Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado

What Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado does

Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado (ECEA) is a Colorado-based nonprofit trade association founded in 1985 that represents licensed private child care and early childhood education businesses statewide. Its membership spans single and multi-center operators, home-based providers, preschools, for-profit and non-profit programs, and faith-based and secular providers serving infants through school-age children. ECEA describes itself as the only statewide trade association exclusively supporting community-based child care programs, with member businesses operating in 84 Colorado communities.

ECEA's core offering is advocacy: legislative lobbying, administrative representation to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) and the Governor's office, and participation in 15+ ongoing collaborative stakeholder meetings. The association monetizes through tiered recurring memberships priced $8-$55/month (Home/SACC, Basic, Plus, Professional) plus an annual $400 Affiliate tier, delivered via a Kajabi storefront and member-only portal. Beyond advocacy, ECEA bundles in member benefits including a multi-board job posting service (Career Plug), an employee health benefits program with Amaze Health, a free ELDG Curriculum mobile app, career advising via TEACH Colorado, policy research, an annual Leadership Conference, and a Legislative Day. The technology layer is conventional SaaS (Kajabi) plus a mobile content app, with no proprietary platform or AI capability disclosed.

The organization is governed by a volunteer board (President Ben Bloise, Vice President D'Arla Mezzacapo, plus members representing operating providers, law, insurance, and curriculum vendors) and led by Executive Director Dawn Alexander. ECEA reports its work supports an industry that contributes over $1 billion to Colorado's output, employs nearly 19,000 residents, and serves nearly 41,000 children ages 0-5, but the association itself is small and does not publicly disclose revenue or staff count.

Name

Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado

Legal name

Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado

Website

https://coloradoecea.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado is a 1985-founded nonprofit trade association representing licensed private child care businesses across 84 Colorado communities through legislative lobbying, administrative advocacy, tiered membership, and member benefits such as job posting and health programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Care Advocacy Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

In-Service Professional Development (Workshops/Institutes/Short Courses) (EDACAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

ECE Leadership & Administration Training (Directors/Owners/Supervisors) (EDACAIAD)

Keywords

• Child care advocacy
• Early childhood education
• Trade association
• Legislative lobbying
• Provider membership

Headquarters

HQ city

Colorado

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ECEA generates primary revenue from tiered membership dues ranging from $8/month for home providers to $55/month for professional multi-location operators, plus $400/year affiliate membership. Membership includes access to advocacy, legislative updates, job board posting, training resources, and networking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ECEA is a statewide nonprofit trade association that advocates for Colorado's private child care and early childhood education providers through legislative lobbying, administrative advocacy, and tiered membership services. The organization represents licensed private early childhood programs in policy meetings, provides regulatory guidance, member training, job board recruiting tools, and benefits programs such as negotiated health coverage.

Product overview

ECEA operates as a membership-based advocacy organization offering tiered membership levels (Basic, Plus, Professional, Home/SACC, and Affiliate) that provide advocacy services, legislative lobbying, job board access, training resources, and member support for Colorado's private child care providers. The organization functions as a trade association rather than a technology product company, offering digital resources including a curriculum app and health benefits programs as member perks. Core offerings center on regulatory advocacy, policy representation, and member benefits rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Basic Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Saved MJM school over $40k in Indeed advertising costs per year through Career Plug program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Take A BreakminorOthers · 1 January 2026Sponsored breakfast for ECEA's Legislative Day in 2026, supporting the association's advocacy events.
• Hope Montessori AcademyminorOthers · 1 January 2026Supported ECEA with their Legislative Day in 2026, contributing to advocacy efforts.
• Jackman BrothersminorOthersCompany that brings education and entertainment together; supports ECEA. Advertised on ECEA website as partner.
• Bounce EmpireminorOthersField trip location for metro area child care programs; featured as partner on ECEA website.
• TEACH ColoradominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing free access to 1:1 advising, group webinars, multi-lingual guides, and up to $1,000 in financial aid for early childhood educators considering careers. Referred to ECEA members for career guidance.
• Job Board Partner (10 Major Job Boards)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorECEA partners with a job board service allowing Plus and Professional members to post to 10 major job boards for $60-79/month, saving providers from spending over $1,380/year on Indeed alone.
• Amaze HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth benefits program negotiated for ECEA members providing virtual health care including urgent care bypass, medication coverage, behavioral health support, and care coordination. At $32/employee/month for groups of 10+, significantly below $79/month individual rate.
• SB24-002 County InitiativescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide initiative enabling county property tax rebates (50-100%) for child care providers. ECEA is working to expand these mechanisms. Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties actively pursuing or implementing programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Child Care Aware of America: National nonprofit advancing child care access and affordability through advocacy, research, and a network of state/regional CCR&R agencies. Highly comparable as an ECE advocacy and member-support organization, though operating at the national level rather than a single state.
• National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC): National association specifically representing family child care providers - directly comparable to ECEA's Home/SACC tier membership focus on home-based providers and small operators. Both offer advocacy, accreditation, and member benefits to family child care.
• Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC): Texas state affiliate of NAEYC providing professional development and advocacy for ECE professionals and programs. Closest structural analog to ECEA at the state level, serving a different state but with an identical membership-association operating model.
• Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (Colorado): Colorado's network of 34 county-level early childhood councils. Directly comparable as a Colorado-based ECE coordination and advocacy body, though operating at the county-level umbrella rather than representing private businesses specifically.

Regional players

• Colorado Children's Campaign: Colorado-based child advocacy organization that engages on ECE policy, including UPK and child care funding. Operates in the same Colorado legislative space as ECEA but from a child-advocacy rather than provider-advocacy perspective.
• California Child Care Resource & Referral Network: California's statewide network of child care resource and referral agencies. Comparable as a state-level ECE support organization serving providers and families, though operating through a funded R&R agency model rather than dues-based membership.
• Clayton Early Learning: Colorado-headquartered ECE organization operating direct child care services and statewide policy/research work. Comparable as a Colorado-based ECE organization with policy influence, though focused on demonstration sites and research rather than private-provider advocacy.

Broad incumbents

• National Head Start Association: National membership association for Head Start programs and ECE professionals. Comparable in advocacy and member-service structure, though focused on Head Start grantees rather than private community-based child care.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): Largest national membership association for early childhood educators. Directly comparable as an ECE advocacy and professional development membership body, but operating nationally and serving both individual educators and programs across all states.

Others

• Council for Professional Recognition (CDA): National credentialing body for early childhood educators offering the Child Development Associate credential. Adjacent peer providing professional credentials ECEA references in its advocacy and resource offerings; not a direct competitor but ecosystem participant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ECEAofColorado
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coloradoecea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado