Dave Thomas Foundation

What Dave Thomas Foundation does

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 31-1356151) founded in 1992 by Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, an adoptee himself, and headquartered at 4900 Tuttle Crossing Blvd., Dublin, Ohio. It is dedicated to finding permanent adoptive homes for children waiting in North America's foster care systems, with a particular focus on the longest-waiting children: older youth (average age 14), children with special needs (73% of those served), and sibling groups (78% of those served). Since 2004 the foundation has operated Wendy's Wonderful Kids, an evidence-based child-focused recruitment program that supports hiring adoption recruiters across the U.S. and Canada; a rigorous 5-year evaluation by Child Trends found children served by the program are up to three times more likely to be adopted than those not served.

The foundation's portfolio comprises six core programs: Wendy's Wonderful Kids (signature recruiter program), Adoption-Friendly Workplace (employer certification), National Adoption Day (annual awareness event recognizing 90,000+ adoptions cumulatively), National Grants (mission-aligned grantmaking), Supporting Child Welfare Professionals (training and toolkits), and Awareness Campaigns (PSAs and earned media). Revenue is generated through four streams: individual donations (monthly giving, tribute gifts, planned giving), corporate partnerships led by the founding Wendy's relationship (including the Round Up for Adoption in-store program and Frosty 5K events), special events, and public-private partnerships with state child welfare agencies that co-invest in recruiter positions. The Canadian operation (Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption-Canada) and a newly launched Puerto Rico entity (April 2025) extend the model across North America, with current reach covering 21 U.S. states plus Ontario and Puerto Rico, supported by 549+ recruiters.

The foundation is governed by an independent Board of Trustees and led by President & CEO Rita L. Soronen, who has held the role since 2001. It carries top-tier third-party validations (Charity Navigator 4-Star, BBB Accredited Charity, Charity Watch Top-Rated, GuideStar Platinum) and dedicated more than $41 million to grants and award-winning programs in 2025. Its flagship scaling initiative, backed by Blue Meridian Partners since 2017, targets 50-state plus Washington, D.C. coverage of the Wendy's Wonderful Kids model.

Name

Dave Thomas Foundation

Legal name

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Website

https://davethomasfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1992 by Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, dedicated to finding permanent adoptive homes for children waiting in North America's foster care systems, with a particular focus on the longest-waiting children, through its evidence-based Wendy's Wonderful Kids recruitment program, employer partnerships, and public-private state agency collaborations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare and Foster Care Adoption Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services (BPAGAEAE)

Keywords

• Foster care adoption
• Nonprofit adoption services
• Child welfare programs
• Adoption recruitment
• Adoption-friendly workplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The foundation receives donations from individual supporters through its website, monthly giving programs (Circle of Support), tribute gifts, and planned giving.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Major partnership with Wendy's including Round Up for Adoption program, Frosty 5K events, and general corporate giving. Additional corporate partnerships through the Adoption-Friendly Workplace program.
3. Special Events: Events such as the Frosty 5K Run for Adoption, hosted by The Wendy's Company, and other fundraising events.
4. Government Partnerships: Public-private partnerships with state governments to scale the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program, with government co-investment in adoption recruiter positions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity that finds permanent adoptive families for children waiting in North America's foster care systems. Its signature program, Wendy's Wonderful Kids, supports hiring adoption recruiters who use a child-focused recruitment model proven to be up to 3x more effective at placing the longest-waiting children. The foundation also runs the Adoption-Friendly Workplace employer recognition program, National Adoption Day awareness events, National Grants, and resources for child welfare professionals.

Product overview

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity (501(c)(3), EIN 31-1356151) dedicated to finding permanent homes for children waiting in North America's foster care systems. The Foundation operates a portfolio of programs: Wendy's Wonderful Kids® is its signature child-focused adoption recruitment program that supports hiring adoption professionals proven to be 3x more effective at finding families for the longest-waiting children; the Adoption-Friendly Workplace program recognizes employers offering adoption benefits; National Adoption Day raises awareness; National Grants funds innovative initiatives; and Supporting Child Welfare Professionals provides resources. Created by Wendy's® founder Dave Thomas who was adopted, the Foundation has helped find permanent homes for over 16,000 children across the U.S. and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wendy's Wonderful Kids: Evidence-based, results-driven program that supports hiring adoption professionals (recruiters) to find permanent families for longest-waiting children in foster care. Proven to be up to 3x more effective at finding permanent families.

Products and services

• Wendy's Wonderful Kids A signature child-focused adoption recruitment program that supports the hiring of adoption professionals (recruiters) who serve the longest-waiting children in foster care, including older youth, teenagers, siblings, and children with special needs. Uses an evidence-based recruitment model proven to be up to 3 times more effective at finding permanent families, validated by a five-year Child Trends national evaluation.
• Adoption-Friendly Workplace Program An employer recognition and certification program that promotes the importance of offering adoption and foster care benefits, providing resources and recognition to thousands of employers who offer adoption-friendly workplace policies. Includes the annual Top 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list and Certified Adoption Friendly and Foster Friendly Workplace designations.
• National Adoption Day An annual national awareness event that has recognized the adoptions of 90,000+ children from foster care, raising public awareness about children waiting for permanent families.
• National Grants Program An innovative grantmaking program that supports initiatives aligned with the Foundation's mission to find permanent homes for children in foster care.

Quantifiable outcome

• Children served by Wendy's Wonderful Kids are up to 3x more likely to be adopted than those not served
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Puerto Rico Department of the FamilycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2025First implementation of Wendy's Wonderful Kids in Puerto Rico, beginning April 1, 2025, with four initial recruiters. Partnering with Governor Jenniffer González Colón to serve the 160+ children waiting to be adopted.
• Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Critical partner in scaling Wendy's Wonderful Kids in Texas. Working with 10 separate partner agencies across 7 regions, including 34 recruiters implementing the evidence-based approach.
• Texas Department of Family and Protective ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022State agency partner implementing Wendy's Wonderful Kids in Texas regions 6A and 6B as part of the statewide scaling effort.
• Ohio Department of Children and YouthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012First state to commit to an innovative partnership to scale Wendy's Wonderful Kids statewide starting in 2012, with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine making it an administration priority.
• Wendy'sflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992Founding corporate partner established by Wendy's founder Dave Thomas. Wendy's hosts Round Up for Adoption program (93% of donations go to foundation), Frosty 5K events, and provides ongoing charitable support. This is the foundation's signature cause partnership with over 30 years of collaboration.
• Texas Implementation Partners (10 agencies)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner10 partner agencies in Texas: 2INgage, 4Kids4Families, Arms Wide, Arrow Child and Family Ministries, Belong, Helping Hand Home, New Horizons, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (Regions 6A and 6B), Texas Family Care Network, and Upbring.
• Virginia Department of Social ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partnership to expand foster care adoption program in Virginia, announced June 2026.
• Virginia Implementation PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation partners working with Virginia Department of Social Services to expand Wendy's Wonderful Kids in Virginia.
• Tennessee Implementation PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership announced August 2025 to scale Wendy's Wonderful Kids in Tennessee, where 459 children still need permanent homes.
• Child TrendscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit research organization that conducted the rigorous 5-year evaluation of Wendy's Wonderful Kids program, providing evidence of the model's effectiveness.
• The Harris PollminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts the foundation's 5-year U.S. Adoption and Foster Care Attitudes Survey to track American perceptions and awareness of adoption and foster care.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DTFA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@davethomasfoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/DaveThomasFoundationforAdoption
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dave-thomas-foundation-for-adoption

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Dave Thomas Foundation