David and Laura Merage Foundation Recognized at CGI
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- As venture philanthropists, we engage with our partners and invest our human, financial, and intellectual capital to achieve unparalleled results. The Merage Foundation’s operational platform is modeled on the successful business ventures of our founding family. Their entrepreneurial spirit and management expertise provides a clear road-map for our social investment strategy.
The David and Laura Merage Foundation was recently recognized during the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton in her opening remarks. The former Secretary of State praised the Merage Foundation for its innovative and ongoing dedication to early learning. "I also want to recognize the commitment by the David & Laura Merage Foundation, and its partners, to create networks of child care and early learning providers that will pool resources, share best practices, and create economies of scale to lower costs and improve quality."
Former President Bill Clinton established the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005. CGI annually convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. These meetings have brought together heads of state, Nobel Prize laureates, CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media to join in the discussion and foster these ground breaking plans or Commitments to Action. A Commitment to Action must provide a new idea or approach to a major problem, outline a specific approach to the problem, and have specific quantitative goals that can be monitored by the commitment maker.
The Executive Director of the Merage Foundations, Sue Renner, and the Early Learning Ventures Program Director, Judy Williams, were invited to participate in the 2013 CGI convening to present Early Learning Venture's Commitment to Action. ELV's commitment is to expand quality child care offerings to over 60,000 children by extending ELV's services in Colorado, and replicating the ELV Alliance network in Maryland as a proof-of-concept for further expansion into other states. The total estimated cost of the commitment is $2.5 million, and the David and Laura Merage Foundation along with their philanthropic partners will fund this commitment. Sue Renner thinks being part of the Clinton Global Initiatives network will fuel their national expansion efforts. "The results of a recent ROI study indicate that the ELV Alliance model produces significant returns for participating child care providers, so we know the model is scale worthy. We now have the support of the entire CGI network to fully realize the potential of this innovation in the child care sector."
Early Learning Ventures is a Colorado-based non-profit organization, founded by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, dedicated to expanding access to quality child care. ELV Alliances are community-based networks comprised of small early care and education businesses that work together to deliver services in a more streamlined and efficient way. The ELV Alliance model ensures fiscal stability and superior business operations, which are the foundation for delivering high quality early learning services. Through an online, cost effective operations cloud platform that combines such tasks as accounting, billing, licensing requirements, and program administration into a central portal, providers are able to manage their operations more efficiently. Leaving them more time and money to do what they do best: provide quality care to young children.
For more information, visit: http://www.earlylearningventures.org
Judy Williams, [email protected], 303-789-2664, [email protected]
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