Blended Funding Early Child Development Center: A Plan of Action

In response to the changing demographics of its community, Grand Street Settlement asked the Capstone team to create a business plan for an early child development center to serve students and families across socioeconomic boundaries. While Grand Street has significant experience and proven success in providing Head Start and Early Head Start programming on the Lower East Side, it does not have any private pay clients. The proposed center would have a mix of students with a 60/40 ratio of private pay to publicly subsidized students. The Capstone team developed a business plan and corresponding budgets to help determine the feasibility and shape of the center. The plan includes an analysis of the current market, demographic data and demand, real estate costs and trends, and financial considerations and strategies for management and operations and marketing. It also highlights potential risks.