When Vantoinette “Ms. Toni” Savage, Founder & President of the Family Child Care & Center Enrichment Foundation (FCCEF), recently chatted with our membership director, Asia Washington, after FCCEF became a Center member, she was excited to share her organization’s story.
Stories like Ms. Toni’s reflect the heart of the nonprofit sector – passion, vision, and a deep commitment to community. We share these stories to highlight how NC nonprofits’ impact extends beyond what people see and touches lives every day.
Family Child Care & Center Enrichment Foundation
Story shared by Vantoinette Savage, Founder & President, FCCEF
When I speak about the Family Child Care & Center Enrichment Foundation (FCCEF), I’m not just describing an organization – I’m sharing a piece of my own story. FCCEF was born from my lived experience as a Family Child Care Home educator, a woman who opened her home to children, families, and community long before I ever imagined leading statewide work.
I serve in many roles today – Owner of Savage Academy, Founder and President of FCCEF, NC State Representative & Affiliate Leader for the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), Commissioner on the NC Child Care Commission, and a member of the NC Interagency Coordinating Council for Children from Birth to Five with Disabilities. I also serve on the Board of Directors for NAFCC, representing the voices of home based educators across the nation.
But every title I hold comes from one place: the heart of a provider who knows what it feels like to be unseen.
I work with Family Child Care Home (FCCH) educators, FFN caregivers, and early childhood professionals across North Carolina – women who open their doors before sunrise, who nurture children as if they were their own, who run small businesses with courage but without the resources they deserve. Many are women led, minority owned programs that have been overlooked in traditional early childhood systems.
I know their struggles because I lived them. I know their resilience because I embody it. And I know their worth because I’ve witnessed it every day for over two decades.
FCCEF exists to strengthen these educators, stabilize families, and build resilient communities. We do this through advocacy, professional development, financial literacy, wellness, and emergency support. We show up in the places where resources are scarce, technology is limited, and funding is inequitable – because that is where educators need us most.
As our foundation grows, joining the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits is not just a strategic step – it is a necessary one. The Center provides the training, governance tools, legal guidance, and statewide network that help organizations like mine build strong infrastructure and sustainable impact. Their support allows me to lead FCCEF with excellence, accountability, and alignment to nonprofit best practices.
With the Center’s partnership, I can continue elevating the voices of home based educators, advocating for equitable systems, and building a unified statewide network that uplifts children, families, and the early childhood workforce.
This work is not just professional for me – it is deeply personal. It is my calling. It is my community. This is my story.
And through FCCEF, I am committed to making sure no educator ever feels invisible again.
