The mission is deeply personal.
Our leadership is composed of men and women whose own lives were transformed by many of the very programs we now seek to provide for the next generation.
FounderDeveron Gibbons, J.D.
Founder & Visionary — The Gibbons Family Foundation
A two-time graduate of Florida A&M University, Deveron Gibbons earned both his Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctorate from FAMU before spending nearly two decades at senior levels of Florida civic and political life. He is founder and president of The Gibbons Group and a former senior vice president at Amscot Financial.
In 2025, Deveron was unanimously elected Chair of the FAMU Board of Trustees, the culmination of years of higher-education stewardship that also includes long-standing service as a trustee of St. Petersburg College. His civic footprint spans the boards of Take Stock in Children, the Sanderlin Community Center, and a wide range of Tampa Bay institutions dedicated to education, workforce development, and youth opportunity.
A former candidate for Mayor of St. Petersburg and a trusted advisor to leaders across Florida, Deveron has spent his career opening doors for the next generation — the same doors mentors once opened for him. The Gibbons Family Foundation is the fullest expression of that lifelong commitment.
Through the encouragement of dedicated mentors, visionary educators, leadership organizations, academic enrichment programs, athletics, arts initiatives, civic engagement, and positive youth development opportunities, we were introduced to possibilities that forever changed the trajectory of our lives.
Those early investments became the foundation upon which successful futures were built. Today, our Board reflects a broad spectrum of accomplishment across business, entrepreneurship, public service, politics, education, philanthropy, professional and collegiate athletics, fashion, entertainment, communications, nonprofit leadership, and community advocacy. While our professional journeys have taken different paths, they all share a common beginning: someone invested in us before we fully understood our own potential.
We are living evidence that when communities invest in children, the return extends far beyond a single student or a single generation. Those investments produce college graduates, business owners, educators, public servants, artists, coaches, mentors, innovators, and leaders who return to strengthen the very communities that first believed in them.
The Gibbons Family Foundation exists because we know that opportunity changes lives. We have experienced it personally. We have witnessed it within our own families and communities. We understand that the confidence instilled in a child today can become tomorrow's college graduate, entrepreneur, elected official, educator, healthcare professional, philanthropist, or community leader.
“We are not simply investing in children — we are investing in the adults they will become.”
To expand opportunity and reduce educational, workforce, and health disparities for underserved and under-resourced children, youth, and families from diverse communities through a comprehensive cradle-to-career pathway.
To cultivate a generation of confident, compassionate, educated, healthy, and empowered leaders who strengthen their families, enrich their communities, and transform the world.
The values that guide every program.
Excellence
Integrity
Service
Innovation
Collaboration
Measurable Impact