that meet the needs of their local workforce. Industry Workforce & Voice Create incentives for early childhood professionals and business owners to enter and remain in the sector through sustainable investments, career/business supports, and innovative career pathways. Promote and advocate for a sufficient supply of early childhood services, a strong small business industry voice, and the stabilization of the early childhood sector through the development, design, and ongoing implementation of early childhood funds and programs.