We’re pleased to announce that we’ve published our second Annual Report! The Annual Report is designed to summarize our activities and accomplishments during our last reporting period (July 2021 – June 2022), as well as forecast some of our upcoming projects, initiatives, and strategies.
While we are excited to share and celebrate the work we have done, MELA also intends for this report to serve as an accountability tool. We seek to be transparent about our progress with our funders, partners, and the greater early childhood community of Mississippi.
Report Highlights
From July 2021 – June 2022…
- We launched the Forum for the Future Steering Committee and the initiative’s first Working Group. During this reporting period, over 70 individuals or organizations were engaged in or publicly supportive of (MELA serves as the backbone organization for this collective impact initiative).
- MELA hosted a virtual Early Childhood Capitol Day with four other organizations. Over 100 early childhood professionals attended, and eight legislators participated. Both political parties were represented in our legislator panel and discussion sessions.
- Mississippi Early Learning Resources (shared services) welcomed over 1,500 registered users to the platform, which represents a 20% increase from the previous year. Over 100 childcare and early childhood professionals attended our first shared services conference (in-person).
- MELA launched our first Leading from Strength cohort of 14 highly-qualified women of color working in early care and education.
- MELA’s social media reach increased by 150%, and our email campaigns consistently performed above industry benchmarks.