Preschool Promise

What Preschool Promise does

Preschool Promise Inc. is a 501(c)-style nonprofit organization founded in 2017 and headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, that operates as a backbone intermediary for early childhood education across Montgomery County. Its core product, Kindergarten Readiness, helps eligible families locate, enroll in, and pay for high-quality preschool through a network of partner provider sites, and supplies free family-facing resources including a Book-of-the-Month program, Kindergarten Toolkit, Boonshoft Museum family passes, and helpful text messages. Effective August 2026, the organization shifted from opt-in to automatic enrollment for every child in a partner classroom, embedding program benefits without a separate application step.

The organization's technology stack is conventional rather than proprietary: three Salesforce Experience Cloud portals (Family Portal, Provider Portal, Teacher Portal) power enrollment, classroom management, and professional-development tracking; the website is built on Wix; and operational workflows rely on Google Maps for site location, Google Forms for newsletter and feedback capture, and Zoom for quarterly director forums. AI capability is nascent and concentrated in convening rather than product: the 17th Annual Readiness Summit (March 2026, 550+ attendees at Sinclair Conference Center) curated 13 breakout sessions exploring consumer-grade AI tools (Suno, Gemini, NotebookLM, Merlin) for early-childhood instruction. No proprietary AI model or data flywheel is disclosed.

Preschool Promise runs a diversified program portfolio across three rings: (1) child and family enrichment (Ready to Read, Passport to Kindergarten, Little Free Libraries at 25 sites targeting 125,000 books, Play on Purpose); (2) equity-focused Ambassador Programs (Black Boy Brilliance with 11 ambassadors at 8 sites, Black Girl Genius with 8 ambassadors at 4 sites established August 2025); and (3) educator professional development (Scholars Program producing CDA/Associate/Bachelor's degree-holders, Professional Learning Communities, Therapeutic Child Care Grant / Building Blocks for Success, Child Care Director's Forum, eDECA Cohort, Classroom Supply Fund). The business model is grant-funded: services are free to families, and operating revenue is sourced from federal grants (U.S. Department of Education), state grants (Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, Ohio Department of Children and Youth, Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation), local government (Montgomery County, City of Dayton), and a base of corporate and family foundations (PNC Foundation, KeyBank, Pritzker Children's Initiative, Virginia W. Kettering, Iddings, Mathile, Levin, Tait, CD Berry, Spurlino, CF Kettering Families). Distribution is direct through partner preschool sites rather than resold; pricing is non-transactional.

Name

Preschool Promise

Legal name

Preschool Promise Inc.

Website

https://preschoolpromise.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Preschool Promise is a Dayton, Ohio-based nonprofit that helps Montgomery County families access affordable, high-quality preschool and kindergarten-readiness resources through a 122+ partner-provider network, free family programming, equity-focused Ambassador initiatives, and Salesforce-based enrollment portals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic/School-Readiness Preschools (EDACABAB), Preschool Programs within Childcare Centers (EDACABAL), Special Needs Early Intervention & Preschool Programs (EDAKAAAE)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Preschool access programs
• Kindergarten readiness
• Teacher professional development
• Family support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dayton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Preschool Promise operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through grants from government agencies and foundations. Funding sources include the U.S. Department of Education, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, Ohio Department of Children and Youth, and Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation, along with foundation grants from organizations such as PNC Foundation, KeyBank, and various family foundations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Preschool Promise helps Montgomery County families find and pay for high-quality preschool through a network of partner provider sites, while supplying free kindergarten readiness resources (Book-of-the-Month, Kindergarten Toolkit, museum family pass) and free training and professional development for partner teachers. It also runs equity-focused Ambassador programs (Black Boy Brilliance, Black Girl Genius), the Scholars credentialing program, Professional Learning Communities, and an annual Readiness Summit that convenes more than 550 local leaders.

Product overview

Preschool Promise is a unified early childhood education service organization serving Montgomery County, Ohio — it is not a single software product but rather a coordinated portfolio of programs. The core offering is the Kindergarten Readiness program, which helps families find and pay for high-quality preschool through a network of partner providers, combined with free family resources and professional development for teachers. The portfolio is organized into three interconnected rings: (1) child and family enrollment/enrichment programs including Ready to Read, Passport to Kindergarten, Book-of-the-Month, and the Kindergarten Toolkit; (2) equity-focused Ambassador Programs including Black Boy Brilliance and Black Girl Genius, which place trained ambassadors in classrooms to support Black children's cultural and academic development; and (3) educator professional development including the Scholars Program, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Therapeutic Child Care Grant, Child Care Director's Forum, and eDECA Cohort. Community enrichment programs include Little Free Libraries and Play on Purpose (POP Spots). Technology-enabled access is provided through three Salesforce-based portals (Family Portal, Provider Portal, Teacher Portal) and the Annual Readiness Summit — the latter being the organization's flagship thought-leadership event, most recently (2026) focused on AI in early education. All offerings are unified by a commitment to equity and kindergarten readiness for every Montgomery County child.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Black Boy Brilliance: Empowerment ambassador program designed to create environments where Black preschool boys are welcomed, accepted and celebrated
• Black Girl Genius
• Passport to Kindergarten
• Ready to Read
• Be Ready by 5 Collaborative
• Play on Purpose
• Scholars Program
• Little Free Libraries
• Readiness Summit

