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KAF Foundation — Youth Arts & Entrepreneurship · Gainesville, FL

From gift to proof.

The KAF Foundation walks young creatives through the full arc of creative production, in community and wherever they go. Gainesville, FL.

Our Mission

To use the creative arts as a vehicle for business methods, entrepreneurial thinking, and life skills.

How We Work

Three pillars.

01 / Hands-On Programs

Build something real.

Creator Bound walks young creatives through a complete project cycle, from concept to showcase, in a real production environment. Not a simulation. Not a classroom.

02 / Arts-Driven Experiences

Culture you can feel.

Community arts events organized by KAF Foundation (cultural nights, arts gatherings, public programming) that unite people and build belonging. These events run independent of the program cycle.

03 / Community Service

Show up first, always.

The Community School Readiness Event (CSRE). 200+ families served in year one, mostly out of pocket. We give before we ask. Every time.

The Framework

One Cycle.

Most programs stop at the first step. The KAF Foundation runs all three.

Expose.

Young creatives see the specific path available to them. Not a broad overview of life paths. What it actually looks like to build something real with their gift.

Activate.

The gift goes to work. Knowing you're a photographer is different from getting paid as one. Activation means applied monetization, mentorship through real conditions.

Showcase.

Growth becomes public proof. A real audience. A real event. A real outcome. The culmination for the Cohort Member, and a platform for the community.

Creator Bound

You're already doing something with it.
Or you feel the pull.

Creator Bound is built for both. If you have a gift and you're already working with it, you'll have the structure to build something real and the support to earn from it. If you haven't found your specific lane yet, the first phase of Creator Bound is where that happens.

Either way, you leave with proof. A completed project, a real audience, and the foundation for what you build next.

Track Record
200+
Families served, CSRE 2025
Mostly out of pocket
15 to 25
Age range served
Young creatives, Gainesville FL
5%
Of FL students in low-income areas
have access to entrepreneurship programs
300+
Families targeted, CSRE 2026
BREAKTHROUGH, August 8
Coming Up

What's happening.

Two events. This summer. Gainesville.

July 11, 2026

Silver Quarter

Kairos Events & Catering

A live fashion showcase produced by Creator Bound Cohort Member Ashton Booker (Krescent Klothing). Where the program meets the community. Real work. Real stage. Real proof.

August 8, 2026

CSRE: BREAKTHROUGH

Heartwood Community, Gainesville

Community School Readiness Event, Year 2. Free backpacks. Live music. Community. Targeting 300 to 350 Eastside families before the school year begins. No cost. No catch. Just showing up.

KAF Foundation

The work is happening now.

Sponsor a program. Partner on an event. Donate. Refer a young creative who's ready to build something real.

Our Mission

Built to run
the full arc.

Our mission is to use the creative arts to teach business methods, entrepreneurial thinking, and life skills, through hands-on programs, arts-driven experiences, and community service.

The Gap We Close

The talent is here.
The bridge wasn't.

Every community in Florida has young people with real creative gifts. What is missing is the bridge between potential and proof, between discovering a gift and knowing how to activate it, earn from it, and stand behind it in public.

Most programs expose young people to different paths. The KAF Foundation takes them down one, from discovering their gift, to activating it and learning to earn from it, to standing in front of a real audience with something real to show.

By the time someone completes a KAF program cycle, they do not just know what they are capable of. They have done it.

The Three Pillars

01 / Hands-On Programs

Workshops, presentations, and mentorship programs where young creatives discover their gift and learn to build with it. Creator Bound is the flagship program within this pillar, guiding each Cohort Member through a complete project cycle from concept to showcase.

02 / Arts-Driven Experiences

Community events that use the arts to unite people, build culture, and create a public stage for young creatives. The arts do not just teach. They build belonging.

03 / Community Service

Community service events that show up for people before anything is asked in return. CSRE is the anchor, a back-to-school event that served 200+ families in year one. KAF is always the first one there.

Ten-Year Vision

"In ten years, the KAF Foundation is one of Florida's most trusted on-ramps for young creatives who want to build something real with their gifts. A generation of Floridians who learned to earn from what they carry, lead in their communities, and build the next thing on their own, because someone walked alongside them when it mattered."

Florida Context

The gap is real.

Florida data on youth, poverty, and access to the arts and entrepreneurship.

5%

Of high school students in economically disadvantaged areas in Florida have access to entrepreneurship programs. The KAF Foundation closes that gap through direct, community-embedded programming.

711K+

Children in Florida are currently living in poverty, 16.5% of the state's youth population. Nearly a quarter of children in rural Florida live in poverty.

