Tampa Bay foster care nonprofit launches next phase of $8M campaign

A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay (AKPTB), a nonprofit focused on providing housing and support services to youth in foster care in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk Counties, recently launched the public portion of its $8 million Building a Brighter Future capital campaign.

The campaign launched in February 2023 and has since raised $5 million. The funds are earmarked for the acquisition of a 2-acre property and construction of a 12,000-square-foot activity center on AKPTB’s campus in Brandon, just outside Tampa, as well as the renovation of a home for additional extended foster care housing.

The new center will feature a larger indoor gathering space for group celebrations, multiuse rooms for therapy, family visitation, vocational education and community involvement, a computer lab, an outdoor basketball court, an exercise room and swimming pool. Construction is set to begin in early 2025. 

“We are fortunate to have so many generous supporters in the community who have already donated to Building a Brighter Future,” says Samantha Mellen, director of development at A Kid’s Place in a released statement. “We’re excited to move into the public phase of fundraising to secure the additional $3 million to reach our goal, and we encourage anyone who wants to make a real difference in the lives of kids to donate.”

A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay was founded in 2009 and has served more than 1,700 foster children and over 753 families.