The KAF Foundation · Youth Arts & Entrepreneurship · Gainesville, FL

From gift to proof.

We teach business, entrepreneurial thinking, and life skills through the creative arts: hands-on, paid, real. Every apprentice moves the same path, exposed to a craft, activated into paid work, showcased to the community.

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2 / 20
Youth helped into creative-arts businesses this year. Help us get to 20.
Our Mission
"To use the creative arts to teach business methods, entrepreneurial thinking, and life skills through hands-on programs, arts based events, and community service."
The Path

One journey, three moves.

Every program lives on this path. Not a menu of separate services: the sequence a person actually moves through.

01 · Expose

Discover the gift

Scholar track and mentorship. Someone discovers what they have: a photographer, a producer, a designer, a business owner.

02 · Activate

Turn it into work

Apprenticeship. Paid, supervised, real-client work. The gift becomes income, not a hobby.

03 · Showcase

Put it in front of people

Arts based events. The work goes public: fashion shows, cultural nights, community stages.

Programs & Services

What We Offer

🎨

Programs: things you train in

From a single Pop-Up Photography session to the full 12-week Creator Bound cohort, every program moves along the same path: Expose, then Activate. You leave having done the work, not just learned about it.

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🎧

Services: things you can book

Photography, videography, DJ, and web design, booked directly and performed by apprentices as real, paid client work. Every booking is training in motion.

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Calendar

Upcoming Events.

What's coming up, pulled from the KAF Google Calendar. CSRE isn't listed here on purpose; it gets its own recap section.

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Upcoming Events
Our Audience

Who we're for.

Creatives: the youth

Young creatives ages 15–25 exposed, activated, and showcased through KAF's programs.

The Community: Community Builders

A growing network of local leaders showing up for the mission. Started local, growing citywide.

Clients: youth organizations and the such

Schools, organizations, and businesses that book KAF programs and apprentice-led services.

Come build something with us.

Whether you're 15 picking up a camera for the first time, or a business owner booking real creative talent, there's a place for you on this path.

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 based events, and community service.

Our Theory of Change

The creative arts as intervention and inspiration.

The KAF Foundation works in step with the arts-in-health field: the research and organizations already proving what the creative arts as intervention and inspiration can do in a community. That work brings proof of concept and validity to what we do for the people we serve.

We serve underserved and underrepresented communities, communities shaped by the conditions around them: hopelessness and a lack of direction. When our programs, events, and community service reach these communities, they address that root cause directly: exposing people to a new path, walking them through it, and showcasing the change they've made in themselves. That change is what prepares them to create change in their community and beyond.

It starts with bravery: the courage to show up. From there, it's agency: real tools and pathways to use what you've learned, not just know it.

The Three Pillars

01 / Hands-On Programs

Workshops, presentations, and mentorship programs where young creatives gain real skills and find real direction, discovering their gift and learning to build a future 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 Based Events

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 100+ families and distributed 200+ bags of supplies in year one. KAF is always the first one there.

The Gap We Close

The talent is here.
The bridge wasn't.

Every community in Florida has young people with 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.

The KAF Foundation walks every 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.

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

The arc is the difference.

Expose. Activate. Showcase. The KAF Foundation runs the full arc, every time.

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About The 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

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 gave that kid, a new sense of what he was capable of, not just a new skill, is what The KAF Foundation was built to do. Intentionally, with structure, for more young people, every year.

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.

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.

Governance

Board of Directors.

Three people accountable 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.

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Creative Arts Programs · Gainesville, FL

Youth entrepreneurship,
taught through the creative arts.

Creative arts programs for young people in Gainesville, FL and North Central Florida, from single-session classes to our flagship mentorship program. 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 creative arts and 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 · Expose

Creator Bound Scholar

Mentorship and teaching, the layer every KAF program sits under. Cohort Members complete a real creative project cycle from concept to public showcase.

  • Young creatives ages 15–25: designers, musicians, photographers, event producers, brand builders
  • One project cycle per quarter, roughly 12 weeks, orientation through graduation showcase
  • Year 1: 1-on-1 pilot. Year 2+: cohorts of up to 7 Cohort Members per quarter
  • Cohort Members also take part in KAF's arts events and community service events as a program requirement
🚀

Apprenticeship Program · Activate

Creator Bound Apprentice

Where the gift goes to work: KAF's economic development stage, paid work placed with photographers and videographers from The KAF Foundation's network.

  • Open to creatives who've completed the Scholar Program, ready for paid, professional environments
  • Commercial work, not practice assignments
  • Placed through KAF's growing network of local businesses and partners
  • Builds a paid work history and real client relationships from day one
New Programs

Classes & Workshops.

Hands-on creative arts classes brought to your organization across Gainesville, FL and North Central Florida, catered to your group of youth.

📷

Pop-Up Photography Class

Students learn studio equipment, lighting, composition, and posing, then pair up to shoot in front of a professional backdrop and edit their final photo before leaving. Every session is themed, and every student walks out with a finished, edited photo.

$225per session
Up to 20students
2 hourson-site

Covers instruction, equipment, and materials for up to 20 students. Works well for after-school programs, summer camps, community centers, mentorship programs, and school enrichment days. KAF brings the camera, lighting, backdrop, and editing software; you provide the space and students.