50th

Florida ranks 50th in federal arts funding per capita and 43rd in the share of residents who attend arts events. Access to the arts is not guaranteed here.

15%

Of Florida's ZIP codes contain more than half of all children experiencing poverty in the state. These are concentrated, compounding conditions.

The arc is the difference.

Expose. Activate. Showcase. Most programs don't make it past the first.

About KAF Foundation

Rooted in Gainesville.
Built to last.

The KAF Foundation is a Florida-based nonprofit rooted at the intersection of the creative arts and community. A young person's creative gift is not a hobby. It is a vehicle for resilience, economic agency, and purpose.

Kione A. Forrest, Founder and Executive Director

Kione A. Forrest

Founder & Executive Director

Kione Forrest is a community organizer, creative multi-hyphenate, and entrepreneur based in Gainesville, FL. A DJ, photographer, videographer, beatmaker, and musician, he built the KAF Foundation at the intersection of everything he carries. He saw the gap between the gifts in his community and the systems that should be walking people through them.

His own turning point came through a paid community arts apprenticeship that gave him the tools and the permission to build a business with his creative gifts. That experience launched him across photography, music, and event production. He knew what it meant to have that structure. He also knew how many people around him didn't.

At a summer camp, he made a beat on the spot, brought the kids onto the track, and shot a music video with them. One kid picked up the camera. He edited the video himself. He was proud of what he made. Today, that kid has his own photography company. Kione is his mentor. What that afternoon did for that kid is what KAF Foundation was built to do. Intentionally, with structure, for more young people, every year.

Governance

Board of Directors

The KAF Foundation is governed by a founding board committed to the mission and the community it serves.

Executive Director

Kione A. Forrest

Treasurer

Temica Smith

Secretary

Teyoni Smith

Legal Status: Florida nonprofit corporation. 501(c)(3) application in progress. EIN on file with the IRS. Registered as a Social/Civic youth development and arts education organization.

This is a Gainesville organization.

The work is here. The community we serve is here. Take a look at what we're building.

Creator Bound — Gainesville, FL

This is not a classroom.
There is no worksheet.

You get embedded in a real production cycle and guided through every decision, every role, every setback, and every win. By the time you're done, you've done it.

Flagship Program

Creator Bound

A mentorship and project-based entrepreneurship program for young creatives ages 15 to 25. One quarter. One real project. The full cycle from concept to showcase to debrief, built around each Cohort Member's specific creative gift.

Scholar Program

Creator Bound Scholar

Mentorship and project-based entrepreneurship. Complete a real creative project cycle from concept to public showcase.

Young creatives ages 15 to 25: designers, musicians, photographers, event producers, brand builders

One project cycle per quarter, approximately 12 weeks, orientation through graduation showcase

Year 1: 1-on-1 pilot. Year 2+: cohorts of up to 7 Cohort Members per quarter

Intake via application, referral, or word of mouth. All three pathways are valid.

Cohort Members participate in KAF Foundation's Pillar 2 arts events and Pillar 3 community service events as a program requirement. Those events exist and run independent of the cohort.

Apprenticeship Program

Creator Bound Apprentice

Paid apprenticeship track for photographers and videographers placed in real commercial work sourced from the KAF Foundation's network.

Photographers and videographers ready to work in professional, paid environments

Real commercial work, not practice assignments

Placed through the KAF Foundation's growing network of local businesses and partners

Builds a paid work history and real client relationships from day one

The gap between knowing your craft and earning from it, closed

The Scholar Program Journey

Four phases.
One complete cycle.

Every Creator Bound Scholar Cohort Member goes through the same four phases, shaped around their specific gift.

01

Orientation: Define the project

Program director and Cohort Member define what's being built, what success looks like, and what the timeline is. Strengths, gaps, and working style are assessed through conversation. The Cohort Member comes out knowing exactly what they're responsible for and what "done" looks like.

02

Foundation: Lock the structural decisions

Core decisions are made before anything is built: concept, venue, date, structure, key roles. The Cohort Member is guided through these decisions, not made for them. No outreach. No logistics. No sponsor conversations until Phase 2 is complete. Foundation first.

03

Execution: Do the hard part

The Cohort Member leads outreach to artists, brands, sponsors, and venues. They make real decisions under real pressure with real consequences. The program director coaches from behind, at key checkpoints, not in every conversation. The student does the work.

04

Show Day and Debrief: Execute. Capture. Learn.

Show day: the Cohort Member executes their role. Post-show debrief: what worked, what failed, what would change. The debrief is documented, not to process feelings, but to build the next version. The Cohort Member leaves with a completed project, a documented process, and the seed of what they would build next.

