About The Seedling Fund
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit building employee ownership in early childhood education — one school at a time.
Our Mission
The Seedling Fund acquires privately-owned daycares and preschools and converts them to worker-owned schools — giving educators the chance to own what they build.
Childcare workers are among the lowest-paid professionals in America, yet they do some of the most essential work in our society. Most have no path to ownership, equity, or retirement savings, even after decades of service. We’re here to change that.
How We Operate
Thousands of independently-owned daycares and preschools are owned by baby boomers approaching retirement with no succession plan. We step in — acquiring these schools and putting them in the hands of the people who run them.
Each acquisition is funded by donations and impact investors. Through an ESOP structure, teachers and staff earn real ownership stakes over time. The school then repays its acquisition cost back into our revolving fund — so every dollar planted grows into the next school.
Our Acquisition Model
School Profile
We target schools serving 120–200 children with 20–40 employees, where the owner is approaching retirement and there is no clear succession plan.
Acquisition Cost
Average acquisition cost of $2M–$5M per location, funded by our revolving capital pool raised from donors and impact investors.
ESOP Conversion
After acquisition, employees earn ownership stakes through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan — building real wealth for the people doing the work.
Revolving Fund
Each school repays its acquisition cost into our fund over time — allowing us to plant more seeds and compound our impact indefinitely.
Our Structure
The Seedling Fund is the DBA of All Kids Education LLC, a registered 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
We are headquartered in Florida and operate nationally. We maintain a lean overhead model — 85–90 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to acquisitions.