Founded in 2018, The Croom Foundation was established with a clear and enduring purpose: to create meaningful opportunities for young people from underserved and disadvantaged communities to overcome barriers, discover their potential, and build pathways toward lasting educational, personal, and economic success.
The Foundation’s work began with a small group of young men who were often labeled as troubled, at risk, or unlikely to succeed. Rather than allowing circumstance, socioeconomic hardship, neighborhood conditions, or societal perceptions to determine their futures, The Croom Foundation chose a different approach, one rooted in mentorship, accountability, access, opportunity, exposure, and an unwavering belief in the potential of every young person.
As the impact of this approach became evident, the Foundation’s reach and mission expanded. What began as an effort to support a small number of young men grew into a broader movement serving both young men and women and addressing the systemic, financial, educational, and environmental barriers that too often limit opportunity for underserved youth.
At the heart of The Croom Foundation is a fundamental belief: equity means ensuring that young people receive the resources, support, exposure, and opportunities they need to succeed, regardless of where they begin. The Foundation recognizes that equal opportunity alone is not enough when young people begin their journeys with vastly different levels of access, resources, support systems, and exposure.
Through education, mentorship, leadership development, college and career readiness, scholarship assistance, community engagement, and strategic partnerships, The Croom Foundation works to close those gaps. Its programs are designed not only to help young people imagine possibilities beyond their immediate circumstances, but to equip them with the knowledge, relationships, resources, and confidence necessary to pursue those possibilities.
The Foundation’s work is guided by a powerful principle:
“You are a product of your environment until your environment changes.”
That belief shapes the Foundation’s commitment to transforming the environments surrounding young people. By connecting students with positive role models, educational opportunities, professional networks, mentors, scholarships, community resources, and experiences they may not otherwise encounter, The Croom Foundation seeks to change what young people see as possible for their lives.
Today, The Croom Foundation continues to expand its impact through collaborative partnerships, mentoring programs, educational initiatives, scholarship support, and community-based programming designed to break cycles of poverty, remove barriers to opportunity, increase access to higher education, and create more equitable outcomes for young people and families.
The Foundation’s ultimate vision is a future in which a young person’s ZIP code, neighborhood, financial circumstances, family background, or previous challenges never determine the limits of their potential.
That vision is supported by substantial organizational growth and measurable results.
From 2019 to 2025 annual revenues increased from $17,722 to $823,370, representing growth of more than 4,500%. This extraordinary expansion reflects the Foundation’s increasing organizational capacity, operational development, community trust, and growing support from donors, sponsors, schools, organizations, and community partners who believe in its mission.
One of the Foundation’s most significant areas of impact is its E.L.I.T.E. Program, an individualized college access and student success initiative designed to help high school students successfully navigate the path from secondary education into higher education.
Through E.L.I.T.E., students receive personalized college access support, mentorship, scholarship navigation, academic guidance, leadership development, application assistance, financial aid support, and preparation for the transition into college.
To date, The Croom Foundation has successfully placed 130 high school seniors participating in the E.L.I.T.E. Program into colleges and universities located in more than 53 cities across 19 states. Even more significantly, more than 97% of those students entered college on full scholarships with no out-of-pocket educational costs.
These outcomes represent far more than college acceptances. They demonstrate what becomes possible when equity is transformed from an idea into action.
For many students, the difference between having the ability to attend college and actually reaching a college campus is access, to information, mentorship, financial resources, guidance, advocacy, professional networks, and someone willing to help navigate a system that can be overwhelming for students and families without those resources.
The Croom Foundation works to provide that bridge.
Its commitment is not simply to give every student the same information, but to ensure that each student receives the individualized support necessary to overcome the specific barriers standing between them and their goals. In doing so, the Foundation is creating equitable pathways to higher education and economic mobility for students whose potential might otherwise be constrained by circumstances beyond their control.
The Foundation’s broader scholarship impact has also grown dramatically. What began as support for individual scholarship opportunities has developed into an initiative that has helped facilitate more than $7.2 million in cumulative scholarship awards by 2026.
In addition, The Croom Foundation has awarded more than $100,000 directly to students through the Officer Kennis Croom Memorial Scholarship, providing critical financial support to students pursuing higher education and helping reduce the burden of educational debt.
