Agape Education Foundation

We cultivate
the love of learning
and the belief that every
person carries worth that no
circumstance can diminish.

Through the highest form of love — the deliberate choice to serve in the best interest of others — we build the education, workforce, cultural, and civic institutions that communities deserve.

Attitude
Every outcome begins with how you show up. We build the culture before we build the program.
Accountability
To our participants. To our communities. To our partners. No exceptions, no deflection.
Achievement
The result of the first two — in the gym, in the classroom, in the community, in the institution.
Who We Are

The name is the mission.

Agape
ἀγάπη · Ancient Greek
"The highest and most unconditional form of love — not transactional, not contingent. The deliberate choice to act in the best interest of another."

That definition is not a brand decision. It is our operating principle. Agape Education Foundation was built on the belief that education, opportunity, and investment are not rewards to be earned — they are acts of love that communities deserve unconditionally.

We were founded to go where A3 Athletics couldn't — beyond the court, into workforce training, civic development, cultural institution building, property activation, and the long-range community infrastructure work that permanently changes what a place can become.

Agape is A3's highest expression. Same philosophy of Attitude, Accountability, and Achievement — now applied to every space beyond the game where unconditional investment in people produces lasting change.

A3 Athletics
Parent 501(c)(3) · The Foundation of Agape

A3 Athletics is the organizational root — the 501(c)(3) whose operating history and proven track record make everything Agape does possible without delay.

For 10 years, A3 has operated in the youth sports programming space — developing young men across Northwest Indiana and the greater Midwest through mentorship, discipline, and competitive athletic programming that builds character as much as skill.

Agape is the DBA that lets A3's philosophy grow beyond sports — into every space where unconditional investment in people produces lasting change.

10
Years Operating
Mind
& Body
Mentorship Through Discipline
A
Decade
Of Consistent Programming
MS→HS
Development Pipeline
Agape Education Foundation operates as a registered DBA of A3 Athletics. All programs benefit from A3's established 501(c)(3) status and operating history.
How We Move

We find what others overlook. Then we build what communities deserve.

Whether we're working with a young person on a basketball court, a family looking for safe housing, or a city ready to reclaim a landmark — we operate the same way every time. We show up. We figure out the structure. We build it. And we make sure the community keeps it.

"Every space we enter — every program we run, every building we activate — starts with the same question: what do these people deserve, and how do we build it without leaving them behind?"

01
See What Others Miss
We look for places, programs, and opportunities that have real value but have been overlooked — a vacant building that could become a training center, a community that needs a workforce program, a young person who needs a different kind of investment. We don't wait for easy opportunities. We find the ones that matter.
02
Build the Right Structure
Good intentions don't build institutions — the right structure does. We put together the partnerships, the funding, and the framework that makes each project viable and sustainable. Every decision is made so that the work can actually continue long after the first day opens.
03
Put It to Work for People
Once the structure is in place, we activate it — workforce training, educational programming, athletic development, cultural programming, community services. Whatever the space is built for, we run it in a way that serves the people it was always meant to reach.
04
Keep It in the Community
What we build stays in community hands. We don't extract value from the neighborhoods we work in — we return it. Revenue goes back into programs. Governance stays accountable to the people being served. That's not a strategy. That's the whole point.

Agape operates at the intersection of community mission and sophisticated development finance. The same four-step model above applies at every scale — from a neighborhood property activation to a multi-phase civic district. Here is the technical framework behind each step for institutional review.

