(Beijing, 21 November 2025) The Yeh Family Philanthropy (YFP) is proud to be a founding partner of the China Early Childhood Development Collaborative (the ECD Collab), the country’s first donor collaborative fund focused on children aged 0–3. Officially launched in Beijing, the ECD Collab reflects YFP’s commitment to reimagine learning systems for the development of youth potential. The initiative aims to increase responsive care practices and early learning opportunities for families in low resource settings through investment in public education, place-based innovation, and policy change.

The ECD Collab is jointly launched by eight organizations: the China Development Research Foundation, the China Foundation for Rural Development, Gates Foundation, the Institute of Philanthropy, Li Foundation, Tanoto Foundation, XinHe Foundation, and YFP (in alphabetical order) . It represents a new model of collaborative philanthropy, pooling resources, expertise, and risk-sharing mechanisms to address systemic social challenges at scale.

China faces an unprecedented opportunity—and challenge: nearly 9 million young children are at risk of developmental delay in their earliest years. The first 1,000 days of life are critical for a child’s long-term physical, cognitive, and socioemotional well-being.

Developmental delays at this stage have lifelong consequences for educational attainment, productivity, and health. Strategic investment in early childhood development yields outsized returns—strengthening human capital, reducing future social costs, and enabling children to thrive.