Eligible childcare providers are using funds to purchase personal protective equipment and upgrade facilities for safer operation – thirteen grants have already been awarded
ITHACA, N.Y. – January 26, 2021 – In November, the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA), administered by Ithaca Area Economic Development (IAED), approved a COVID-19 Emergency Grant Program for use in upgrading childcare facilities. The program allows childcare facilities to operate more safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant funds are also being used by childcare providers to purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Thirteen grants to childcare providers in Tompkins County have been approved by the TCIDA since opening the program. The four most recent grants, totaling $28,330, were awarded by the TCIDA on January 13, 2021.
At the January 13, 2021 TCIDA board meeting, grants were awarded to the following childcare providers: Butler Daycare, Lovely Day Ithaca LLC, Group Family Day Care, and Varna Community Association, Inc.
At the December 9, 2020 TCIDA board meeting, grants were awarded to the following childcare providers: Heart and Home Daycare, Corner of the Sky, Ithaca Montessori School, Acorn Ithaca LLC, and Teachable Moments Daycare.
At the November 11, 2020 TCIDA board meeting grants were awarded to the following childcare providers: Ithaca Community Childcare Center, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Coddington Road Community Center, and Downtown Ithaca Children’s Center.
A law signed by Governor Cuomo in June, 2020, allows New York State Industrial Development Agencies to offer grants up to $10,000 to small businesses and nonprofit entities with no more than 50 employees, expressly for the purchase of personal protective equipment and “installing fixtures necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
“The TCIDA established the COVID-19 Emergency Grant Program and allocated $100,000 specifically to help Day Care Centers, Group Family Day Care, Family Day Care, and School Age Child Care Programs that are vital to the community and desperately need this type of equipment in order to operate safely,” said Heather McDaniel, Administrative Director of the TCIDA.