Products and services

• Kindergarten Readiness Program Flagship free program that connects Montgomery County families with children ages 3–5 to high-quality partner preschool classrooms, providing enrollment assistance, tuition support, and free kindergarten readiness resources.
• Ready to Read Early literacy initiative delivered in partnership with Omega CDC's Promise Neighborhood Project in Northwest Dayton's Hope Zone, providing intensive leadership and classroom coaching, monthly training cohorts focused on the Science of Reading, and family engagement through a Family Book Club.
• Passport to Kindergarten Year-long cohort program for preschool teachers and families focused on early literacy and language skills, including monthly professional development for teachers, family engagement events, classroom visits from community partners, and small-group dialogic reading. Sponsored by PNC Grow Up Great.
• Black Girl Genius Ambassador Program Equity-focused Ambassador program creating culturally affirming learning environments where Black preschool girls feel seen, heard, valued, and empowered; recruits paid high school, college, and community volunteers serving 6–8 hours/week October–May with mandatory training in Conscious Discipline, Trauma-Informed Care, and Shared Reading/Print Awareness.
• Black Boy Brilliance Ambassador Program Comprehensive equity program creating welcoming, celebratory environments for Black preschool boys, pairing culturally responsive teaching with positive male mentorship through Ambassadors placed in partner classrooms.
• Scholars Program Teacher scholarship and professional development program helping preschool teachers earn CDA, Associate, and Bachelor's degrees in early childhood education, with financial support, a peer network, and annual recognition events.
• Child Care Director's Forum Quarterly professional forum for child care directors covering licensing updates, professional development, county and state early childhood news, and Preschool Promise updates, hosted on Zoom.
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) Small supportive groups where preschool teachers learn new strategies, share ideas, and receive coaching, including cohorts on dialogic reading, equity, Conscious Discipline, leadership, and Passport to Kindergarten.
• Little Free Libraries Community literacy initiative placing 25 Little Free Library book exchanges across Dayton neighborhoods, with a goal of distributing 125,000 books into children's hands; businesses and individuals can sponsor a library.
• Play on Purpose (POP) Initiative that transforms everyday community places (bus stops, grocery stores, playgrounds) into POP Spots that inspire critical thinking, collaboration, and communication, turning free play into playful learning where families naturally gather.
• Annual Readiness Summit Annual professional development event equipping early childhood leaders with strategies to improve young children's success in school and life; the 2026 edition focused on AI integration in early education and convened more than 550 local leaders at Sinclair College.
• Therapeutic Child Care Grant (Building Blocks for Success) Grant-funded trauma-informed care program providing training to administrators and teachers at five participating sites, including monthly cohort meetings, a book study of 'What Happened to You?' by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey, and Conscious Discipline integration; sensory room created at St. Albert the Great.
• Classroom Supply Fund Funding program that provides classroom supplies to partner preschool providers to support high-quality learning environments for children.
• eDECA Cohort Professional development cohort program for partner teachers and administrators using the eDECA framework to support classroom quality and educator growth.
• Family Portal Access Salesforce-based portal enabling enrolled families to access their Preschool Promise account, view benefits such as Book-of-the-Month and Kindergarten Toolkit, and receive helpful text messages with tips to support learning at home.
• Provider Portal Access Salesforce-based portal that lets partner preschool providers manage their classrooms, enrollment data, and reporting with Preschool Promise.
• Teacher Portal Access Salesforce-based portal enabling partner preschool teachers to access professional development resources, track training progress, and engage with Preschool Promise's educator community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research shows lead teacher participation in learning communities with in-class coaching leads to greater kindergarten readiness
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Integration6 records

AI capability4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Montgomery CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government entity and key sponsor, presenting sponsor for Annual Readiness Summit.
• City of DaytoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner supporting early childhood initiatives in Dayton.
• Omega CDCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Promise Neighborhood Project in Northwest Dayton's Hope Zone, collaborating on Ready to Read program.
• Learn to Earn DaytonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner focused on education and workforce development.
• Montgomery County Educational Service CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacilitates Therapeutic Child Care Grant program and provides professional development support for partner sites.
• Sinclair Community CollegemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for Annual Readiness Summit at Sinclair Conference Center. Partnership for AI Excellence Institute.
• Dayton Metro LibrarymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in Passport to Kindergarten program, hosting events and supporting literacy initiatives.
• Dayton Art InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing art education and museum educator for classrooms. Hosted Preschool Art Show event.
• Boonshoft Museum of DiscoverymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Passport to Kindergarten program, hosting family events.
• Muse MachinemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts education partner supporting Passport to Kindergarten and Ready to Read programs.
• Five Rivers MetroparksmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental education partner, hosting Passport to Kindergarten year-end celebration.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PpromiseMC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDJX3DFqnw7q_W2ccLECsAA
• Facebookfacebook.com/Preschoolpromisemc
• Instagraminstagram.com/ppromisemc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/preschool-promise

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Preschool Promise