Childcare solutions in action: How businesses are addressing workforce needs

Strengthening New Hampshire’s childcare ecosystem isn’t solely the responsibility of parents, providers or government.

Businesses can contribute resources and expertise they already have.

The Investing in Care, Investing in Growth toolkit outlines ways organizations can invest, advise, support and optimize childcare. New Hampshire businesses are already putting those strategies to work.

A community invests in the White Birch Center of Henniker

An expansion of the White Birch Center in Henniker allowed local businesses to invest in a service their workforce needed.

The nonprofit purchased and renovated a space to expand senior and family resource programming and provide a permanent home for the Henniker Food Pantry and town welfare agent. In doing so, it freed space in its current facility to add 12 infant care slots — a service White Birch hadn’t previously offered.

To help fund the project, White Birch received a $250,000 allocation through the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) Tax Credit Program. Businesses donating to approved projects receive a state tax credit equal to 75% of their contribution.

Support came from businesses familiar with the tax-credit program, including Merrimack County Savings Bank and Grappone, but also other local businesses such as Davis & Towle Insurance Group, Michie Corporation, New Harvester Market and Irish Electric.

“For the business, it’s a real opportunity to make a big difference, but not have that full impact on their bottom line,” says Executive Director Marc McMurphy.

The new infant program also gives families continuity, allowing children to remain at White Birch from infancy until school. McMurphy recalls one family with a preschooler at White Birch that had been driving to Londonderry for infant care. Now families can find care closer to where they live and work.

Industry groups and chamber associations amplify advocacy

With firsthand knowledge of how childcare affects the workforce, businesses can turn individual observations into a collective voice for change.

The Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire (BIA) supports policies that incentivize businesses to invest in childcare, expand access to affordable care and make it easier for new, high-quality providers to open.

One policy endorsed by BIA takes effect in 2027, when businesses can receive up to a 50% credit against the Business Profits Tax or Business Enterprise Tax for investments that create at least 12 new slots.

Through BIA’s Workforce Policy Committee, industry groups or local chambers, businesses can bring their experience into conversations shaping childcare policy.

Partnerships back North Country expansion project

In the North Country, where affordable childcare can be exceptionally difficult to find, adding even a few dozen spaces can make a meaningful difference for working families and employers.

Gorham Community Learning Center (GCLC) saw an opportunity to expand, but making it happen required more than expertise in early childhood education. Several organizations stepped forward with the skills and resources they already had.

Northeast Credit Union had a vacant branch in Gorham and agreed to lease the building to the center while GCLC worked toward purchasing the property. The nonprofit AHEAD typically focuses on affordable housing, but it was able to apply that experience to childcare. It helped navigate the real estate transaction, mortgage, funding applications and architectural design.

The Town of Gorham helped access public funding, while the local school district provided classroom space — creating a project no single organization had to tackle alone.

CDFA awarded Gorham $500,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding used to buy and rehabilitate the building. When construction is completed, the center is expected to add 31 childcare spaces and up to five full-time educator jobs.

Family-friendly policies are business-friendly policies

Employers can help address childcare barriers in ways that fit their workforce and resources.

Elliot Hospital operates an on-site childcare center for employees, serving children from infancy through kindergarten. Its Employee Assistance Program can also help employees locate childcare and provides other resources at no cost to staff.

United Therapeutics, which has a facility in Manchester, takes another approach. The biotech company provides employees with a subsidy for off-site care through Bright Horizons, helping reduce the cost of childcare without operating a center of its own.

Other employers have adapted workplace policies. Grappone Automotive and W.S. Badger allow eligible employees to bring babies to work for six months or until they’re mobile, helping bridge the period between parental leave and other childcare arrangements.

Businesses can also support the workforce that provides childcare. ReGen Valley Tech Hub, a consortium working to grow the region’s biofabrication industry, has supported The Granite YMCA’s Childcare Workforce Development Apprenticeship Program. Its inaugural class recently completed hands-on training, coursework, mentorship and credentialing to prepare graduates to work in childcare centers.

Start where you can

These organizations demonstrate different responses to the same workforce opportunity: invest financially, speak up, contribute professional expertise or reconsider workplace practices. Businesses can start with the approach that best fits the resources they already have.

To learn more about supporting workforce initiatives, join CDFA and BIA at a childcare conference in November. Event details and information coming soon at biaofnh.com.