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🎬

Frame by Frame Videography Workshop

Students learn storytelling, framing, camera work, and editing, then work in crews of 4 to plan, shoot, and edit their own short film: a well-known story, told their way. Three 2-hour sessions run on consecutive days, plus a 4th day for a reveal screening for family and community.

$800flat rate
Up to 12students, 3 crews
4 dayson-site
  • Day 1 · Pre-ProductionStorytelling, framing, camera basics, and crew planning.
  • Day 2 · ProductionCrews direct, shoot, and act out their film, mentored on set.
  • Day 3 · Post-ProductionOne student per crew edits while the rest of the crew weighs in, guided by a mentor.
  • Day 4 · Reveal DayFamilies and community are invited to a screening of all three finished films.

Covers all 3 workshop sessions, mentorship, camera and audio equipment, editing laptops and software, and the reveal screening; you provide the space and students.

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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.

Apply or Refer Get Involved
Services · Gainesville, FL

Hire our creatives
for your next event.

Looking for a photographer, videographer, DJ, or web designer in Gainesville, FL? The KAF Foundation offers professional event photography, videography, DJ, and web design services. Every booking is real, paid training for our Creator Bound apprentices, and proceeds fund our programs.

What We Offer

Book The KAF Foundation.

Whether it's a private event, community gathering, or brand activation, our team can capture it, DJ it, or help produce it, with the same craft and care we bring to every program we run.

📷

Event Photography

Professional event photography coverage, moment by moment.

$100per hour
~30 photosincluded

Includes about 30 professional, edited photos from your event; final count depends on event type and length.

Ready to work? Book Now
Specifications? Contact Us
🎬

Event Videography

An edited short video, tailored to your event or project.

$150per hour
1–2edited short videos

Coverage and editing style is catered to the specific event or project.

Ready to work? Book Now
Specifications? Contact Us
🎧

Event DJ

Keep your event's energy going, start to finish.

$75per hour

DJ services for private events, community gatherings, and celebrations.

Ready to work? Book Now
Specifications? Contact Us
💻

Web Design

Web design catered to the project we're asked to build.

Custompricing per project

Scope and pricing are catered to the specific project. Reach out to discuss what you need.

Specifications? Contact Us
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Sign up for occasional updates on Creator Bound, CSRE, Wine Down Wednesday, and what's happening at The KAF Foundation, straight to your inbox.

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Arts Events · Gainesville, FL & North Central Florida

Where the program
meets the community.

Arts based events in Gainesville, FL, expanding across North Central Florida: proof of change for the Cohort Members who build them, and for the community they serve.

Calendar

What's coming up.

This Month

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Has an event Click any day to see details. Click it again to close.
Upcoming Events
Summer 2026: Recap

This Summer.

Open to the public. Rooted in Gainesville.

August 8, 2026

CSRE: BREAKTHROUGH

📍 Heartwood Community, Gainesville, FL 🎒 Community School Readiness Event, Year 2 ✅ Completed · Thank you, Gainesville.

A back-to-school event for Eastside Gainesville families. Free backpacks, live music, and community resources before the school year started. Year 2 at Heartwood Community, serving 100+ families and 300+ bags of supplies distributed, in partnership with the Gainesville Fire Department, Impact GNV, and PACE Center for Girls. Raised $2,117 with help from our community.

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CSRE: BREAKTHROUGH, August 2026
Past Events

Every event is proof.

People, places, outcomes.

Lunar: Krescent Klothing Show

May 2026 · Gainesville, FL

Lunar: Krescent Klothing Show

Ashton Booker's first fashion show, produced independently before entering Creator Bound, in collaboration with Kairos Events & Catering. Three brands, multiple photographers, and models from Tallahassee's Images Modeling Troupe drew 30+ people, with attendees traveling from Atlanta, Orlando, and Tallahassee.

CSRE: Community School Readiness Event, Year 1

August 2025 · Gainesville, FL

CSRE: Community School Readiness Event

Year 1 of CSRE. 100+ families served and 200+ bags of supplies distributed 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.

Praise at the Park

May 2024 · Westside Park, Gainesville

Praise at the Park

Organized independently by founder Kione Forrest, before The KAF Foundation existed.

The successor to Westside Takeover, back at Westside Park. Faith-based, arts-driven, free food, live performers, and multiple churches in attendance. Not a KAF Foundation event, but part of the groundwork that grew into the vision behind it.

Westside Takeover

April 2024 · Westside Park, Gainesville

Westside Takeover

Organized independently by founder Kione Forrest, before The KAF Foundation existed.

The first community event founder Kione Forrest put together. A faith-based, arts-driven gathering at Westside Park with live performers, free food, and multiple churches showing up together. The community response helped shape the vision that became KAF Foundation.

Bring the program to your community.

Every KAF event is built by a Cohort Member and shown to the public: real proof, in front of real people.

Get Involved Get in Touch
Contact

Get in touch · Gainesville, FL.

Referring a youth or want to get in contact with us? Reach out using the form below.

Get in touch.

Email

info@kaffoundation.org

Phone

(352) 224-9532

Instagram

@thekaf.foundation

Message sent. We'll be in touch.

Stay Connected

Get event updates.

Sign up for occasional updates on Creator Bound, CSRE, and what's happening at The KAF Foundation, straight to your inbox.

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