Child Care of Southwest Florida

What Child Care of Southwest Florida does

Child Care of Southwest Florida (CCSWFL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1967 that delivers early childhood education and child care to families across Lee and Hendry counties in Southwest Florida. The organization operates ten learning centers — six nonprofit-owned facilities (Joseph H. Messina Children's Center, P.A. Geraci Child Development Center, The Children's Learning Center, The Community Children's Center, Children's Garden of LaBelle, and the new G. Weaver Hipps Early Learning Center) and four embedded school-district partnership classrooms — serving children ages 6 weeks through 8 years, with enrollment of 350+ children. Core offerings include the research-based Creative Curriculum, the Focus on Four kindergarten-readiness initiative, CLASS assessments, and needs-based Primary Needs Scholarships. The revenue model is a hybrid of tuition and fees (subscription/recurring), government reimbursements (USDA Child Care Food Programs across 28 Florida counties, DCF mandated training and competency exams across a five-county region), foundation and corporate grants, individual and corporate donations, and fundraising events.

The business operates with a 51-100 employee headcount and is led by CEO Chris Hansen under Board Chair Jordi Tejero. GTM is direct-to-consumer: families enroll through website, phone, or in-person visits, with significant referral flow from United Way of Lee County, Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida, and the School District of Lee County. Corporate partnership tiers range from $500 (Supporter) to $5,000 (Champion) for sponsorships, with additional grassroots fundraising through brick paver campaigns and event sponsorships. CCSWFL is a United Way Partner Agency, holds National Accreditation Commission for Early Learning Leaders accreditation, Florida Gold Seal Quality Care designation, and five-star ratings across all six learning centers. The moat is structural rather than technological: it is built on regulatory credentials, embedded school-district distribution, sustained community trust since 1967, and a diversified grant and donor ecosystem including the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, The League Club, Daniel R. and Anne M. Harper Foundation, and Cape Coral Community Foundation.

Name

Child Care of Southwest Florida

Legal name

Child Care of Southwest Florida, Inc.

Website

https://ccswfl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Child Care of Southwest Florida is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1967 operating ten early childhood learning centers in Lee and Hendry counties, Florida, serving 350+ children ages 6 weeks to 8 years through tuition, scholarships, USDA food programs, and DCF mandated training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Preschool Programs within Childcare Centers (EDACABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Child Nutrition & Meal Programs (CACFP/Snack Programs) (EDACAMAA)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Child care services
• Preschool programs
• Nonprofit child care
• Infant daycare

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Myers

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from tuition fees for early childhood education services. The organization provides scholarships and financial assistance to low-income families to ensure access to quality child care.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Grant funding from foundations including Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, The League Club, Daniel R. and Anne M. Harper Foundation, Lee County Bar Association Foundation, The Community Foundation, Cape Coral Community Foundation, and others to support scholarships and program operations.
3. Corporate and Individual Donations: Charitable donations from individuals, businesses, and organizations supporting early childhood education and scholarship programs. Includes event sponsorships, center sponsorships, and child sponsorship programs.
4. USDA Child Food Care Program: Reimbursement funding through USDA Child Food Care Program for nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and snacks provided to enrolled children.
5. Fundraising Events: Revenue from events such as Holiday Gift Celebration, Giving Tuesday Kickoff, charity golf outings, and brick paver fundraisers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Child Care of Southwest Florida is a nonprofit early childhood education provider that operates accredited learning centers serving children ages 6 weeks to 8 years in Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, and LaBelle (Lee and Hendry counties, Florida). It also administers the USDA Child Care Food Programs across 28 Florida counties, coordinates Florida Child Care Mandated Training and Competency Exams in a five-county region, and provides needs-based scholarships and a Focus on Four kindergarten-readiness curriculum.

Product overview

Child Care of Southwest Florida is a nonprofit early childhood education provider offering a unified portfolio of services centered on high-quality early learning. The core offering consists of ten learning centers across Lee and Hendry counties (in Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, and LaBelle), complemented by administrative programs including the USDA Child Care Food Programs serving 28 counties, and Florida DCF Mandated Training and Competency Exams for a five-county region. The organization provides Primary Needs Scholarships for tuition assistance and operates a Focus on Four initiative for kindergarten preparation. Individual centers include G. Weaver Hipps Early Learning Center, Joseph H. Messina Children's Center, P.A. Geraci Child Development Center, The Children's Learning Center, The Community Children's Center, and Children's Garden of LaBelle. Corporate partnerships and sponsorship tiers round out the service portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early Childhood Learning Centers Ten high-quality accredited early childhood education learning centers in Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, and LaBelle, providing programs from infants (6 weeks) through age 8, including preschool and VPK, for families in Southwest Florida.
• USDA Child Care Food Programs Statewide administrative program that administers USDA Child Care Food Programs in 28 counties throughout Florida, providing nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and snacks to enrolled children at no additional charge.
• Florida Child Care Mandated Training and Competency Exams Coordinates the Florida Department of Children and Families' mandated training and competency examinations for child care providers across a five-county region in Southwest Florida.
• Primary Needs Scholarships Needs-based partial and full tuition scholarships for families who cannot afford full tuition at CCSWFL learning centers; approximately $129,000 awarded to 100 children in Lee and Hendry counties annually.
• Focus on Four Education Initiative Kindergarten-readiness program for 4-year-olds focused on four pillars: social-emotional skills, literacy and language development, STEM activities, and hands-on learning opportunities.
• Corporate Partnerships Program Structured program offering event hosting, sponsorships, center naming rights, playground and classroom sponsorships, and child sponsorship opportunities for businesses seeking community engagement and CSR impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% less likely to drop out of school for children who attend high-quality early childhood education programs
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, notable and minor.

