C3 grants are monthly, non-competitive grants from the state’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC). Most EEC-licensed programs that are open and serving families can get them. You apply every month in the LEAD portal. Centers should plan to spend half of the money on staff.

By our editors · Facts checked October 18, 2026 · Source: EEC’s C3 grants page

Disclosure: Treehouse Learning Center, which runs childcare and therapy programs in Massachusetts, publishes KidBrief. When we point you to child care, we send you to the state’s official list of every licensed program, and we always label ours. How we make money.

The short version

  • C3 stands for Commonwealth Cares for Children. It pays for day-to-day operating and staff costs, and it comes on top of subsidy (voucher) funding. It doesn’t replace it.
  • All EEC-licensed child care providers that are open to serve children can apply, whether or not they serve families with financial aid. Residential programs and placement agencies can’t.
  • To get C3, you must be willing to accept children with vouchers, or offer care equal to what a family would get with a voucher.
  • You apply monthly, for each site, in the LEAD portal.

What you can spend C3 on

  • Staff: salaries, benefits, stipends and other help to recruit and keep educators.
  • Training: professional development and building educator qualifications.
  • Quality: supplies, curriculum, screening tools and similar items.
  • Your building: rent or mortgage, utilities, maintenance and improvements, and insurance.

The 50% rule for centers: starting in fiscal year 2026, EEC expects center-based programs to spend 50% of their C3 money on workforce investments. This rule doesn’t apply to family child care providers.

How much you get

EEC uses a formula based on your licensed capacity and staffing, your workforce investments and the community you serve. Enrollment counts as a 12-month average:

  • Centers: at 75% average enrollment or more, you get the full base rate. Below 75%, the base rate is reduced to match.
  • Family child care: 3 or more children on average gets the full base rate. From 2 to under 3 gets 75%, from 1 to under 2 gets 50%, and under 1 gets 25%. With 0 children enrolled, you’re not eligible.

EEC posts the full formula and an FAQ as PDFs on its C3 page.

How to apply each month

  1. Log in to the LEAD portal with your username and password.
  2. On the homepage, click “View Grants” under the “Grants Management” banner.
  3. Complete the application for each site. If you have more than one site in Massachusetts, each one needs its own application.

Don’t get dropped

  • If you don’t recertify or answer EEC within a quarter, you’re automatically unenrolled.
  • Unenrolled providers are treated as new, and new providers can only join when EEC’s quarterly money review shows funds are available. EEC tells them by email.
  • You only get funding for the months you are open to children and families.

Reporting

According to EEC, programs that receive C3 aren’t direct subrecipients of grant funds, so they aren’t subject to federal reporting. Programs also don’t report C3 in the Uniform Financial Report (UFR) filed with the state’s Operational Services Division.

Questions directors ask

Is C3 the same as voucher money?

No. C3 is extra operating money. Voucher (financial assistance) payments for enrolled children continue separately.

We just got licensed. Can we apply?

Maybe. New providers can join when there is money available, and EEC checks that every quarter.

Where do I get help?

Use the contact options on EEC’s C3 page. Rules can change each fiscal year, so check there before you budget.

Running a program? Read our other Director’s desk guides, like how to recruit and keep teachers.