Our History

Since its founding in 2005, the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) has established its role as the state’s trusted partner in advancing school readiness. VECF has benefited from strong support and leadership from Virginia’s business community, underscoring the direct link between a quality early start for children and a productive future workforce. Building on this commitment, VECF and its partners leverage additional funds for school readiness, driving home the importance of VECF’s systems-building work and yielding an impressive return on investment for the Commonwealth.

VECF’s first decade has been marked by milestones, with the initial focus on building the Commonwealth’s cornerstone state-to-local network for early childhood development, Smart Beginnings, and the current focus on strengthening, refining and leveraging that network to benefit all children and families in Virginia. At every step, VECF has emphasized non-partisan leadership and results to fulfill its vision that every child in Virginia will arrive at kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed, laying the foundation for workforce and life success.

VECF Milestones