Nonprofit group to award grants to Northeast Iowa child care centers

First Children's Finance, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Minneapolis, says it is accepting applications from child care centers in Northeast Iowa to participate in its Growth Fund initiative to enhance quality care and strengthen business practices.

The child care centers will receive grants to fund planning and quality improvement.  They will also gain business expertise from training opportunities and the support of volunteer business advisers from the area.

Information sessions about the Growth Fund will be held in Charles City and Guttenberg on January 11th and in Waterloo on January 12th.  The deadline for applications is January 31st.  Contact Karla Organist at First Children's Finance at 563-608-1927 for more details. Eligibility details, applications, deadlines and more may be found at www.firstchildrensfinance.org.