The Annie E. Casey Foundation's "Making Connections" initiative provides support to communities across the country to help improve outcomes for children and families in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The sites, together with local partners, are engaged in a range of strategies and activities, reflecting local conditions and priorities, to ensure that Children are Healthy and Prepared to Succeed in School (CHAPSS). These efforts include: early learning, health services, literacy and tutoring programs, out-of-school time (OST) programs, parent outreach and engagement, and supports for schools and child care providers. For "Making Connections" sites and other local initiatives, securing adequate funding to sustain and expand programs to achieve results at greater scale is an ongoing challenge. Fragmented funding streams make it difficult for leaders to support children and families in comprehensive ways. The current economic environment--a historic federal deficit, budget cuts at state/local levels, and declines in some foundation and business giving--challenges leaders to be especially strategic and creative about financing and sustaining their work over the coming years. This guide is part of a series of tools and technical assistance resources on financing and sustainability developed by The Finance Project to support the "Making Connections" sites. It overviews a diverse set of public and private funding sources that can be accessed, blended and braided to help meet the fiscal needs of local initiatives over time. Following an Introduction, Chapter 2 provides a framework for thinking about potential funding sources within an overall strategic financing approach. It outlines a suggested process for identifying and prioritizing funding sources, and discusses approaches for building institutional capacity to support strategic financial analyses within the initiative. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the funding options discussed in this guide and context for how the information can be most successfully utilized. Chapters 4-6 highlight selected federal, state/local, and private funding sources that are particularly relevant for the "Making Connections" sites. Collectively, they represent important funding opportunities, although they are not the only funding sources that site leaders should consider. Each section includes considerations, lessons learned, and examples of how to successfully access particular types of funding. Chapter 7 discusses criteria that can help guide efforts to assess and prioritize which funding sources are most appropriate to pursue. It also includes a high-level analysis of the benefits, costs and appropriateness of each of the major types of federal, state/local and private funding sources discussed in this brief. Appended to this guide are: (A) Strategic Financing Worksheets; (B) Drill-Down Analysis of Selected Formula/Block Grants; (C) Drill-Down Analysis of Selected Discretionary Grants; (D) Drill-Down Analysis of Selected Entitlement Programs; (E) State and Local Funding Sources: Examples from the Field; and (F) Selected Foundations and Corporate Giving Programs. (Contains 3 footnotes.)