Kenan Thompson is giving back to the community where he got his start—and he’s doing it with some very large checks.
The longtime Saturday Night Live star has formally launched the Kenan Thompson Family Foundation, a new nonprofit “dedicated to uplifting and empowering our communities.”
The organization is already putting that mission into action. Earlier this month, the foundation awarded seven $5,000 scholarships to recent high school graduates.
Thompson launched the scholarship program at his alma mater, Tri-Cities High School in East Point, Georgia.
“The Kenan Thompson Family Foundation is up and running,” the actor announced in a video posted to social media. “We wanted to give away some scholarships, and we were able to do that.”
As it turned out, everyone who applied got one. “We had seven applicants, and we were able to give away seven scholarships,” Thompson said. “So no broken hearts there!”
Thompson serves as president and CEO of the Atlanta-based foundation, with his brother Kerwin Thompson overseeing its operations.
“We at the Kenan Thompson Family Foundation are ecstatic, honored, blessed, and privileged to—in our first fiscal year of operation—be able to provide seven scholarships to some outstanding and deserving young people as they pursue higher education,” Kerwin Thompson added. “We know they will make us proud.”
Also on the board is film producer John Ryan Jr., Thompson’s partner in production company AFA. The pair have several films in the works under the banner, including a reimagining of the cult horror classic Sleepaway Camp and a new buddy comedy with Thompson’s All That and Kenan & Kel co-star Kel Mitchell.
Thompson has already used some of his other projects to raise money for the foundation. When he and Mitchell launched the mobile game Orange Pop! in June, they pledged one dollar for every download of the free-to-play app to the Kenan Thompson Family Foundation and the National College Resources Foundation. The effort raised $10,000.
In the foundation’s announcement video, Thompson can be seen personally delivering oversized checks to the seven scholarship recipients.
A donation page for the nonprofit offers a glimpse at its broader ambitions. The foundation says it plans to “uplift and empower our communities” through work in “academics, the arts, athletics, community development, human rights, and animal rights,” both through its own initiatives and partnerships with other organizations.
“We’re out here trying to make people’s lives a little easier, and so far we’re off to a good start with that,” Thompson said. “And we shall continue.”
The Kenan Thompson Family Foundation is accepting donations through Zeffy and can be followed on Instagram at @kenancares.
