PNC Foundation Boosts Long-Term Economic Growth in California Through $2.2 Million in Strategic Early Education Investments

Philanthropic support benefits nonprofit organizations focused on preparing children for success upon entering kindergarten

The PNC Foundation has awarded more than $2.2 million in grants to support a range of early childhood quality education programs across California.

The grant funding, distributed through PNC Grow Up Great since 2022, is designed to support the specific needs of early learners by providing community-based educational experiences for families with young children and professional learning and skill development for current or future early childhood educators.

For every $1 spent on quality early education, society reaps far more, as much as $13 in long-term benefits, according to a cost-benefit analysis of the Perry Preschool Study, a research project that spanned 40 years. This benefits businesses, communities and the people who live in them. The return on investment has a domino effect, such as providing cost savings for school systems, along with reducing crime rates and reliance on government assistance. PNC’s signature philanthropic initiative, PNC Grow Up Great, supports organizations that ensure children and their families are prepared for success upon entering school through well-rounded educational opportunities. The work of these organizations complements California’s Universal Transitional Kindergarten (TK) law requiring local educational agencies to offer transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds by the 2025-2026 school year.

“For 20 years, PNC Grow Up Great has championed early childhood education,” said Todd Wilson, regional president for PNC Bank in Greater Los Angeles. “We will continue to support work to ensure children entering TK receive equitable access to high-quality early childhood education.”

Launched in 2004, PNC Grow Up Great is a $500-0million, bilingual early childhood education initiative to help prepare children, particularly underserved children, from birth through age five for success in school and life.

“Since the beginning, PNC Grow Up Great has partnered with early childhood education experts to develop programs and resources to support children, families and teachers,” said Debbie Marshall, senior vice president, client & community relations for PNC in Los Angeles. “Education is a powerful tool for success; children who receive access to high-quality preschool are more likely to contribute to society throughout their adult lives.”

In a PNC-funded study, the National Institute for Early Education Research found that impactful, parental support for early learning experienced significant reductions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included a decline in parent-child book reading, with the percentage of parents reading three or more times a week to their preschoolers still down to just 73% from 85% before the pandemic. While reading frequency among all ethnic groups declined, the decline has been steepest for Hispanic parents. In addition, Hispanic children experience lower rates of preschool participation than their Black and White non-Hispanic peers.

PNC Grow Up Great grants have supported more than 35 organizations throughout California, including the Cesar Chavez Foundation in Los Angeles and the “Let’s Talk Pasadena” program at Families Forward Learning Center.

“‘Let’s Talk Pasadena’ helps parents and caregivers improve child outcomes,” said Elva Sandoval, executive director of Families Forward Learning Center. “There’s a significant correlation between the number of words a child is exposed to between ages 0-3 and their academic success. ‘Let’s Talk Pasadena’ aims to give children born into poverty a fighting chance by teaching their parents and caregivers how to support their child’s development.”