KaBOOM!

What KaBOOM! does

KaBOOM! is a 501(c)(3) national non-profit founded in 1996 by Darell Hammond and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, with a workforce of 51–100 employees. The organization's mission is to end playspace inequity by uniting with communities and diverse partners to build kid-designed, community-led playspaces in areas—predominantly underserved communities of color—that historically have had limited access to quality play environments. Over 30 years, KaBOOM! has built or transformed more than 17,000 playspaces, served 12 million+ children, and engaged 1.5 million+ community members.

Its core program offerings include Community-Built Playspaces (the flagship), Green Playspaces (climate-resilient design), Play Everywhere (innovative installations in non-traditional everyday spaces), and Disaster and Crisis Recovery. KaBOOM! has developed proprietary resources including the Nature Exploration Area Toolkit (launched September 2025 in collaboration with Children & Nature Network and National League of Cities) and the Early Childhood Playspace Design Toolkit (supporting ages 0–5), as well as a data-driven impact-measurement methodology using crowdsourced mobile GPS data through a partnership with CityData.ai. The 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity is an accelerated plan to transform parks and schoolyards across entire systems.

KaBOOM!'s revenue model is entirely grant- and donation-funded: services are provided to qualifying communities at no cost, with revenue sourced from individual donations, corporate and foundation grants (CarMax Foundation, DaVita, Ambetter/Centene, Walt Disney World, PepsiCo, L3Harris, AdventHealth, Smile Generation, Zbar), cause marketing and workplace giving, and municipal partnerships. Distribution is executed through direct engagement with municipalities, schools, charter networks, and Boys & Girls Clubs via regional field-operations teams. Lysa Ratliff serves as CEO; the board is chaired by Lynn M. Ross.

Name

KaBOOM!

Legal name

KABOOM!

Website

https://kaboom.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KaBOOM! is a 501(c)(3) national non-profit founded in 1996 that builds kid-designed, community-led playspaces to end playspace inequity, serving underserved communities of color, municipalities, schools, and youth organizations across the United States through grant-funded playground construction and advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Community Development - Playspace Equity

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Childhood & Playground Equipment (Play Structures, Soft Play, Safety Surfacing) (EDAEAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Outdoor / Nature-Based Nursery & Forest Playgroups (EDACACAH)

Keywords

• Community playspace construction
• Nonprofit youth programs
• Playspace equity initiatives
• Community engagement services
• Child development infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals to support the mission of ending playspace inequity.
2. Corporate/Funding Partner Grants: Funding from corporations and foundations (e.g., CarMax Foundation, DaVita, Ambetter Health) who sponsor specific playground builds or contribute to the general operating fund.
3. Cause Marketing / Workplace Giving: Corporate partnerships involving cause marketing campaigns and workplace giving programs where employees can donate.
4. Municipal Partnerships: Partnerships with cities and municipalities who contribute funding or resources for playspace builds in their communities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit that builds kid-designed, community-led playspaces across the United States to end playspace inequity. Its core offerings include constructing community-built and green playspaces, activating Play Everywhere pop-up play installations in everyday public spaces, providing disaster and crisis recovery playspaces, and offering free design toolkits (Nature Exploration Area Toolkit and Early Childhood Playspace Design Toolkit) for community groups. The organization partners with municipalities, schools, and corporations to identify and serve communities lacking adequate play infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community-Built Playspaces

