IFF is a mission driven lender and real estate consultant that offers support to nonprofit organizations throughout the Midwest.
Grounded in equity and deep sector expertise, IFF champions nonprofits to shape more equitable and vibrant communities through community-centered lending, development, and real estate consulting.
Since 1988, we have been working at the intersection of facilities and finance to help nonprofits serving a variety of sectors increase their financial stability and programmatic offerings, and achieve their missions. We do that by bringing together a powerful combination of financial solutions, real estate and development expertise, sector knowledge, and research and evaluation capacity to accelerate positive social impact and systems change.
Headquartered in Chicago, with regional offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, we serve nonprofits and communities throughout the Midwest.
IFF is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and one of only a few nationally to hold the top-ranked Aeris four-star rating for impact management and AAA rating for financial strength and performance.
Early Educator Wage Initiative Application for Region 10 - Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties
Welcome! This is the official application for Region 10, Early Educator Wage Initiative, administered by IFF, in partnership with Child Care Back Office, the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District (GOISD), and the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP).
The initiative focuses on strengthening Michigan's early childhood workforce by providing direct financial support to a pool of early educators working in our region.
Before you begin, please have the following information available:
- Business license number
- Mi-Registry Organizational Profile ID (Participating early childhood programs must create and maintain organizational profile and membership in Mi-Registry that includes all employee wage and employment documentation.)
- Mi-Registry Individual ID Number (Participating early childhood educators must create and/or update Mi-Registry profile and membership including all wage and employment documentation and keep it current throughout the duration of the wage initiative.)
Note: If selected, participants will be required to provide their employees Mi-Registry Individual ID numbers before stipend distribution begins. Stipends will not be issued until this information is received and verified.
The person completing this application must be authorized to make business decisions on behalf of the organization.
By participating in the Early Educator Wage Initiative early childhood educators and programs agree to actively participate in required evaluation activities.
All licensed childcare providers located in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties are eligible and encouraged to apply. This includes home-based programs, group homes, and center-based programs, as well as Head Start and Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) sites.
If you operate programs in multiple locations, you must apply for each site.
Please note: To ensure broad reach across the region, no more than one site per program will be selected for participation in the pilot.
Stipends will not transfer with the educator if they move to a different program.
The application should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. All information you provide will be kept confidential and used for the sole purpose of determining eligibility. Please ensure your responses are accurate, as they will be verified and may affect eligibility.
The deadline to submit the application is March 29, 2026 11:59 PM EST. Late applications will not be accepted. Additional information about timeline and next steps are available on our website and will be provided on the submission confirmation page.
For additional questions, please refer to the FAQ Section of our website for more information.