An online marketplace brings businesses and childcare together for resources and savings

In an industry where financial margins are tight, salaries are low, and many employers cannot afford to offer benefits, one program aims to fill the gaps in services for childcare providers. 

The State Early Learning Alliance of New Hampshire, or SELA, is a “one-stop” marketplace that offers childcare providers, programs, and the families they serve discounts through shared services and an economy-of-scale model. Through partnerships with businesses, SELA offers free and paid services to all childcare workers statewide, including program resources, discounts, and telehealth care.  

Created in 2006, SELA works with businesses interested in bolstering childcare, using their “clout” and “expertise” to leverage high discounts on services. The program is operated by Early Learning New Hampshire, a nonprofit that focuses on early education support and advocacy.

According to Jackie Cowell, executive director of Early Learning New Hampshire, the goal is to help programs and providers save time, money, and resources.

“The idea (is) childcare programs coming together, sharing their buying power, sharing their tools and resources, less being competitors and more working together,” she said. “Could we get bigger discounts, put more money back in our programs?”

Programs and providers have free access to school and classroom supply discounts, curriculum, and program management resources and food discounts.

One of SELA’s partners is CCA Global Partners, an international home improvement company with an office in Manchester. It runs Early Childhood Education Shared Resources, a customization platform that offers early education resources ranging from handbooks and policies to translation resources to toolkits. It is the bones of the SELA website and its offerings.

Also offered is a paid telehealth program, as well as a free version. Employers can pay $9 a month, or employees can pay $10 a month for the whole family, for telehealth care. Discounts on prescriptions and dental and vision insurance are also available.

“They say 70% of the reason you need to see a doctor can be expertly handled by telehealth,” Cowell said. “That puts not only a lot of money back into the pockets of childcare folks, but it also saves some time.”

Through SELA Premium, a $2,000-plus yearly subscription paid for by programs, employees and families have access to discounts on propane and auto, home, and renter’s insurance. Programs can also get a discount on commercial liability insurance, a cost that puts a huge financial strain on programs.

Other partners include Northeast Delta Dental, which helps keep the website free and available to everyone in the state’s childcare industry, and Great North Property Management, a New England-based real estate company that offers the SELA Premium discounts.

Cowell estimates that savings can range from $500 to $3,000 a year.

“We really want to put dollars back in the pockets of the programs, the workforce, and these families raising young children,” said Cowell. “We find people tend to come for the discounts, but they stay because the quality supports that they get for their work, as well as the time savers, are just as valuable to them.”

Katie Brissette, deputy director of Early Learning New Hampshire, said that over 1,110 individuals used SELA for free and more than 30 pay for the premium subscription, but she hopes for more.

“We want to get to a place where it’s natural for people to say, ‘Oh I don’t have to do this alone,’” she said. “There’s just a lot of different ways that they can feel supported on there.”