Coventry Payne Foundation, Inc. · Southwest Florida
We raise enrichment funds, provide guidance, and offer programs that encourage creativity, build character, and strengthen community — because kindness, when cultivated early, changes everything.
Kindness is not a virtue we are born with — it is a culture we build together, one child, one family, one community at a time.
— The Foundation's Guiding Principle
Our Mission
To build a culture of kindness that extends to the entire community of life — fulfilling this mission by raising enrichment funds, providing management guidance, and offering programs that encourage creativity, build character, and strengthen community.
About the Foundation
The Coventry Payne Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 public charity registered in the state of Florida. We believe that the most lasting change in a community begins with its children — and that teaching kindness, dignity, and respect is among the most meaningful investments a community can make.
What We Do
The Foundation raises enrichment funds, offers management guidance, and creates opportunities for children to develop character, leadership, and community awareness. Our work supports programs we operate directly and those we partner with to extend our reach.
Our Reach
Currently operating in Southwest Florida, the Foundation partners with two chapters of the National League of Junior Cotillions and directly operates the Graduate Leadership Team — a service-learning leadership program for NLJC graduates.
Why It Matters
Communities thrive when their members treat one another with dignity. We believe kindness is a skill — one that can be taught, practiced, and celebrated. Every program we support gives children the tools they need to become leaders in their homes, schools, and communities.
The Bigger Vision
The Foundation is built to grow. As new programs emerge — whether operated by the Foundation or developed through partnership — each will have a dedicated home under our umbrella, guided by our mission and supported by our community of donors, volunteers, and advocates.
Programs
Each program — whether offered through or in partnership with the Foundation — is guided by the shared belief that how we treat others defines the kind of community we become.
NLJC teaches children the importance of treating others with dignity and respect, fostering strong relationships with family and friends — while also teaching social dance. Its mission and the Foundation's complement one another beautifully.
The Foundation provides management guidance and enrichment funding, while NLJC Southwest Florida brings the support, resources, and community connections that have enabled the Foundation to grow and expand its impact.
Southwest Florida Chapters
The GLT is a project-based, service-learning leadership program offered exclusively to graduates of NLJC Southwest Florida. Operated directly through the Foundation, it is the next step for young people ready to turn what they've learned into meaningful action.
Through real projects and guided service, GLT participants develop the leadership, initiative, and civic character that prepare them to shape the communities they will one day lead.
Eligibility
Why This Work Matters
The most successful people are not simply those with the most talent — they are those who know how to treat others with dignity. We teach that first.
The habits of dignity and respect, formed in childhood, become the foundation of a life well-lived. Our programs reach children at exactly the right moment.
The GLT teaches graduates that leadership is not about status — it is about service. Communities grow strongest when their leaders are rooted in that truth.
Every program creates connections — between children and families, between generations, between individuals and the wider community they belong to.
From social dance to leadership projects, we believe creative programs unlock potential that purely academic settings may miss. We celebrate the whole child.
Our mission extends beyond any single program. We are building a culture of kindness broad enough to embrace the entire community — human, natural, and civic.
Support the Foundation
Every gift to the Coventry Payne Foundation directly supports the programs and partnerships that help children grow into kind, capable, and community-minded people.
Coventry Payne Foundation, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 public charity. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Get Involved
Whether you are a parent, educator, community leader, or simply someone who believes that kindness matters — there is a place for you in what we are building here in Southwest Florida.
Tell us a little about yourself and how you'd like to get involved.
Leadership
Each program is led by its own dedicated director. Together, they guide the day-to-day work that makes our mission real in the lives of children and families across Southwest Florida.
Foundation
Foundation Leadership
The Foundation's leadership oversees enrichment funding, program partnerships, and the strategic direction that enables NLJC and the GLT to grow their impact across Southwest Florida.
NLJC Southwest Florida
NLJC Director
The Director of NLJC Southwest Florida oversees both the Charlotte Harbor and Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center chapters, ensuring the program's mission of dignity and respect reaches every student.
Graduate Leadership Team
GLT Director
The Director of the GLT guides NLJC graduates through a project-based service-learning experience that transforms the values they've learned into real, lasting community impact.