A Brighter Community, Inc. was one of the oldest nonprofit preschools in the Tampa Heights area of Hillsborough County, first opening its doors in 1922 to serve children ages 3 to 5 from limited-income households. As a contracted voluntary pre-kindergarten provider and long-standing Conn Memorial Foundation-funded partner, the school helped thousands of children prepare for kindergarten.
In 2024, A Brighter Community made the difficult decision to close its program. However, its century of service and mission will continue due to a generous donation of $1.7 million to the Conn Memorial Foundation. With this gift, the Foundation has created A Brighter Community Education Investment Fund dedicated to strategically supporting the operations and successes of select early childhood education providers that serve children from limited-income families and reflect A Brighter Community’s longstanding mission and values.
The goal of this fund is to provide annual grants for operating expenses to help subsidize the costs of providing high-quality education and improving equitable access, thus providing a strong foundation for later academic success and emotional achievement.
“We are honored that A Brighter Community has entrusted the Conn Memorial Foundation with the important task of continuing its longstanding legacy of serving the educational needs of children and families in Hillsborough County,” says Sheff Crowder, CEO of the Conn Memorial Foundation. “The wishes of its board align perfectly with the Conn Memorial Foundation’s mission, and we are privileged to have the opportunity to expand our impact.”
To learn more about partnering with the Conn Memorial Foundation to continue a legacy and ensure trusted donor stewardship, please contact Sheff Crowder at sheff@connfoundation.org or 813-758-9403.
For additional information about the programs that A Brighter Community Education Investment Fund supports and the impact of this work, please visit our Impact page.