01
Identify the Overlooked Opportunity
We target assets the traditional market cannot finance — properties, institutions, and civic infrastructure that carry genuine community value but have been set aside because conventional buyers and conventional lenders aren't structured to see what we see. Opportunity Zones, low-income census tracts, distressed but viable commercial assets, and underutilized publicly-owned facilities are our primary entry points.
02
Architect the Mission-Aligned Capital Stack
Every project is financed through a layered structure of nonprofit-accessible capital — federal tax credits (NMTC, LIHTC, HTC, ITC, Section 30C), federal grants (EDA, HUD, DOL, NEH), CDFI construction lending, foundation grants, state and utility programs, and earned revenue. The stack is designed so no single source failure kills the project and no personal guarantee falls on community leadership. AEF's 501(c)(3) status enables IRS direct pay on applicable credits — a structural advantage unavailable to for-profit developers.
03
Activate the Asset as a Community Institution
Acquisition is the beginning, not the goal. Once controlled, every asset is activated through CTE education partnerships (Perkins V, WIOA), workforce development programs (YouthBuild DOL, AI certification cohorts), cultural programming, and community-anchored operations. Tenanting and program design are driven by community need and employer alignment — not market rate returns.
04
Hold It for the Community
Long-term community control is built into every deal structure — 99-year ground leases, nonprofit anchor tenancy, cooperative ownership models (Regulation A+ where applicable), and governance structures that prevent displacement and protect community equity indefinitely. Surplus revenue is reinvested into programming and reserves, not distributed to outside investors.
Our Work

One philosophy. Three scales of impact.

The Agape model doesn't change based on the size of the project. The methodology — identify, structure, activate, hold — works at the neighborhood level, the district level, and the institutional level. We operate at all three simultaneously.

Serve.
The immediate. The block. The person in front of you.
At the community scale, Agape activates neighborhood-level assets — commercial properties, vacant lots, underutilized spaces — converting them into workforce training sites, hospitality programs, culinary education, and community anchors. This is where the mission becomes tangible. A building that was forgotten becomes a place where someone learns a trade, earns a credential, and builds a career. The return is immediate and local. The impact is felt by the person who walks through the door.
Community · Property Activation · Workforce
Build.
The district. The institution. The infrastructure.
At the civic scale, Agape develops mixed-use districts, multi-program campuses, and cultural institutions that anchor entire neighborhoods. This work takes longer, requires deeper capital architecture, and demands more partners — but it changes what a city can become. Sports and entertainment venues. Museums. Affordable housing. Workforce development hubs. AI certification labs. Structured as public-private partnerships, financed through stacked mission-aligned capital, and built to operate for generations.
Civic · District Development · Cultural Institutions
Transform.
The system. The field. The ceiling for what's possible.
At the institutional scale, Agape is developing the education infrastructure that underserved communities have never had access to — not as a program delivery model, but as a platform. Accredited institutions. Degree ladders. AI-enabled student support. Career pathways that begin in a community program and end in a doctoral degree. We are building the architecture that connects every level of the educational ladder and ensures communities aren't just receiving education — they own it.
Education Platform · Institutional · National Scale
Board of Directors

Built by people who have something at stake.

Every member of the Agape board brings lived connection to the mission — not a credential for a bio page, but a binding commitment to execution. This is not a ceremonial board. It is a working one.