Creator Bound Scholar #001

Ashton Booker &
Krescent Klothing

The first Creator Bound Scholar. Year 1 pilot of the program model, applied to a real active creative entrepreneur in Gainesville.

Cohort Member

Ashton Booker

Brand

Krescent Klothing

Project

Silver Quarter: Show 2

Date

July 11, 2026

Venue

Kairos Events & Catering

Location

Gainesville, FL

Ashton is the founder of Krescent Klothing, a Gainesville-based streetwear brand. He produced his first fashion show (Lunar, May 2026) before entering Creator Bound. Show 1 worked, but by Ashton's own assessment it was not put together well. The goal of Show 2 is not bigger. It's to execute what Show 1 intended to be.

Through Creator Bound, Ashton is learning event production fundamentals, relationship management with artists, brands, and sponsors, community marketing with a real content rollout, and how to lead without a safety net. The goal: Show 3 runs without the program director as the structural backbone.

If Show 2 is executed well, the KAF Foundation earns a 3-show series leading to a Finale event at Kairos, a flagship community event on the Gainesville calendar. That is not just a client relationship. That is a program demonstration at scale.

Creator Bound

Know a young creative
who's ready to build?

Creator Bound accepts Cohort Members through application, referral, and word of mouth. All three pathways are valid. The right people come from all directions.

Events

Where the program
meets the community.

Every KAF Foundation event is proof of work, for the Cohort Members who build them, and for the community they serve. Two major events this summer. Gainesville.

Summer 2026: Upcoming

Our events this summer.

Open to the public. Rooted in Gainesville.

July 11, 2026

Silver Quarter

Kairos Events & Catering, Gainesville FL
Creator Bound Showcase, Cohort 1

A live streetwear fashion showcase produced by Ashton Booker of Krescent Klothing, a Creator Bound Cohort Member. His 2nd show at Kairos Events and Catering.

Get Info

August 8, 2026

CSRE: BREAKTHROUGH

Heartwood Community, Gainesville FL
Community School Readiness Event, Year 2
Free admission. No registration.

A back-to-school event for Eastside Gainesville families. Free backpacks, live music, and community resources before the school year starts. Year 2 at Heartwood Community, serving 300 to 350 families.

Get Info
Past Events

What we've built.

Every event is proof. Real people, real places, real outcomes.

2025

CSRE: Community School Readiness Event

Year 1 of CSRE. Over 200 families served on Gainesville's Eastside before the school year, mostly out of pocket. The City of Gainesville and Gainesville Fire Department showed up. The community showed up for itself.

2024 — Westside Park, Gainesville

Westside Takeover

The first KAF community event. A faith-based, arts-driven gathering at Westside Park with live performers, free food, and multiple churches showing up together. The community came out. The foundation was being laid.

2024 — Westside Park, Gainesville

Praise at the Park

The successor to Westside Takeover, back at Westside Park. Faith-based, arts-driven, free food, live performers, and multiple churches in attendance. What started with one event became a recurring gathering rooted in community and faith.

May 2026 — Gainesville, FL

Lunar: Krescent Klothing Show 1

Ashton Booker's first fashion show, produced independently before entering Creator Bound. People came from Atlanta, Orlando, and Tallahassee. Gainesville's streetwear scene showed up. Show 2 is built on what Show 1 revealed.

Want to be part of
what we're building?

Sponsor an event. Volunteer. Refer a young creative. Show up.

Get Involved

Support what we're building.

The KAF Foundation gives before it asks. If you are ready to invest in what is being built in Gainesville, here is how to show up.

Four Ways In

How to show up.

Sponsor a Program

Your support funds Creator Bound Cohort Member project costs, venue deposits, production materials, equipment, and program operations. Sponsors receive branding, community visibility, and direct association with the mission.

Donate

Direct support for the KAF Foundation's programs, events, and operations. Every dollar goes to the work, the Cohort Members, the community events, and the cost of showing up before anyone else does.

Donate Now

Volunteer

Show up for CSRE on August 8. Help distribute backpacks, support logistics, work the event. Showing up is how you become part of what the KAF Foundation builds.

Refer a Young Creative

Know someone ages 15 to 25 who is already doing something with their creative gift, or feels the pull to? Referral is how most of our best Cohort Members find Creator Bound. That person is who this program is built for.

Creator Bound

You know someone who should be here.

A young creative ages 15 to 25 with a gift they have not fully deployed yet. Someone who is already designing, making music, shooting, building a brand, producing events, or just feels the pull and hasn't named it. That is who Creator Bound is for.

