While the origins of The Kids Fund trace back to 1927 when a small group of children fighting the dreaded disease of tuberculosis arrived at a Blooming Grove farm, the corporation was not officially incorporated until July 8, 1940 as Madison Kiddie Kamp, Inc. The stated purpose in the original 1940 Articles of Incorporation was:
- To prevent the development and spread of tuberculosis in those children residing in Dane County, Wisconsin who have either been exposed to tuberculosis or who react positively to the various tests which indicate the presence of a childhood type of tuberculosis.
- To provide a period of intensive health supervision for such children in a camp.
- To educate these children, their parents, and the community as a whole in the matter of proper health routines which are necessary for building up resistance to tuberculosis.
Once tuberculosis was conquered, Kiddie Camp turned to helping children with developmental disabilities who, at that time, were not accepted into public schools.
As the state and federal governments mandated that public schools provide children with developmental disabilities the special education they need, Kiddie Camp was reorganized, becoming the Alliance for Children and Youth (1980), and ultimately to The Kids Fund in 1990. With the name change, it broadened its focus to help meet the needs all youth in the Dane County area.