At the 2025 EVOLVE Conference during the 13th Annual Tom Tom Festival, City of Promise and African American Teaching Fellows co-hosted the Education Innovator Summit—a multi-sector convening focused on how Charlottesville can treat education as a shared community responsibility. The cornerstone of the Summit was the understanding that community safety and education are deeply connected. When kids are safe—when their needs are met—they learn. And when kids learn, the whole c

Charlottesville is home to more than 700 nonprofits, many dedicated to helping people rebuild their lives after incarceration. Often, however, these efforts operate in silos. The Reentry Summit—a collaboration between the Fountain Fund, Equal Justice USA, the Charlottesville Area Justice Coalition, and the Tom Tom Foundation—set out to change that by bringing together local leaders, service providers, and community members to create a more coordinated, compassionate, and conn

The Tom Tom Foundation is proud to announce the 14th Annual Tom Tom Festival, taking place April 22–26, 2026, with the theme COURAGE. Charlottesville’s signature festival returns will explore the courage to act boldly, bridge divides, and imagine a shared future.