Kingman and its incredible story of perseverance, humanity, and never losing sight of what is possible hold numerous lessons for other communities in our city that believe even under the worst of circumstances, every child deserves an opportunity to live up to his or her potential.
Our History
The growth of Kingman since its founding by businessman Richard Peters and five fellow Rotarians in 1969 is the story of a proud D.C. community that wasn’t willing to accept its fate when events on the streets of Logan Circle after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King appeared as if they might literally rip the fabric of the community to pieces. Rather than leaving the neighborhood to decay as so many others did at the time, Peters brought together local clergy, business leaders, and even ex-Georgetown coach John Thompson and pledged that this community would overcome.
PROGRAMS: Kingman offers children educational programs that are tailored to individual needs, after-school and summer-long daycare, cultural outings and celebrations, athletic and recreational activities, employment opportunities, and life-skill workshops. Serving 120 D.C. kids whose ages range from 6 to 18 with a lean staff and committed corps of volunteer tutors.
In addition, our athletic program involves nearly 300 youngsters, coached by 30 community volunteers, with 80% of the funding raised through neighborhood events.
RESULTS: Kingman proves daily that simple acts of kindness involving donations of time, money, or resources can go a long way. The proof is in the results. Kingman kids:
- Experience measurable improvements in achievement as they become confident and motivated learners
- Have better school attendance than their peers
- Participate in champion athletic teams around D.C.
- Have better school attendance than other children
- Learn that sports are fun, but that there’s more to life than athletics
- Have been recipients of hundreds of athletic scholarships to college
- Attend programs that broaden cultural awareness, perceptions, and understanding
SUPPORT: Kingman receives financial support from the public and private sector as well as individual charitable donors. We rely primarily on funds from the D.C. government that provides 65%. The United Way provides 2%, private philanthropies 5%, individual donors 6 %, and investment income 21%.
Our most critical needs are upgrading our fleet of transportation vans used to pick up and deliver children after school and return them home in the evenings. We need more technology in the form of computer hardware and software as well as other educational supplies.
We welcome your interest in Kingman. Please consider donating via this website by clicking on the link to planned giving above. Depending on the proposed amount of your donation, we would be pleased to write a more detailed proposal to outline how they would be invested in Kingman’s activities. All the appropriate certifications, including our 501C3 nonprofit status and financial audits are available. We invite you to schedule a visit with us to spend an afternoon to observe firsthand what we do. We pride ourselves on an efficient and effective program with a small full-time staff and committed volunteers. Donors can be assured that their funds will go directly to benefit the children we serve and not be diluted by high operating costs and overhead.
Kingman also contributes to the stability, quality, and continuity of the community. It is encouraging to see so much good happening near our Logan Circle home. Born in the aftermath of the riots of the late 60s as a way to help keep the community whole, today, Kingman anchors a vibrant community where trendy new restaurants and shiny buildings continue to rise.
As we celebrate the transformation of communities like Logan Circle, Washingtonians should think about what makes those transformations possible. For children to grow into productive citizens willing to participate and invest in their communities, they need to witness positive role models that demonstrate this behavior from an early age. Kingman and its incredible story of perseverance, humanity, and never losing sight of what is possible hold numerous lessons for other communities in our city that believe even under the worst of circumstances, every child deserves an opportunity to live up to his or her potential.