(Photo: City of Chattanooga Facebook)
What could Chattanooga do with another $95 million at our disposal? What could yours do?
As the leader of one of East Tennessee’s largest grantmaking organizations, I believe the money is out there; it’s just waiting for us to meet families where they are — and where they dream to be.
I know this because the data very clearly tells us so. For instance, at the end of 2022, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education found that “Hamilton County loses $94.4 million annually in lost earnings and revenue due to inadequate child care.” Statewide, that loss is $2.6 billion per year.
Parents point to the lack of support that prevents them from being able to work full time or take that next promotion. “Hamilton County parents lose $60.6 million in earnings each year because of that, and employers suffer losses of $18.6 million from lower productivity,” according to a report in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
All of which begs some bigger questions: Why are we losing so much of it? And what can we do as leaders to keep it in our communities?