Contact

Start here.

Whether you are applying to Creator Bound, referring a young creative, volunteering for CSRE, or looking to partner, reach out.

Get in touch.

Email

info@kaffoundation.org

Phone

(352) 224-9532

Instagram

@thekaf.foundation

FAQ

Common questions.

Everything you need to know about The KAF Foundation.

What is Creator Bound?

Creator Bound is the KAF Foundation's flagship program, a mentorship and project-based entrepreneurship program for young creatives ages 15 to 25 in Gainesville, FL. It has two tracks. The Scholar Program guides each Cohort Member through a complete creative project cycle, built around their specific creative gift. The Apprenticeship Program is a paid track for photographers and videographers, placing them in real commercial work sourced through the KAF Foundation's network. Neither track is a classroom. You get embedded in a real production cycle and guided through every decision, every setback, and every win.

What is the difference between Creator Bound Scholar and Creator Bound Apprentice?

The Scholar Program is for young creatives across any discipline: designers, musicians, photographers, event producers, brand builders. Cohort Members complete one full project cycle over approximately 12 weeks, from orientation through a public graduation showcase. The Apprenticeship Program is a paid track specifically for photographers and videographers ready to work in professional environments. Apprentices are placed in real commercial work sourced through the KAF Foundation's network, building a paid work history and real client relationships from day one.

How do I apply to Creator Bound?

Apply by reaching out through the contact page at kaffoundation.org/contact. Creator Bound also accepts Cohort Members through referral and word of mouth. All three pathways are valid. The right people come from all directions.

Do I need prior experience to join Creator Bound?

No prior experience is required, though having some creative background is preferred. Creator Bound is built for young people who are already working with a creative gift and those who feel the pull but have not fully started yet. If the gift is there and you are ready to build something real with it, Creator Bound is for you.

How long is the Creator Bound program?

The Creator Bound Scholar Program runs approximately 12 weeks, one full quarter, from orientation through the graduation showcase. The cycle moves through four phases: Orientation, Foundation, Execution, and Show Day with Debrief.

Who is Creator Bound for?

Creator Bound is for young creatives ages 15 to 25: designers, musicians, photographers, event producers, brand builders, and anyone who carries a creative gift and is ready to build something real with it. If you are already doing something with your gift, or you feel the pull to start, Creator Bound was built for you.

What do Cohort Members walk away with?

Cohort Members leave with a completed project, a real audience, a documented process, and the foundation for what they build next. The KAF Foundation does not stop at graduation. We continually follow up with every Cohort Member after the program ends. The relationship does not close when the showcase does.

What is the Expose, Activate, Showcase framework?

Expose. Activate. Showcase. is the KAF Foundation's core program model. Expose: young creatives see the specific path available to them with their creative gift. Activate: the gift goes to work. Activation means applied monetization: learning to earn from your gift, not just develop it. Showcase: growth becomes public proof. A real audience, a real event, a real outcome. Most programs stop at Expose. Some reach Activate. Almost none close the loop with a public Showcase. The KAF Foundation runs all three.

What makes Creator Bound different from other programs?

Most programs expose young people to different paths and stop there. Creator Bound takes each Cohort Member all the way through, from discovering their gift, to activating it and learning to earn from it, to standing in front of a real audience with something real to show. The program is built around each person's specific creative gift, not a curriculum applied to everyone. Activation means monetization, learning to get paid from what you carry, not just growing it. That is the gap Creator Bound closes.

What is the KAF Foundation?

The KAF Foundation (Kione A. Forrest Foundation) is a Gainesville, Florida nonprofit that uses the creative arts to teach business methods, entrepreneurial thinking, and life skills. Through hands-on programs, arts-driven experiences, and community service, KAF Foundation walks young creatives through the full arc, from discovering their gift, to activating it and learning to earn from it, to standing in front of a real audience with something real to show.

What is CSRE?

CSRE stands for Community School Readiness Event. It is a free back-to-school event organized by the KAF Foundation for families on Gainesville's Eastside: free backpacks, live music, and community resources before the school year begins. Year 1 in 2025 served more than 200 families. CSRE: BREAKTHROUGH, Year 2, takes place August 8, 2026 at Heartwood Community in Gainesville, FL.

How can I support the KAF Foundation?

There are four ways to support the KAF Foundation: sponsor a program, make a direct donation, volunteer for CSRE events, or refer a young creative ages 15 to 25 who is ready to build something real. Visit kaffoundation.org/involved to learn more or reach out directly at info@kaffoundation.org.