Funding available through Rural Child Care Innovation Program

First Children’s Finance (FCF), in partnership with the MN Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), is now accepting applications for funding from the Rural Child Care Innovation Program (RCCIP).

The RCCIP program is an innovative community engagement process designed to address the challenges of child care in rural America. Child care is an economic driver for rural communities across the state and many communities are facing shortages of high-quality child care.

Applicants can include a single city, a cluster of small towns, a school district, or a single county. The Twin Cities metro area, Fargo-Moorhead metro area, Duluth, Rochester, and St. Cloud metro area are excluded as applicants. Preference is given to truly rural communities.

Round 2: RCCIP Applications opened December 1, 2025, and will be due January 26, 2026, by 5pm CST.

For more information about RCCIP, visit: https://www.ruralchildcare.org/get-involved

To learn more about the program and the benefits to participating communities, watch FCF’s informational webinar here.