Build Up SMC’s mission is to be a hub for multi-sector collaborations on advocacy, policy, technical assistance, financing, and development support. They engage local companies to encourage them to create child care facilities for their employees, track local real estate projects for child care opportunities, identify resources to build new child care and preschool facilities, and generate funding to renovate existing facilities. Build Up also works with cities and the county to improve policies for child care development and provide technical assistance to child care operators.

Build Up SMC emphasizes reusing/re-designating existing space to expand and create new child care centers and provides technical assistance for child care facility development. With this, they prioritize including child care facilities in the planning of new developments, engage local employers with solutions to employees’ child care needs, and provide technical assistance to faith-based organizations looking to provide child care.

Build Up SMC helped establish Build Up CA in 2020, which shares best practices, resources, and solutions for all types of child care providers, community members, business leaders, and policymakers. Similar to Build Up SMC, their three focus areas are:

• Promote information sharing on early learning and care facilities issues, including technical assistance and capacity building
• Recommend legislation and regulations changes to increase access to high-quality ECE facilities
• Develop and support various financing strategies, initiatives, and programs

Build Up’s approach works too— Build Up’s work has preserved over 8,000 child care spaces and created over 2,000 new child care spaces. The Child Care Capital Fund has distributed over $1 million in grants to child care providers to cover the cost of facility upgrades and open new facilities.