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Updates

Early Childhood Development|January 27, 2022

Monthly Cash Support to Low-Income Families Impacts Infant Brain Activity

A just-released study from Baby’s First Years shows that an anti-poverty intervention had a direct impact on children’s brain development. After one year, infants of mothers in low-income households receiving $333 in monthly cash support were more likely to show faster brain activity, in a pattern associated with learning and development at later ages.

Environmental Innovation|January 11, 2022

Farmers Business Network and Environmental Defense Fund Launch New Farm Operating Line of Credit that Incentivizes Farmers Who Implement Regenerative Ag

Farmers Business Network and Environmental Defense Fund announced the launch of the FBN Regenerative Agriculture Finance Fund. Farmers who meet climate and water quality benchmarks will now access lower interest rates, enabling wider adoption of profitable and sustainable agriculture.

K-12 Education|December 12, 2021

Getting Child Tax Credit to Lowest-Income Parents Proves Challenging

Organizations like Code for America are working with the White House and Treasury Department to launch tools to ensure the child tax credit reaches the lowest-income parents.

Early Childhood Development|November 17, 2021

Don’t Let Universal Pre-K Substitute for Universal Kindergarten Readiness

Andy Myers of Waterford.org argues that a more equitable, direct and holistic way of framing the issue of universal Pre-K is determining how we can achieve universal kindergarten readiness: "We should leverage the complete set of in-person and digital resources -- developed by educators and nonprofits both before and during the pandemic -- to ensure that all children have the core skills in academics, social-emotional development and school routines to be kindergarten-ready."

Medical Research & Talent|November 17, 2021

Dr. Tobiloba Oni, Valhalla Fellow at the Whitehead Institute, Shares his Work to Fight Pancreatic Cancer

Dr. Tobiloba Oni has leveraged Valhalla Foundation's support to secure additional funding to fight pancreatic cancer from the Emerald Foundation, the Hirshberg Foundation, Break Through Cancer, and the US Department of Defense.

Early Childhood Development|November 1, 2021

As Washington Wrangles Over Spending, How Can Philanthropy Make the Case for Family Child Care?

Valhalla grantee All Our Kin has played a leadership role in building and professionalizing the child care sector for two decades. If the Biden administration's proposal to overhaul the child care system in the U.S. passes, there will be an historic opportunity to improve child care quality and supply.

Environmental Innovation|October 29, 2021

The Fastest Way to Slow Climate Change Now

EDF Senior Scientist, Dr. Ilissa Ocko, explains at TED Countdown, "Cutting methane is the single fastest, most effective opportunity to reduce climate change risks in the near term."

Medical Research & Talent|October 15, 2021

Clinician-Scientist Kipp Weiskopf Appointed as a Valhalla Fellow at Whitehead Institute

Kipp Weiskopf—who is identifying ways to prompt macrophages to fight cancer—has been named a Valhalla Fellow.

Early Childhood Development|October 7, 2021

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy (PN-3) Impact Center Releases their 2021 State Policy Roadmap and Family Resource Comparison

PN-3 has released its second annual State Policy Roadmap that tracks progress state-by-state on the implementation of evidence-based policies and strategies to improve outcomes for young children. This year, PN-3 also analyzed the ways these policies interact with each other to impact the total resources available to families in each state, showing wide variation across the U.S.

Early Childhood Development|October 7, 2021

Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal and Child Health Through Home Visiting Programs

Systemic racism within health care and other social institutions has led to significant racial and ethnic disparities in access to health care, poor health outcomes, and high mortality rates for women and children of color. Fortunately, evidence-based home visiting programs like Nurse-Family Partnership are helping to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.