The Foundation’s geographic footprint has expanded alongside its programmatic impact. From serving eight counties in 2019, The Croom Foundation grew to serve 48 counties across five states by 2026. During that same period, its school partnerships increased from 35 schools to 66 schools, significantly expanding the Foundation’s ability to reach students where they are.
Through these partnerships, students gain access to college preparation, mentorship, scholarship opportunities, leadership development, professional networks, and resources that may otherwise remain beyond their reach.
Yet the true impact of The Croom Foundation cannot be measured by numbers alone.
Behind every statistic is a young person who gained an opportunity.
A student who discovered that college was possible.
A family that learned higher education did not have to result in overwhelming debt.
A young person who encountered a mentor who saw potential where others may have seen limitations.
A student whose circumstances no longer determined their destination.
That is the work of The Croom Foundation.
The Foundation is building more than programs, it is building pathways. Pathways from underserved communities to college campuses. Pathways from limited exposure to expanded possibilities. Pathways from financial barriers to scholarship opportunities. Pathways from uncertainty to leadership. And ultimately, pathways toward economic mobility, stability, and generational change.
By investing in young people and surrounding them with the resources, relationships, opportunities, and support necessary to thrive, The Croom Foundation is helping prepare the next generation not simply to succeed, but to lead, serve, inspire, and create meaningful change within their communities and beyond.
The Foundation remains committed to a simple but transformative idea: where a young person begins should never determine how far they are able to go.
Kevin W. Croom serves as Executive Director of The Croom Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding equitable opportunities for underexposed, underserved, and marginalized youth. Through mentorship, academic enrichment, leadership development, college and career readiness, and workforce development initiatives, the Foundation works to remove barriers and create meaningful pathways to long-term success.
As Executive Director, Croom provides strategic leadership and organizational oversight while guiding program development, partnership cultivation, resource advancement, and community engagement. His leadership has been instrumental in strengthening the Foundation’s infrastructure, expanding its geographic reach, increasing its impact, and developing sustainable relationships with schools, community organizations, corporate partners, and philanthropic supporters.
A graduate of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Croom brings a multifaceted professional background spanning business, athletics, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement. A former high school all-star baseball player and collegiate scholarship athlete, his experiences in athletics helped shape a leadership philosophy rooted in discipline, accountability, perseverance, teamwork, and service to others.
Croom’s professional experience in pharmaceutical sales and business development further strengthened his expertise in strategic communication, relationship management, organizational growth, partnership development, and stakeholder engagement. He has successfully leveraged those skills to increase The Croom Foundation’s visibility, strengthen its operational capacity, cultivate high-impact partnerships, and expand the resources and opportunities available to the young people and families it serves.
Beyond his executive leadership responsibilities, Croom is a motivational speaker, writer, mentor, and community advocate whose work is centered on helping individuals recognize their potential and pursue opportunities beyond the limitations of their circumstances. Over the course of his career, he has developed relationships across education, entertainment, business, athletics, philanthropy, and community leadership, creating opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, exposure, and greater community impact.
His collaborative efforts have included engagement with Grammy-nominated artists, television personalities, academic leaders, corporate executives, athletes, nonprofit organizations, and other influential partners who share a commitment to creating opportunities and strengthening communities.
At the core of Croom’s leadership is a deeply held principle:
“When God blesses you, bless others.”
That philosophy has helped shape The Croom Foundation’s culture of service, generosity, mentorship, empowerment, and responsibility. Under his leadership, the Foundation remains committed not simply to serving young people, but to helping transform the environments, opportunities, and support systems surrounding them.
Through his work with The Croom Foundation, Kevin W. Croom continues to champion initiatives that advance educational access, promote equity, strengthen communities, and create sustainable pathways to college, careers, leadership, and economic mobility.
His leadership reflects a long-term commitment to ensuring that a young person’s ZIP code, socioeconomic circumstances, family background, or level of prior exposure does not determine the limits of their future. Instead, Croom believes every young person should have access to the relationships, resources, mentorship, guidance, and opportunities necessary to recognize their potential and pursue it with confidence.
Ultimately, his work is driven by a simple but powerful conviction: when young people are given meaningful access, genuine support, and the opportunity to succeed, their circumstances do not have to determine their destination.
