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Voter-Approved Children’s Funds

Photo credit: Yes for NOLA Kids
Voter-approved children’s funds pose a unique opportunity for communities to harness public will to increase funding for children and youth and fill existing funding gaps. We define local voter-approved children’s funds as a portion of local tax revenue dedicated to children’s services via a ballot measure.

Dedicating funding via ballot measure creates a stream of sustained funding that cannot be cut or reassigned to a different purpose during annual budget processes. This allows children’s funds to focus on long-term impacts and to build a resilient and diverse network of programs and providers. Because voter-approved children’s funds are created from public dollars by voters, voter-approved children’s funds also have an increased burden of transparency and accountability that builds public awareness and support. No fund that has returned to the ballot for renewal has failed to achieve reauthorization.

Since Pinellas County, FL, created the first local children’s fund in 1946, local communities have created more than 50 funds nationwide. Together these funds generate more than $2 billion annually for children and youth. Since 2019, Children’s Funding Project, in partnership with our state affiliates and our advocacy organization Children’s Funding Accelerator, have supported the creation and reauthorization of 15 local voter-approved children’s funds and two state voter-approved children’s funds that collectively generate over $1 billion for kids

How children's funding project helps

We provide technical assistance, create tools, and organize events and training cohorts for states and localities seeking to establish, administer, or reauthorize voter-approved children’s funds.

Coach

Our national cohort supports localities pursuing the creation of a voter-approved children’s fund via ballot measure. 

Convene

We host a biennial in-person training event, our Children’s Funding Institute, for communities pursuing local voter-approved children’s funds.

Activate

We support new voter-approved children’s funds and host the only community of practice for leaders of existing funds.

Fund

Our partner advocacy organization Children’s Funding Accelerator provides technical and financial support for voter-approved children’s fund campaigns.

Featured Resources
Case studies from Campaigns We Supported

Contact us to find out how we can help in your community.