Rooted In Education.
Committed to Community.
Child Care Access That Strengthens Families, Workforces and Communities.
The John and Janet Buckner Education Fund is working towards a Colorado where every family can access affordable, high-quality early childhood care, and no one is forced to leave work they love due to child care constraints.
We are beginning with Colorado educators. Our first initiative will help K–12 teachers with children from birth through age five afford licensed early childhood care. Our efforts are intended to strengthening educator retention while helping young children learn, grow and thrive.
This initial investment is only the beginning. By demonstrating what is possible for educators, we aim to build a scalable pathway that can extend to other public servants and, ultimately, families throughout Colorado.
Our Mission
Expanding Opportunity
We invest in educators, students, and communities to help every learner access the opportunities they deserve.
Case for Support
Why Invest Now?
Teacher shortages, funding gaps, and changing student needs demands bold investments in workforce infrastructure.
Origin Story
A Legacy of Service
Inspired by a lifetime of leadership and advocacy, the Fund was created to strengthen education and transform lives.
Programming Overview
Initiatives for K–12 Educators
Direct Support and Enrollment Stabilization
We operate at the intersection
of workforce stability and early childhood access, guided by a disciplined set of principles:
Start with the Workforce
Supporting educators is one of the most effective ways to stabilize school systems.
Targeted Intervention
Resources are deployed where cost burden and attrition risk are highest.
Think in Systems, Not Silos
We recognize the interdependence of educators, learners, and families.
Align with Existing Systems
We build alongside public and community investments, not around them.
Financial Discipline
Every commitment is multi-year, measured, and backed by reserves.
A Structural Gap:
Childcare in Colorado routinely consumes 18–25% of household income, far exceeding the 7%
federal affordability benchmark.
As defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
For educators, this creates a structural gap:
- Income exceeds eligibility for public subsidy.
- Income does not support market-rate childcare.
- This “missing middle” is where workforce instability begins
At the same time:
- Infant and toddler care is the most expensive and least available
- Waitlists delay workforce re-entry
- School schedules rarely align with childcare systems
The result is predictable:
Educators leave, not because they lack commitment, but because the system is misaligned with the realities of working families.
Childcare cost burden and
workforce attrition risk are concentrated, not evenly
distributed, across the early childhood years.
A Targeted 0–5 Model
We support families across the full birth-to-five continuum while providing up to three years of financial support per child.
This approach reflects how costs and systems function:
- Ages 0–3: Highest cost, lowest public support, greatest workforce risk
- Ages 4–5: Increasing access to public programs, reduced
cost burden
What This Enables
Rather than distribute limited resources across 5-years, the Fund:
- Concentrates investment during peak financial pressure
- Stabilizes workforce participation when attrition risk is highest
- Transitions families toward long-term sustainability
Our approach is not a
single program, it’s a
coordinated strategy
addressing cost and access.
Childcare Affordability Support
Grants made directly to service providers reduce out-of-pocket childcare costs for educators without raising tax burdens.
Provider Partnership Strategy
We work with licensed childcare providers to reserve slots for educator families, reduce financial and administrative barriers, and improve placement predictability.
Schedule Alignment Solutions
We support childcare models that better reflect educator realities:
early start times, coverage for teacher workdays, summer flexibility and enrollment preservation.
Access Navigation
We help families move efficiently from:
Inquiry → Application → Placement
Reducing delays that often disrupt workforce participation.