Fostering Great Ideas is bringing back its signature fundraiser this fall, aiming to build on a 2025 event that pulled in $296,000 and drew more than 320 guests to downtown Greenville. The nonprofit will host its 16th annual Luminary Gala at The 405, with proceeds supporting its programs for children and teens in the foster care system.
The event is designed to fund Fostering Great Ideas' mission of supporting children and families touched by foster care, according to Greenville Journal. Individual tickets run $125, while couples' tickets are priced at $225, and attendees can register at givebutter.com/luminary-gala-2026. Donors, volunteers, community leaders and longtime supporters of the organization are all invited to attend.
David White, CEO of Fostering Great Ideas, said the gathering is about more than writing a check. “Every child deserves to know they are seen, valued, and supported,” White said. He added that “the Luminary Gala is an opportunity for the community to come together, invest in hope and help create brighter futures for children and families impacted by foster care.”
An Entrepreneur's Approach to Child Welfare
White brings a distinctive background to the role, holding an MBA in corporate finance alongside a Master of Social Work in child welfare. He previously taught Community Impact Entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor at Clemson University and served as director of Greenville County First Steps before founding Fostering Great Ideas, according to the organization's own materials cited by the same account. That blend of business and social-work training shaped what the Community Foundation of Greenville describes as White's social-entrepreneurship model, developed after a 12-year corporate finance career.
Fostering Great Ideas was established in 2011 after incubating under the Community Foundation of Greenville, which provided the seed grant that launched the child-welfare organization. Today its programs serve more than 700 children and youth, per Greenville Journal's reporting on the upcoming gala.
ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer lists Fostering Great Ideas' 2024 revenue at $934k, expenses at $823k and total assets at $957k.
Tackling a Statewide Sibling Separation Crisis
The gala's fundraising goals connect to a systemic problem across South Carolina: 52% of children in foster care are separated from their siblings because of a severe shortage of foster homes able to take in sibling groups, according to the Greenville Journal. Fostering Great Ideas considers it a connection crisis when separated siblings go 90 days without contact. In June 2023, the Greenville County Department of Social Services approved the nonprofit's “Sib-Link 2.0” initiative, which recruits trained volunteer drivers to handle transportation and coordinate monthly sibling visits at local parks and arcades, after transportation logistics were identified as the primary bottleneck limiting those visits.
The regional need is significant. More than 1,600 of South Carolina's over 3,200 foster children live in the Upstate region, where community advocates have reported a shortage of more than 700 foster homes, per FUEL. Statewide, the deficit reaches nearly 1,500 needed foster homes. In February 2025, FUEL selected Fostering Great Ideas as the recipient of its 2025 FUEL for Good Grant, chosen from 11 local nonprofit applicants, to assist with brand strategy and public outreach ahead of the organization's 15th anniversary.
According to the South Carolina Department of Social Services' 2025-2029 Foster and Adoptive Parent Diligent Recruitment plan, 3,413 children were in foster care statewide as of 5/21/2024.
Beyond the Ballroom: What the Money Funds
Tiffany Norris, a longtime volunteer and donor with the organization, said the group's approach is built around relationships. “Fostering Great Ideas is committed to innovative solutions that help young people build confidence, discover their strengths, develop meaningful relationships and believe in their future,” Norris said. White echoed that theme, saying “meaningful relationships have the power to change lives.”
Beyond the gala itself, Fostering Great Ideas operates several specialized programs, including Moms Matter for biological mothers navigating reunification, Life Support for youth mentoring, and Speak Up for legislative advocacy, according to the Community Foundation of Greenville. The programs are meant to preserve critical relationships throughout a child's foster care journey. The stakes for that work are steep: among youth who age out of foster care, 54% are diagnosed with a mental health disorder in young adulthood and 30% experience homelessness during their first year after leaving care, according to research cited by Fostering Great Ideas. The nonprofit says its Life Support and Aspire programs specifically target transition-age youth to try to prevent those outcomes.
The organization has also pursued smaller, tangible dignity-focused projects over the years. In October 2020, it organized a countywide “Luggage Day” in Greenville to collect suitcases and duffel bags for foster children, aiming to stop youth from having to move their belongings in trash bags during unplanned relocations, according to Travelers Rest Here. Local philanthropic support has also grown alongside the group's programming; in May 2023, Greenville Women Giving awarded a $71,468 grant to fund additional staff positions and expand program capacity, according to Greenville Women Giving.
Fostering Great Ideas is also offering sponsorship opportunities for this year's Luminary Gala for businesses and individuals looking to support the event beyond individual or couples' tickets. With last year's event raising nearly $300,000 to support the nonprofit's programs, organizers are hoping the 16th annual gathering at The 405 in downtown Greenville builds further momentum for a mission serving hundreds of local children and families.
