We are pleased to report on progress over the past year in delivering on the promise for early childhood success. As the Commonwealth’s public-private partner, the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) celebrates with many partners the remarkable advances in a best-in-class public-private early childhood care and education (ECCE) system and historic state investments.

In May, VECF applauded the nation-leading childcare investments by the Governor and General Assembly in the FY25-26 biennial budget. With bipartisan commitment, the budget provides more than $1.1 billion for ECCE services for low-to-moderate income families with young children, including unprecedented state general fund investments of $366 million in FY25 and $461 million in FY26.

Keeping Our Promises: VECF is proud to have contributed to the collective and persistent effort that has led to the paradigm shift in how Virginia views, values, and invests in child care. The following pages highlight the impact over the past year in three of VECF’s main program areas: Systems Building & Capacity, Partnerships & Innovation, and Policy & Advocacy.

We efficiently steward public funds to assist the state with problem-solving strategies and on-the-ground connections to achieve our collective mission. And by also harnessing private funding and vision, we leverage the innovations that drive significant return on investment. With general and administrative costs at less than 1% of our annual budget, we intentionally direct resources into communities with adaptive strategies that have bolstered access, quality, and accountability in Virginia’s ECCE system.

Forging Ahead: Looking forward, we will continue to direct our attention and resources to addressing stubborn challenges in the ECCE system. With all the gains achieved, significant work remains to achieve our vision. We are confident that we and our public and private partners are up to the task of fulfilling the promise of early childhood success for Virginia’s families, communities, and long-term prosperity.

Thank you for your valued interest and support of this transformative work. Together, we will continue to make good on our mission-driven commitments and promises.

With gratitude,

/s/ Richard Bynum, Chairman

/s/ Kathy Glazer, President