2026-2029 Strategic Plan

Strategic Goals

Grounded in our mission and informed by the voices of our stakeholders across our community, this strategic plan focuses on strategic priorities designed to create measurable, lasting change. It reflects both where we are today and where we must go to fulfill our purpose more fully.

Over the next four years, our work will be guided by four core priorities:

  • Strengthening the capacity and sustainability of Thrive By 5
  • Expanding the ECE workforce in our community
  • Building a stronger provider network
  • Engaging all our audiences more meaningfully

This strategic plan sets a clear course for the next four years, strengthening our impact, deepening our partnerships, and ensuring we are positioned to meet the evolving needs of our community.

Goal 1: Strengthen the Capacity and Sustainability of Thrive By 5 Louisville (TB5L)

  • Create a comprehensive board strategy that expands membership, funding, community reach, knowledge, and engagement.
  • Ensure financial sustainability through a multi-year funding plan that diversifies public & private funding streams through strategic partnerships at the local, state, and national levels.
  • Explore the creation of a technology resource for parents, providers, and employers to provide needed resources.
  • Create strategic brand awareness and marketing campaigns to support the progress and success of all strategic goals.
  • Develop and execute a communication strategy by targeting constituent groups (e.g., business community, providers, families,
    and government).
  • Measure and communicate the return on investment of early childhood education (ECE) investment, as well as the cost of inaction.

Goal 2: Recruit, Retain, and Develop a High-Quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) Workforce

  • Identify and expand recruitment strategies that increase the available ECE workforce participants.
  • Cultivate and establish partnerships with workforce development entities and higher education institutions.
  • Create a baseline tracking and evaluation process for ECE employee key metrics as a means to increase retention and satisfaction.
  • Explore and assess the utility of wage supplementation programs.

Goal 3: Increase Provider Quality, Stability, and Capacity

  • Create a partner-driven focus to implement quality standards at TB5L pilot and partner sites.
  • Educate providers about Quality+ standards and the pathway to becoming a TB5L center.
  • Fully implement and evaluate a provider pilot program for both centers and family care homes, to increase quality and access across Louisville.
  • Build a data system that will show the return on investment of TB5L programs and community investments.
  • Create a pathway for community partnerships to address needs specifically in childcare gap neighborhoods.
  • Develop partnerships that utilize existing financial resources to increase capacity in childcare facilities.
  • Explore national landlord partnerships (mission-driven financing).

Goal 4: Create meaningful engagement strategies to meet the needs of family, business, and policymakers communities

  • Provide best-in-class family services, including but not limited to navigation and scholarships to serve family needs.
  • Explore a comprehensive initiative to foster participation of Louisville Businesses in Kentucky’s Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership (ECCAP)
  • Educate and lobby legislators and policymakers at the local and state level about the importance of additional investments in early care and education as a public good.