Our Story
KAAF began in 2022 as a small booster club formed to support a single team of students. What started as a handful of parents and neighbors grew, season by season, into something far larger than the team we set out to help.
By the 2025 to 2026 school year, the real story had become impossible to ignore. The same families kept hitting the same walls, and those walls had nothing to do with a sport or a school. A student who couldn't get a ride. A kid trying to focus through a missed meal. A young person who just needed someone to help them catch up. The need reached well beyond where we started.
In January 2026 we formalized our work as the Knowledge, Access and Advancement Foundation, built with the structure and accountability that lasting impact requires. The mission grew with us. Not to back one team, but to remove the everyday barriers that keep any student in Southwest Atlanta from staying in school and succeeding.
Today KAAF serves students across Adamsville, Collier Heights, Cascade, Sylvan Hills, and Ben Hill, clearing the path so every young person, whatever they're up against, has a real chance to rise.
Our Mission
To remove the everyday barriers that keep students from staying in school and succeeding, so that every child in Southwest Atlanta has a real chance to thrive, regardless of what their family can afford.
Our Vision
A future where every young person, no matter where they live or what their family can afford, has the access, support, and belonging they need to grow into their full potential, in school, in their community, and in life.
What We Believe
These beliefs guide every decision we make and every dollar we deploy.
That every child has a right to the support they need to learn and succeed, not just the ones whose families can afford it.
That financial hardship should never decide whether a student stays in school and thrives.
That support works best when it is direct, practical, and delivered with dignity.
That strong students come from strong families and connected communities.
That young people grow when they are seen, valued, and given the chance to belong.
Our Values
Access
We open doors. We meet students and families where they are and remove what stands in the way.
Community
We are built by neighbors for neighbors. We grow stronger together than apart.
Integrity
We steward every resource with honesty and care, and we hold ourselves accountable to those we serve.
Excellence
We hold high expectations for our students and for ourselves, in the classroom and in everything we do.
Leadership and Accountability
Led by Our Community
KAAF is powered by people who come from the neighborhoods we serve. Our board, volunteers, and supporters share one commitment: that no child is held back by what their family can afford. What began as a small booster club grew into a foundation because families, mentors, and neighbors kept showing up for young people, and we keep showing up for them.
KAAF is governed by a board committed to transparency and to the students at the center of our work. As a 501(c)(3) organization, we direct support to students efficiently, measure our impact, and hold ourselves accountable to the community that makes this work possible.