FCF Michigan Helps Owner Find a “Solution That Works for Us”
Kim Jarvis always wanted to make a positive impact on kids in her Dayton, OH, community but starting a child care center wasn’t on her mind. After starting her own center, though, she had big plans for more space but needed a plan. FCF’s MIchigan Team was able to help her create a financial plan that gets her one big step closer to her goal.
After graduating from Miami University in Oxford and entering the business world, opening a child care center wasn’t first on Kim Jarvis’ priorities.
She knew that she wanted to make a positive impact on kids and make things better in her Dayton, OH, community. She knew that she had the drive and passion to make a difference. She just hadn’t found the right path.
In 2015, she was working as the director for an afterschool program for girls. She realized many of them were not on grade level in reading or math; many in fourth grade were reading at a first-grade level, for example.
Kim wanted to do something but knew it needed to start earlier in life for these kids. She began researching the benefits of early childhood education, especially preschool.
In late 2018, she opened On Purpose Academy and Mentoring Center, a preschool dedicated to offering preschoolers access to educational resources, innovative learning practices and mentoring.
But Kim wasn’t done. Her ambition and desire to make things better only grew with the success of On Purpose Academy. She was doing something good that could be something even better.
“I had a vision and knew the mission of what I wanted to do,” Kim said. “But the question always was ‘Do the financial numbers support it?’ Mission, vision and financing always need to work together.”
Kim started looking for help to put the pieces together and found guidance and support through Preschool Promise, a Dayton non-profit “dedicated to supporting young children from prenatal to age 5, ensuring they have access to the educational and health and wellness opportunities they need to start kindergarten fully ready to learn.”
Kim had found a group – including Executive Director Robyn Lightcap – that really understood her. She began working with Preschool Promise in a cohort designed to assist child care leaders.
As part of the process, participants were given grants for such things as infrastructure or architectural help. Kim chose financial modeling assistance; she needed that to make her vision sustainable.
“I have worked with Kim for a long time and have seen her visionary leadership. The passion has always been there, but she needed to make sure that she had a sustainable plan,” said Robyn. “That’s where First Children’s Finance came in.”
Robyn knew about FCF through networking in the child care field. She arranged that Kim’s grant would be working with FCF’s Michigan State Office to develop financial plans to make sure her vision could succeed.
FCF staff members Jessica Affholter and Alexis Townsend starting by taking a deep dive into Kim’s finances – past, present and several future scenarios.
“I cannot overstate how amazing Jessica and Alexis were. They gave me 5-6 scenarios that showed how the future could look,” Kim said. “They listened to me, crunched numbers and gave me alternative ways of looking at the same goals.
“Most importantly, they didn’t try to change who we are; they understood our mission and our vision and how important it was for us to serve our population. They didn’t try to force other methods on us. They wanted our solution to work for us. That was huge.”
With the help of FCF’s financial modeling, Kim now has a solid plan to take back to Preschool Promise and other potential funders in her search to secure money and resources.
Her goal is to serve 140-150 preschoolers in a center that combines early childhood education with mental health assistance on one campus. Kim is in the process of closing on land; her goal is to open in late 2025 or early 2026. She knows that’s ambitious, but every great plan has to have a great goal!
Looking at where she was and where she is, Kim said that FCF helped in so many ways.
“They showed me that sometimes small tweaks to a plan can make things doable. For example, we figured out to make the kitchen more efficient, which will save money,” Kim said. “I wanted to have 12 kids each in 12 classrooms. Jessica and Alexis showed me that instead I could have 20 kids each in seven classrooms with the same number of staff but would save on space and furniture costs.
“Just that one tweak saved me thousands of dollars every year.”
Kim has no doubt that her passion and vision are going to elevate her community. She is grateful to Robyn Lightcap and Preschool Promise for working with her and for recognizing that she WILL make a difference. And she encourages any provider or community looking for solutions to work with First Children’s Finance.
“I thoroughly enjoyed everything about working with Jessica and Alexis. They could have easily just said ‘Add more kids and make more money.’ But they took the time to understand us. I think everyone should go through the process with FCF.”
