Childcare SPARK

A childcare solution: Expanding home-based childcare

The SPARK program provides funding, support, and resources to childcare entrepreneurs, boosting childcare capacity in St. Joseph County.

About Childcare SPARK

Childcare SPARK is an innovative program new to St. Joseph County, inspired by a successful model developed in Marquette County. It combines expertise from business development, childcare operations, and childhood development organizations into a business accelerator model to help interested entrepreneurs understand, launch, operate, and grow home-based childcare businesses.

If you are ready to apply, you can do so below. The remainder of this page provides more detailed information on the program.

Apply Here!

Now accepting applications until October 1, 2025

Questions?

Contact us at (269) 659-8508 or email Elizabeth Whitehead at elizabeth@sturgisfoundation.org

Childcare SPARK Program Details

SPARK is designed to be as accessible as possible while still ensuring selected applicants are likely to complete the program. If you are considering applying, be sure to consider if you could meet the following state or program requirements:

  • Be a St. Joseph County resident.
  • Plan to operate your business where you currently live.
  • Pass a State of Michigan background check.

Additionally, successful applicants will:

  • Be genuinely interested in starting a home-based childcare business and willing to work through challenges that may arise
  • Be willing to follow the coursework on Google Classroom
  • Be able to complete weekly coursework
  • Be comfortable with basic computer usage (SPARK is able to provide internet access and/or a laptop, for those who need it, so just being comfortable is enough)
  • Be willing to communicate with a mentor on a regular basis
  • Be willing to meet, in person, with SPARK administrators
  • Be willing to complete follow-up reporting to gauge the success of the program (up to three years after)

TBD. Projected to start in the Fall of 2025

The SPARK team is continually working to build customized content using existing and new resources specifically tailored to this program. Over the course of the program, you can expect to learn about

  • Business Development
  • Child Development
  • Financing
  • Licensing and Regulations
  • Positive Guidance
  • Social & Emotional Skills

One of the unique aspects of SPARK is that each participant will be paired with a mentor who is experienced in running a home-based childcare business. This pairing will allow for 1:1 discussion to identify challenges and tackle some of the mentally demanding aspects of this field. The goal is that your mentor-mentee relationship will last well beyond the program and help form a stronger bond between home-based childcare providers throughout the county which will offer more stability for families as well.

Childcare SPARK is free to participants. Thanks to generous financial support for the program from the Sturgis Area Community Foundation, participants will receive stipends to compensate for their time learning about and establishing a business to meet this critical community need. Two stipends of $500 each will be provided during the course for participants meeting attendance and homework requirements—one at the midpoint and another at the end. Another $500 will be provided upon opening a licensed childcare business.

One of the major startup costs for any business is making physical improvements to a building. For home-based childcare providers, this can be a significant upfront expense. In addition to stipends, participants may also be eligible for financial assistance to cover minor home improvements required to meet regulatory standards, as well as permitting costs