JANUARY 15, 2026

Goodman Philanthropies Awards $600,000 Grant to Think Small & Mirza

Putting government benefits within reach through a unified tech platform.

Ramsey County, MN — Goodman Philanthropies is pleased to announce a $600,000 grant to Think Small, in partnership with Mirza,  to partner with a select number of counties to pilot a centralized eligibility and enrollment technology solution that dramatically improves how families and administrators access early learning services and government benefits in Minnesota.

“Families shouldn’t have to navigate a maze to secure child care and other vital supports,” said Cisa Keller, President & CEO of Think Small. “Thanks to Goodman Philanthropies’ support, Think Small and Mirza will streamline how families apply for and qualify for benefits.”

This grant investment supports an innovative, data-driven, and secure platform that will provide real-time verification of employment and income, automated document collection, and pre-filled application data to simplify and speed up eligibility processes across early learning programs. By automating work verification and reducing manual errors, implementing Mirza will significantly lower the risk of fraud within public benefit programs, ensuring resources reach those who need them most. The pilot aims to define what modern, efficient, and equitable eligibility systems can look like — laying the groundwork for a potential scale up to help state and local governments around the county address H.R. 1 Medicaid and SNAP work requirements, by reducing administrative barriers for families.

“Too often, the biggest barrier to accessing critical childcare benefits is that the systems themselves make things harder for families instead of easier,” said Siran Cao, co-founder and CEO of Mirza. “We’re grateful for the support of Goodman Philanthropies and excited to work with Think Small to streamline the eligibility process and fulfill the potential of childcare benefits as an engine of economic growth.”

This grant will fund Think Small and Mirza to:

• Build and test a unified intake and eligibility system for Minnesota’s two childcare subsidy programs with real-time data integration that reduces manual burdens for families and administrators.

• Improve utilization of government benefits, with a focus on child care programs, and increasing the number of early learning system (ELS) families accessing other economic assistance.

• Reduce eligibility determination error rates and demonstrate how automated systems can support broader efficiencies and fraud mitigation in public programs.

• Produce a playbook and product offering that states can use to support H.R. 1 compliance, including payroll income verification and document management workflows.

Why Goodman Philanthropies Invested

Accessing underutilized county-level childcare benefits is a critical lever for economic mobility for households with children ages 0-5 — yet outdated eligibility systems create friction that disproportionately impacts families. Our grant to Think Small and Mirza represents catalytic philanthropic capital to pilot, demonstrate, and refine a state-level model for more equitable and efficient public benefit systems.

The Broader Vision: A modern, streamlined eligibility platform for childcare benefits will decrease administrative errors, increase the number of households who receive this important public benefit, and serve as a proof point for scalable government technology solutions. Ultimately, the larger impact potential is leveraging this pilot as a way to demonstrate abilities to offer much-needed state-wide support focused on HR1 Medicaid & SNAP work requirements.

To learn more about our work and our portfolio of grants, visit www.goodmanphilanthropies.org 

About Goodman Philanthropies

Helping low- and moderate-income (LMI) Americans access public benefits is about fixing the invisible “administrative tax” that makes essential programs hard to use—complex forms, duplicative paperwork, confusing eligibility rules, long waits, and fragmented systems. These barriers don’t reflect lack of need or motivation; they reflect a delivery system that was never designed around real people’s lives. When families can reliably access public benefits like childcare assistance, they are more stable, more able to work, and better positioned to build assets—making effective benefits delivery a foundational engine of U.S. economic mobility. Goodman Philanthropies funds in innovative approaches to unlock public benefits access as part of its larger U.S. economic mobility focus. To learn more about our work and our portfolio of grants, visit www.goodmanphilanthropies.org.