Citizen of the Week: Bloom CEO Becky Davenport Improves Foster Care Experience for Kids

For more than two decades, Becky Davenport has been a driving force behind one of Georgia’s most influential foster care nonprofits, building Bloom from a small, county-based effort into a statewide organization serving thousands of children each year.

Bloom CEO Becky Davenport has served since June 2004, guiding the organization through a period of profound change and growth. When she was hired, Bloom operated two residential group homes serving about 24 foster children, largely from Fayette County. Today, Bloom is a statewide nonprofit reaching nearly 7,800 children annually through foster care, family support services, and its widely known Bloom Closet program.

Soft-spoken but relentlessly effective, Davenport has built Bloom by connecting people, identifying needs early, and putting the right pieces together to support children at critical moments in their lives.

“When I came on board, Bloom had two residential group homes,” Davenport said. “Now, through all of our programs, we’re serving children from most every county in Georgia.”

Early in Davenport’s tenure, Bloom made the difficult decision to move away from group home care as the state shifted toward individualized foster placements — a change supported by research but emotionally challenging for the community.

“It was a really difficult decision,” she said. “The community had such long-term ties to those homes. But studies showed kids do much better in foster homes than in institutional care.”

Bloom’s foster care program now has capacity for about 90 children at a time, with foster homes spread across Georgia. The organization has also grown dramatically in scale — from a $225,000 budget and a single employee to an annual budget of about $6 million and a staff of roughly 45.

Davenport did not come into the role with a background in social work. She studied fine arts and Spanish in college and previously served as children’s ministry director at Fayetteville First Methodist Church.

“I didn’t know much about running a nonprofit when I started,” she said. “A lot of it was learning on the job.”

One of Bloom’s most recognized programs is the Bloom Closet, a free, store-like space where children entering foster care can choose clothing, books, toys, and essential items in a dignified setting.

“They’re at the worst moment of their lives,” Davenport said. “And this is about giving them dignity. It’s the first step toward healing.”

Everything in the Bloom Closet is free, and children are helped by volunteers and staff to find items in the right size and style. Bloom has expanded the concept statewide through curated boxes shipped directly to children and a mobile Bloom Closet Express — a store on wheels that travels across Georgia.

One Christmas moment has stayed with Davenport over the years: a child who asked for a Bloom Closet gift card.

“That one always gets me,” she said. “It means we created something that felt like a real store — but it also makes me sad that this is what a child wished for.”

Davenport has been married to her husband, Dennis, for 38 years. The couple raised their children while Bloom grew alongside them. Now an empty nester, Davenport continues to approach the work with the same sense of responsibility that first drew her to the organization.

“It’s not just the kids — it’s that individual child,” she said. “I want to get everything I can out of every single day. I want to be there for my staff, and I want us to create real change for kids in foster care.”

Bloom recently launched Bloom Beyond, a program designed to support young adults aging out of foster care and help prevent homelessness and poverty — another step in Davenport’s long-term vision for the organization.

“We still have a long way to go,” she said. “But I really believe this work matters.”

Davenport credits much of Bloom’s growth to sustained community support.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the generosity of Fayette County,” she said. “People show up. Donations show up. And it still blows my mind.”

For more information about Bloom and its programs, visit www.bloomfosters.org.

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