Ready by Five works in the five poorest census tracts known as East Yakima in a collaborative public-private partnership to help children, ages birth to five years, and their families get kindergarten ready for success in school and life. Ready by Five develops new opportunities and strengthens existing early learning efforts within families, child care settings and the community, working to surround children with high quality early learning environments, wherever they spend their days. In support of the school readiness goal, Ready by Five is creating a sustainable, integrated and accessible system for early learning, child development and family support services for the children and families of East Yakima.

Ready by Five is one of two early learning demonstration communities in the state being primarily funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Thrive By Five Washington. (The other early learning demonstration community is in White Center.) The two foundations provided an initial grant of nearly $1.2 million in December 2006 to fund the planning for the local upcoming project. The foundations announced an additional $5 million grant in May of 2008 to begin the first phase of services and for the design of a model early learning center in the area.

Yakima's demonstration community is being built on the following framework provided by the funders:
• Parents are the primary teachers of young children.
• Programs must be culturally appropriate to the communities in which they operate.
• The project is expected to reach the majority of children age 5 and under in the demonstration community.
• Rigorously evaluated proven practices must be used.
• Collaboration with parents and community partners is integral to the process.
• The Ready by Five project will create one model child care center (a "hub") that serves the entire target community.

The Yakima area was selected by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation during the summer of 2006 to serve as the eastern Washington location of the early learning demonstration community. Local community partners chose ESD 105 in August 2006 as the project's intermediary to serve as the lead agency in seeking funds and organizing the planning process. In May 2008, the project's offices moved to 501 W. Lincoln, Suite C, in Yakima.