Quantifiable outcome

• 17,000+ playspaces built or improved since 1996
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Orlando MagiccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026NBA team that joined nine Champions of the Community partners to build a playground at Boca Club Apartments serving 133 children. Partners included AdventHealth, City National Bank, Florida Blue, Gallagher, Kia, L3Harris Technologies, PepsiCo, ThreatLocker, Walt Disney World, and KABOOM!.
• Walt Disney WorldcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026One of the Champions of the Community partners that joined the Orlando Magic playground build at Boca Club Apartments, contributing to community playspace for 133 children.
• AdventHealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026Champions of the Community partner in Orlando Magic playground build project for children at Boca Club Apartments.
• PepsiCocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026Champions of the Community partner in Orlando Magic playground build project for children at Boca Club Apartments.
• L3Harris TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026Champions of the Community partner in Orlando Magic playground build project for children at Boca Club Apartments.
• City of HialeahcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2026Municipal partner with KABOOM! and Ambetter Health for Southeast Park playground build. Second collaboration following 2019 Bucky Dent Park project.
• Healthi Kids CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2025Local partner hosting the Rochester playground build day with KABOOM! at Thomas P. Ryan Recreation Center. Arwyn began play advocacy through this group.
• LeChaseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2025Construction management firm that volunteered at Rochester playground build day and is serving as agency construction manager for ongoing renovation at the Center.
• Children & Nature NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Collaborated with KABOOM! to develop the Nature Exploration Area Toolkit as part of the broader Nature Everywhere Communities initiative.
• National League of CitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Collaborated with KABOOM! to develop the Nature Exploration Area Toolkit to help cities design nature-infused playspaces.
• ZbarcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 August 2025Brand partner with KABOOM! for second consecutive year to bring kids and families from across the country to meet with members of Congress about outdoor play and playspace accessibility.
• Boys & Girls Club of Central FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Host partner for the Eatonville playground at the Joe R. Lee Branch, where more than 100 kids attend daily. The Boys & Girls Club provides the community base for the new playspace.
• Orlando Neighborhood Improvement CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in the Orlando Magic Champions of the Community playground build at Boca Club Apartments.
• Aspire Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2024Partner in kid-designed, community-built playground at Aspire Summit Charter Academy in Modesto, CA as part of nationwide effort to improve access to playspaces.
• CityData.aicoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Technology partner providing anonymized crowdsourced mobile GPS data to help KABOOM! measure playground visitor counts and track usage trends before and after new builds.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• City Parks Alliance: Advocacy organization focused on urban parks and equitable park access — directly aligned with KaBOOM!'s playspace-equity policy work and shared municipal funder base.
• National Recreation and Park Association: Industry association for parks and recreation professionals and Certified Playground Safety Inspector credentialing body — a key adjacent organization in KaBOOM!'s ecosystem, with overlapping municipal partnerships and policy advocacy.

Direct peers

• Playworks: National nonprofit focused on improving play and recess in underserved schools, sharing KaBOOM!'s play-equity mission and direct-service model for children in low-income communities.
• Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit that creates parks and protects public land in cities, especially in underserved communities — a close mission peer addressing park and play access inequity through public-private partnerships.
• Good Sports: Nonprofit that donates sports equipment, apparel, and footwear to youth in need — directly comparable to KaBOOM! in mission, donor-funded nonprofit model, and serving underserved youth through play infrastructure.
• Big Green: Nonprofit that builds learning gardens in under-resourced schools, comparable to KaBOOM! as a community-built, corporate-funded nonprofit creating outdoor experiential infrastructure for kids.

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity: Comparable national nonprofit operating model — community-led builds, corporate volunteer engagement, multi-decade brand recognition, federal advocacy, and CEO pipeline overlap (Lysa Ratliff was formerly at Habitat for Humanity).
• Save the Children: Large international children's-services nonprofit whose US programs overlap with KaBOOM!'s mission; comparable in scale of national child-wellness advocacy, federal-policy access, and large corporate donor base.

Emerging players

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth-development nonprofit that has hosted KaBOOM! playground builds and shares the same donor and corporate partner ecosystem focused on serving children in underserved communities.
• Landscape Structures: Commercial playground-equipment manufacturer and industry partner/supplier in the same playspace category — comparable product category and overlapping customer base with KaBOOM!'s community-built playspaces.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kaboom
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/kaboomplay
• Facebookfacebook.com/kaboom
• Instagraminstagram.com/kaboom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KaBOOM!