• The School District of Lee CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 August 2024Partnership to operate early learning centers within school facilities. Child Care of Southwest Florida operates classrooms within G. Weaver Hipps Elementary School, Harns Marsh Middle School, Ray V. Pottorf Elementary, Pelican Elementary, and San Carlos Park Elementary. The partnership provides priority enrollment for district teachers and staff while extending services to the broader community.
• Early Learning Coalition of Southwest FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for quality assessment, School Readiness assistance, VPK coordination, and literacy programs. The coalition awards five-star ratings and provides CLASS assessments for all centers.
• United Way of Lee CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Way Partner Agency. Receives allocations from United Way fundraising and refers families in need of scholarship assistance to Child Care of Southwest Florida programs.
• United Mechanical, Inc.notableGTM or Marketing PartnerFort Myers-based company (founded 1987) specializing in residential, commercial, and governmental HVAC, heating, and plumbing. Employees volunteered at United Way Day of Caring, built irrigation system for community garden, host Stockings for Kids Santa's Workshop, and developed HOME (Helping Our Mini-Engineers) STEM program. Vice President Don Pine serves on CCSWFL board.
• Lee County Sheriff's OfficenotableOthersPartnership for holiday gift delivery program. Sheriff's deputies delivered presents to 160 students at CCSWFL centers, collected through toy donations from local businesses.
• HumananotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership for Literacy Parade, collecting books for preschool-aged children through the Early Learning Coalition's Literacy Buddy Program.
• Agape FlightsminorOthersPartnership for Hurricane Dorian relief, collecting supplies for Bahamas at CCSWFL administrative offices.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• YMCA of Southwest Florida: Operates nonprofit early learning and afterschool programs in the same Lee County geography; comparable mission of serving working families with subsidized tuition, similar reliance on donations and United Way partnerships, and similar school-age summer camp offerings.
• Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida: Regional nonprofit serving Lee County with workforce-development and family-services programming; comparable in scale, mission-driven model, donation-dependent revenue, and partnerships with Lee County and United Way.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County: Nonprofit youth-serving organization in the same geography providing afterschool and summer programming for school-age children; comparable in donor-funded model, board-driven governance, and school-district partnership strategy.

Regional players

• Children's Home Society of Florida: Statewide nonprofit with Southwest Florida offices providing child welfare, family support, and early childhood programming; comparable in nonprofit child-services delivery, foundation funding model, and regulatory oversight by Florida DCF.

Others

• Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida: Regional administrator of Florida's VPK and School Readiness programs and the entity that issues CCSWFL's five-star ratings; not a direct competitor but a key channel partner and counterparty for subsidized-enrollment revenue.
• Children's Forum (Florida early childhood nonprofit): Florida statewide nonprofit providing early childhood training, quality improvement, and child-care resource/referral services; comparable in mission and Florida-specific focus, and an adjacent enabler rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• KinderCare Learning Companies: Large national for-profit operator of more than 1,500 early childhood centers; comparable in offering center-based infant-to-pre-K care but with private-equity-backed capital, employer-sponsored care contracts, and a fundamentally different (tuition-only) revenue model.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Publicly traded operator of employer-sponsored child care centers; comparable in serving infants through pre-K with quality accreditations, but competes in a corporate-back care segment and has substantially greater capital and geographic reach than CCSWFL.
• Primrose Schools: National franchise network of accredited private early childhood education schools; comparable in proprietary curriculum, accreditation-driven positioning, and tuition-based revenue, but operates a for-profit franchise model.
• Learning Care Group (La Petite Academy, Tutor Time): One of the largest U.S. for-profit early childhood education operators with brands including La Petite Academy and Tutor Time; comparable in infant-through-pre-K center-based offering and Florida presence but with national scale and corporate-backed capital.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSJzAmi2-fxVzOo3ykMBaow
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChildCareofSouthwestFlorida
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/child-care-of-southwest-florida-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/explore/locations/460525458/child-care-of-southwest-florida-inc
• Xx.com/childcareswfl

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Child Care of Southwest Florida