Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a nonprofit public charity dedicated to finding permanent, loving homes for children waiting in foster care. Founded in 1992 by Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's and an adoptee himself, the Foundation concentrates its work on foster-care adoption rather than on adoption in general. Its programs operate principally in the United States and Canada and combine public awareness, evidence-based service delivery, and grantmaking to adoption agencies. The Foundation's principal program is Wendy's Wonderful Kids. Through this initiative, the Foundation provides funding to participating adoption agencies so they can employ dedicated adoption recruiters. These recruiters use a child-focused, evidence-based model that concentrates intensive efforts on children who are often less likely to be adopted through broad or conventional recruitment approaches. The program prioritizes groups such as teenagers, children with special needs, and sibling groups, including children at heightened risk of aging out of foster care without a permanent family. According to the Foundation's published description of the model, it has been shown to be up to three times more effective for children most at risk of aging out than standard approaches. The organization also supports foster-care adoption awareness campaigns and other national service and grantmaking efforts. Its work is funded by individual and institutional donors, with support from The Wendy's Company, Wendy's employees, suppliers, and customers. Wendy's identifies the Foundation as its charity of choice, and restaurant-based fundraising has included programs such as Frosty Key Tags, Halloween Boo! Books, and coin-canister collections. These activities connect a commercial restaurant network with the Foundation's adoption mission while allowing the charity to direct funds toward recruitment and related services. The Foundation is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Its public materials describe it as the only U.S. public nonprofit charity focused exclusively on foster-care adoption. Rita Soronen serves as president and chief executive officer. Before joining the Foundation's leadership, Soronen worked for more than three decades on behalf of abused, neglected, and otherwise vulnerable children, including service as executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Franklin County, Ohio. The Foundation continues to emphasize expansion of Wendy's Wonderful Kids so that more children in foster care can receive individualized adoption recruitment support.

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption was established in 1992 by Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's. Thomas was adopted, and his personal experience informed the Foundation's decision to focus on children in foster care who were waiting for permanent adoptive families. From its creation, the organization developed as a public charity rather than as a commercial arm of Wendy's, although the restaurant company and its wider community became important sources of awareness and financial support. The Foundation's mission is narrower than the general field of adoption: it concentrates on children who are in foster care in the United States and Canada and need permanent homes. Its work has combined public education with direct support for adoption services. A central element is Wendy's Wonderful Kids, a program through which the Foundation funds adoption agencies to hire specialized recruiters. Rather than relying only on broad publicity, the program uses an individualized, child-focused approach designed to identify and engage potential adoptive families for children who can be difficult to place. This includes teenagers, children with special needs, and sibling groups, as well as children approaching the age at which they may leave foster care without adoption. The Foundation describes the Wendy's Wonderful Kids model as evidence-based and results-driven. Its published account states that the model has been shown to be up to three times more effective at securing adoptive homes for children most at risk of aging out than conventional recruitment approaches. Funding is directed through participating adoption agencies, allowing local and regional providers to employ recruiters while the Foundation supports a common methodology and broader expansion of the program. Alongside service programs and grantmaking, the Foundation has built adoption-awareness activity around the Wendy's restaurant system. Wendy's treats the Foundation as its charity of choice, and employees, suppliers, customers, and franchise-related communities have participated in fundraising and awareness efforts. Examples include Frosty Key Tags, Halloween Boo! Books, and coin-canister campaigns in restaurants. These initiatives have helped make foster-care adoption visible to a broad public while generating contributions for the Foundation's programs. The organization is based in Dublin, Ohio, and describes itself as the only public nonprofit charity in the United States focused exclusively on foster-care adoption. Its leadership has included Rita Soronen as president and chief executive officer. Soronen brought extensive child-welfare experience to the role, including previous service as executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Franklin County, Ohio. She has also been associated with national child-advocacy and adoption organizations, including the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian ad Litem Association for Children. In its current direction, the Foundation seeks to expand Wendy's Wonderful Kids so that more children in foster care can receive dedicated adoption recruitment services. Its operating model therefore rests on three connected activities: financing evidence-based work by adoption agencies, building public and donor support for foster-care adoption, and promoting adoption outcomes for children who are often underserved by standard recruitment systems.

• 1992

  Foundation established

  [1]Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoptionen.wikipedia.org

  Dave Thomas created the Foundation to promote adoption for children waiting in foster care, drawing on his own experience as an adoptee.

A specialized nonprofit focused exclusively on foster-care adoption, with an emphasis on measurable outcomes, individualized recruitment, and children at heightened risk of aging out of care.

• Adoption recruitment program

  Wendy's Wonderful Kids

  The Foundation's signature program funds adoption agencies so they can employ dedicated recruiters who use an evidence-based, child-focused approach. Recruiters concentrate on children who are less likely to be adopted through broad recruitment alone, including teenagers, children with special needs, and sibling groups. The program is intended to find permanent families for children in foster care, particularly those at risk of aging out without adoption.

• Public awareness and fundraising

  Foster-care adoption awareness campaigns

  The Foundation conducts or supports awareness and fundraising activity intended to increase public understanding of foster-care adoption. Campaign activity has been connected with Wendy's restaurants and has included customer-facing initiatives such as Frosty Key Tags, Halloween Boo! Books, and coin-canister collections.

• Frosty Key Tags

  United States

  A Wendy's restaurant fundraising initiative supporting the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and its foster-care adoption mission.

  Source
• Halloween Boo! Books

  United States

  A Wendy's-linked fundraising and awareness initiative associated with support for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

  Source
• Coin-canister fundraising

  United States

  In-restaurant coin collections used to raise funds for the Foundation's foster-care adoption work.

  Source

• Expand Wendy's Wonderful KidsStrategy

  Background

  The Foundation has identified a need to reach more children in foster care, particularly children at higher risk of aging out without a permanent family.

  Action taken

  It has pursued expansion of Wendy's Wonderful Kids through donor support and funding for adoption agencies to employ specialized recruiters.

  Aftermath

  The program remains the Foundation's central service platform and continues to target individualized recruitment for children who are harder to place.

  Source

1. 1Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoptionen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official website of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoptiondavethomasfoundation.org