Mulberry, FL, [January 27, 2025] – RCMA is proud to announce a major milestone in its capital campaign for the Mulberry Community Academy (MCA). Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of donors across Florida, RCMA successfully raised $1.5 million, unlocking a dollar-for-dollar match from an anonymous family foundation, resulting in a total of $3 million raised for this transformative project.
This critical funding propels RCMA closer to its vision of building a 22,000-square-foot, environmentally sustainable, dual-language community academy serving grades K-8. Located in Mulberry, Florida, MCA is designed to provide high-quality education to up to 300 children, focusing on low-income rural poor families.
“This milestone is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our supporters and the power of community,” said Isabel Garcia, Executive Director of RCMA. “Every dollar raised is an investment in the future of our children and a step toward breaking the cycle of poverty for families in rural Florida. The anonymous family foundation’s matching gift amplifies this impact, enabling us to bring this dream closer to reality.”
A Transformative Project for Rural Florida
The Mulberry Community Academy officially opened in August 2024 with temporary classrooms that currently accommodate kindergarten through second grade. The main campus, scheduled for completion between 2026 and 2028, will provide students with a state-of-the-art educational environment and a dual-language curriculum that celebrates the bilingual, bicultural heritage of RCMA families.
The academy will serve families from western Polk County, including Mulberry and southern Lakeland. By expanding capacity, MCA will meet the growing demand for RCMA’s holistic approach to education, blending rigorous academics with essential wraparound services that address the unique needs of low-income rural poor communities.
RCMA’s Commitment to Transformative Education
Based in Immokalee, RCMA is Florida’s largest nonprofit provider of quality early childhood education and a nationally recognized charter school operator. For nearly 60 years, RCMA has been dedicated to empowering children and families in rural areas by providing bilingual, bicultural education that supports academic success and social mobility. With this new academy, RCMA furthers its mission of creating brighter futures for Florida’s most vulnerable communities.
“This is not just a building—it’s a promise to our families,” added Garcia. “A promise that every child deserves a quality education, and we are dedicated to providing that experience.”
Join the Mission
RCMA invites individuals, corporations, and foundations to join in this transformative project. Opportunities to contribute to the Mulberry Community Academy campaign remain available, as the organization continues working toward its goal of completing the academy and its campus enhancements.
For additional information, please contact Joseph Goldbach at Joseph.Goldbach@rcma.org or 239-658-3560 x1059.
ABOUT RCMA: RCMA is Florida’s largest nonprofit provider of quality early childhood education and a nationally recognized charter school operator. RCMA serves people in rural areas living in poverty, primarily agricultural working families. RCMA has 54 child development centers and three charter schools in 20 Florida counties that provide a bilingual, bicultural curriculum to nearly 4,700 children annually. Established in 1965 and headquartered in Immokalee, RCMA has a staff of 1,400 employees and more than 50,000 alumni. Visit www.rcma.org.
