About the AEF
History
In 1987, community leader Alice O’Brien, who was then a member of the Amarillo Independent School District Board of Trustees, asked the School Board for authority to establish a foundation to benefit public education in the Amarillo Independent School District. Fellow AISD Board member Howard Smith and O’Brien were appointed to work on the project, and develop the mission of the new organization. The Amarillo Education Foundation was born.
Mission
Promoting educational excellence for all students through community advocacy and financial support.
Goals
The Amarillo Education Foundation’s goals are:
- To promote the importance of education excellence in our community;
- To encourage community involvement in our schools; and
- To support programs which will improve the performance of Amarillo Independent School District students.
To translate these goals into real-life terms, the Amarillo Education Foundation receives requests for funds, evaluates the requests and, as money is available, grants funds for qualifying requests. The grants benefit students throughout the Amarillo Independent School District and rewards teachers for innovation and creativity in the classroom.
Purpose
The Amarillo Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, vested with enhancing the education of Amarillo Independent School District students. The Foundation does this by awarding grants to teachers for worthy projects that are not able to be funded by the school district, and by supporting other projects that directly benefit students. The grants contribute to innovative and creative teaching, thereby ensuring the fulfillment of the Foundation’s mission. Since 1993, with the community's help, the Foundation has awarded 465 grants totaling $777,485.06.