Toi Baylor
Board Member · Programming & Events
Founder and Executive Director of Baylor Youth Foundation (BYF) — one of the most active youth athletic development organizations in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area. Over a decade of operation, BYF has served thousands of young athletes through regional tournaments, exposure events, and community programming. Toi brings unmatched event operations expertise, deep IHSAA and NJCAA relationships, and a firsthand understanding of what Gary's youth athletes need from a world-class facility.
Youth Programming · Events · NW Indiana
Shakira Bell (Releford)
Board Member · Education & Grant Strategy
Faculty member at Ivy Tech Community College, Gary Campus, and principal of Inclusive Data LLC. Shakira holds an MA in Applied Behavior Analysis from Indiana University and is a ThD candidate in Nonprofit Leadership. A certified grant writer and former federal grant reviewer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she has secured over $20 million for Black-led and Indigenous-led nonprofits. She leads all CTE partnerships, Perkins V strategy, and Agape's full grant development pipeline.
Education · Grant Strategy · CTE
Billy Ocasio
Board Member · Cultural Institutions
Founder and President of the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (NMPRAC) in Chicago, and former Chicago Alderman for the 26th Ward. Billy built NMPRAC from community vision to a fully accredited cultural institution, developing deep relationships with major cultural funders including the Mellon Foundation, Joyce Foundation, and Chicago Community Trust. He leads Agape's museum development strategy and guides the American Alliance of Museums accreditation pathway for the Black Sports & Entertainment Museum.
Cultural Institutions · Museum Dev · Funders
Veronica Ocasio
Board Member · Housing Co-Development
Director of Education at NMPRAC and doctoral candidate in nonprofit leadership. Veronica serves as Agape's primary liaison to the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation (HHDC) — one of the most accomplished affordable housing developers in the Midwest, with a track record exceeding $458 million and 4,633 homes across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. She leads LIHTC and Federal Historic Tax Credit coordination for Agape's affordable housing co-development work and manages the IHCDA relationship for Indiana housing applications.
Affordable Housing · LIHTC · Co-Development
Lorenzo Mitchell
Board Treasurer · Finance & Compliance
MBA with a concentration in Accounting and CPA Candidate completing licensure requirements. Lorenzo brings deep expertise in nonprofit fiscal compliance, organizational financial management, and federal grant reporting. He holds formal fiduciary responsibility for Agape's financial integrity — overseeing all financial reporting under GAAP, grant account segregation per award, 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Guidance compliance, and Single Audit coordination for federal expenditures. Every dollar that moves through Agape moves through his oversight.
Finance · Compliance · Nonprofit Accounting
Fontane Fentress
Board Member · Construction & Local Strategy
Owner of J&F General Contractors, a Gary, Indiana-based construction firm with 15 years of experience in Northwest Indiana. Fontane serves as Agape's local construction strategy lead and chairs the GC selection process for all development projects — beginning with Gary-based and Northwest Indiana MBE firms before broadening the search. His relationships with the Gary Building Department and his deep knowledge of the local construction market make him an irreplaceable operational asset at the board level.
Construction · Local Strategy · MBE
By the Numbers

A track record that makes the next chapter fundable.

10
Years Operating
A3 Athletics' proven 501(c)(3) history underpins every Agape program and funding application — operating credibility, not aspiration.
55+
Funding Sources
Mapped, structured, and stacked across a single flagship project. No single point of failure. No personal guarantees.
Multiple
Cities.
One Mission
The model is a framework, not an address. Wherever the need is real and the will to act is present, Agape can build.
Where We're Going

The model is built to travel.

We are rooted in Northwest Indiana. We are not limited by it. Every system we've built — the capital architecture, the partnership structure, the workforce pipeline, the development methodology — is designed to deploy wherever underinvested communities are ready to build what they deserve.

Now
Pre-Development & Active Programming
Executing capital strategy, community partnerships, and predevelopment work across active projects at multiple scales. A3 programming runs concurrently — mind and body development programs, higher education exposure events, and character-based athletic training across the Midwest.
Near
Program Expansion & Workforce Launch
A3 expands into new program verticals — new markets, new entry points for young people to grow. Agape's first workforce and education programs launch in parallel — CTE partnerships, AI certification cohorts, and community-scale property activations that build operating history and funder credibility simultaneously.
Future
Multi-City Deployment
The Agape model deployed in additional cities — not franchise, not replication for its own sake. Intentional expansion into markets where the need is documented, the local partnership is ready, and the capital structure can be replicated.
Vision
National Education Platform
An integrated higher education infrastructure — connecting workforce credentials to degree pathways, certificate programs to bachelor's completion, community colleges to graduate study — built specifically for communities that existing institutions were not designed to serve.
Agape
The Model
Serve
Build
Transform

"The assets exist. The communities exist. The need is real and it is urgent. We are not waiting to be invited. We are building."

Get In Touch

Let's build something together.

Whether you're a funder, a government partner, a corporate sponsor, a contractor, or a community ready to act — we want to hear from you.

Executive Director
LaMario A. Richards
MBA · M.Ed. · M.S. · Ph.D. Candidate
General Inquiries & Partnerships
Phone
Serving
Northwest Indiana & Beyond