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Last Vote to First Dollar Toolkit

An implementation toolkit to help leaders of new voter-approved children's funds set their funds up for success
Group of people in a variation of age ranges between adults and children posing together on a sports field.
Photo credit: Children’s Services Council of Broward County

Last Vote to First Dollar Toolkit

Establishing a voter-approved children’s fund involves deeply engaging with the democratic process, building a strong and diverse coalition of support, and addressing the needs brought about by systemic inequities within communities. While local children’s funds do not fully finance cradle-to-career systems on their own, they offer the flexibility and infrastructure communities need to maximize multiple funding sources and fill some of the gaps left by insufficient federal and state funding. Children’s Funding Project created this toolkit to respond to requests for support from the communities transitioning from campaign to implementation mode, including members of our ballot measure cohort and voter-approved children’s fund community of practice. We created this resource through collaboration with leaders of established voter-approved children’s funds and the experts who have supported them through the most pressing implementation challenges. Use the button on the right to download the full toolkit or explore the toolkit’s various sections below.

Download the Full Toolkit

Filed under:

Infants and Toddlers, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Youth, Young Adults, Advocates/Intermediaries, Policymakers/Agency Leaders, Publication, Voter-Approved Children’s Funds

Toolkit Sections

Strong planning and policy design should begin well before a ballot measure is approved. Community leaders can design robust, inclusive, and decisive processes in advance, which will enable implementation teams to start their work immediately after the election. While additional planning will be needed after a ballot measure passes, the groundwork laid beforehand is vital for the initiative’s success. This PDF outlines the steps leaders should take for structuring and running effective planning processes, both before and after bringing their proposed children’s fund to the ballot.

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Setting up the operations for your new children’s fund is essential to keep your fund running smoothly. This PDF provides guidance and tips for creating your fund’s governance and administration structure, building a program budget, creating and executing effective contracts, and building the necessary technology tools your fund needs. 

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Successful ballot measure campaigns require an intense focus on communications. It’s one of the key elements that contributed to your victory! But the need for thoughtful and strategic communications about your voter-approved children’s fund does not end after Election Day. After the final votes are counted, it’s time to plan how you will communicate about the implementation phase of your new fund. This PDF offers guidance for communicating about your fund’s story and success! 

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As your team launches your new fund, evaluation may not feel like a pressing need. However, if left unattended for too long, it will lead to missed opportunities to collect vital data, poor data quality, and potential gridlock with legal issues related to data sharing agreements. Paying attention to your fund’s evaluation and impact needs during the start-up phase is essential, especially if the fund has a sunset provision within seven or fewer years. This PDF includes guidance for creating a solid evaluation plan that ensures that your fund collects initial impact metrics that you can use as evidence of success for a future reauthorization campaign.

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