Colorado · Nonprofit
AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION
AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION (Colorado) receives grants from 105 organizations whose IRS filings report $40,645,585 to it, the largest being MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC ($13,788,854). 59 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 85% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $35M
- Funders on record
- 105
- Grants received
- $41M
- Net assets
- $186M
What Air Force Academy Foundation does
Mission
To be an association and foundation of influence and impact, supporting the academy's enduring mission of developing leaders of character for the nation, and providing a lifetime of service to the long blue line. (cont on sch o).strategic priorities of: (1) engagement - cultivate lifelong relationships and provide valued service to the academy and our graduates.(2) philanthropy - enhance financial strength and stability to advance the academy and sustain our mission.(3) stewardship - responsibly seek and manage gifted time, talent, treasure and relationships.(4) communication - tell the story of our academy, our graduates and our mission with our words and actions.(5) organizational excellence - align our values, our culture and our commitment as a team to drive overall effectiveness of our mission.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Academic support:the Air Force Academy Foundation secures philanthropic support from individuals, foundations and corporations to provide additional funding support to the u.s. Air force academy (usafa) beyond what the government is able to provide. A large part of this support goes toward academic programs that augment the core curriculum. In 2025, this included significant support for the institute for future conflict and martinson honors program and the establishment of a cadet-advised investment portfolio. Private support also enables cadets to participate in academic opportunities that include travel, such as cultural immersion experiences and national academic team competitions.
$4,632,351 spentof which $4,615,278 as grants44% of program spendingAssociation & foundation program support:grants are provided annually to the association of graduates (aog) in support of its operations to serve alumni of usafa, known as the long blue line. The aog provides a variety of programs and services to connect the long blue line to usafa, each other and current cadets who will soon join the long blue line community. These funds were largely used to decrease the cost of class reunions and support graduate engagement programs. This program also includes philanthropic support for wecker hall, the new office building for the aog and Air Force Academy Foundation staff. Paying down the bonds on hotel polaris, which will be turned over to the association & foundation upon payoff of the bonds, was also a major use of funds.
$3,022,889 spentof which $563,785 as grants$19,716 earned by the program29% of program spendingCapital projects and heritage programs:the Air Force Academy Foundation secures philanthropic support to preserve usafa heritage and to construct or enhance facilities on the academy, including memorials and displays. The largest expenses in this area for 2025 supported the construction of the tuskegee airmen memorial at davis field and the installation of a glider in the highest gallery of the hosmer visitor center.
$1,651,954 spentof which $1,616,463 as grants16% of program spendingCadet athletics, activities, and character & leadership programsthe Air Force Academy Foundation secures philanthropic support for cadet activities. These funds are used to supplement funding for athletics through the air force academy athletic corporation, to support cadet clubs and extracurricular activities, and to fund character and leadership development programs at the academy. In 2025, over 100 cadet teams and clubs received support from the Air Force Academy Foundation. This program also includes annual support for the national character and leadership symposium.
$1,251,032 spentof which $1,251,032 as grants12% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $10,558,226.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $129M to $157M (+22%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
90% of AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Mark D Hille
President & CEO
Board chair
Alex P Gilbert
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 21 funders to 46 funders, grant income rose $685k → $9.8M.
33 of 105 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 85% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $19M from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Association of Graduates of the United States Air Force Academy). These are real filings, and they are not money AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 105 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 34% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
86% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 35% · 2018 46% · 2019 28% · 2020 79% · 2021 52% · 2022 27% · 2023 35% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
53% of AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 56% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
85% of AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $6.0M that is directly attributable, 84% of it comes from funders outside Colorado, across 24 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $35M arriving through sponsors registered in 19 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 490 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 490 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Colorado
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
61% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
73%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 51 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Air Force Academy Real Estate Trust · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION?
- AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION (Colorado) receives grants from 105 organizations whose IRS filings report $40,645,585 to it, the largest being MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC ($13,788,854). 59 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 85% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 105 organizations giving $40,645,585 in grants to AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION, 59 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION?
- MORGAN STANLEY GLOBAL IMPACT FUNDING TRUST INC is the largest funder on record, with $13,788,854 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Colorado. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 105 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing