At Greater Gallatin United Way, we know that early learning isn’t just about preparing children for school—it’s about strengthening families, supporting businesses, and building a thriving community.
Today, families in our communities spend 23% of their income on child care, while 40% of businesses struggle to hire and retain employees due to limited access. At the same time, 1 in 3 children enter kindergarten without key language skills, putting them at a disadvantage from the very start.
These challenges are complex, but when a community comes together, progress follows.
We’re proud to help lead three coalitions that are doing just that, bringing together people across sectors to take on child care and early learning in ways that are practical, collaborative, and grounded in what our community actually needs.
Leading the Work—Together
CHILD Task Force & Big Sky Early Childhood Alliance
Through the CHILD Task Force and the Big Sky Early Childhood Alliance, this work is focused on improving access to child care, supporting providers, and helping employers better meet the needs of working families.
In 2025, that meant:
- Launching Kinside, giving families one place to see all licensed child care options in our region
- Working with employers to explore and implement ways to support their employees with child care
- Bringing forward local data and voices to inform policy and advocacy efforts
- Creating tools and resources that make it easier for families and businesses to navigate a complex system
This isn’t just about awareness, it’s about making it easier for parents to find care, for providers to stay open, and for businesses to keep their workforce.
Early Childhood Community Council (ECCC)
The Early Childhood Community Council is focused on what happens before a child ever walks into a classroom, because those early years shape everything that follows.
Guided by its newly refined strategic plan, ECCC is a collaborative early childhood network that coordinates resources, aligns services, and uses data to ensure all children are healthy, resilient, and supported by their community.
The ECCC brings together community partners to strengthen how we support children and families during the early years, especially the transition into kindergarten.
In 2025, this work:
- Connected hundreds of families to Kindergarten Transition resources and support
- Brought together educators and providers to better align early learning experiences
- Reached more than 400 families with tools to help their child start school confidently
- Created opportunities like the Week of the Young Child Carnival, where families can engage directly with local resources
Because when children start strong, everything that follows becomes more possible.
What This Work Makes Possible
This work is about outcomes our entire community can feel.
It means a parent can stay in the workforce because they found reliable care.
It means a business can grow because employees aren’t forced to choose between work and family.
It means a child walks into their first day of kindergarten ready to learn, connect, and succeed.
As Tori Sproles, Director of Early Learning at Greater Gallatin United Way, shares:
“We’re seeing what’s possible when people come together around a shared goal. This work is about building something better—for families today and for the future of our community.”
From Collaboration to Child Connect
This work doesn’t sit in meetings, it builds. Through the leadership of these coalitions, Greater Gallatin United Way launched Child Connect this fall, a community-powered initiative focused on improving access and affordability of child care.
Child Connect brings together families, providers, employers, and community partners to create a system that works better for everyone—one that is easier to navigate, more responsive to local needs, and built for long-term impact.
United is the Way—Be Part of What Comes Next
None of this happens alone.
It happens when businesses, nonprofits, educators, providers, and community members show up, work together, and stay committed to something bigger than themselves.
That’s what these coalitions represent.
That’s what Child Connect is building.
And that’s how we create a community where families thrive, children succeed, and our workforce stays strong.
United is the Way, and every action makes a difference.
Learn more about our alliances and meet the partners behind this work.
Take the Child Care Survey to help shape the future of child care in our community.
Interested in getting involved with one of the coalitions?
Reach out to Tori Sproles at tori@gguw.org