A Multi-Year Strategy for Sustainable Early Childhood Revenue in Chicago

This project was conducted for Start Early, a nonprofit organization that advances early childhood education (ECE) through policy, advocacy, and program support. The organization focused on improving access to high-quality early learning for children and families in Chicago. Stable local funding for ECE was critical because the expiration of temporary federal relief funding and the city’s structural budget deficit created a growing long-term funding gap.The Capstone team was asked to identify and evaluate feasible local revenue strategies that could provide sustainable funding for ECE within Chicago’s fiscal and political constraints. We conducted a policy and budget scan, developed a citywide revenue inventory, mapped key stakeholders and power dynamics, and analyzed comparable cases, including Bring Chicago Home, Seattle’s housing levy, Philadelphia’s soda tax, and Boston’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program. Our final product was a strategic framework outlining viable revenue options and providing guidance on governance design, coalition-building, and political feasibility to support Start Early’s future advocacy efforts.