The Coast Guard Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides annual funding to support the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and its Academy. The Foundation’s fund-raising efforts satisfy needs not met through governmental sources. The Foundation provides scholarships to over 50 children of enlisted personnel and educational grants to nearly 1,200 Coasties pursuing college degrees. The Foundation distributes funding among all nine Coast Guard districts, overseas units and the Academy.

We began with a question. What if...?
What if there was a non-profit organization that could help the Coast Guard Academy enrich its academic programs, enhance athletics and bring an overall margin of excellence to the Academy?

The smallest of the nation’s five service academies, federal funding provided for basic programs and facilities. Private funding was needed to achieve distinction in key areas.

“What if...” turned into reality in 1969 when a group of Academy admirers formed the Coast Guard Academy Foundation. Their mission was to raise funds for academic and athletic excellence that could not be met through the Academy’s restricted budget.

For the next 17 years the Foundation directed its energies toward all aspects of Academy excellence.

Donor support made possible distinguished professorships, leadership training and support for the sailing program.

The Seamanship/Sailing Center was built. A Visitors’ Pavilion welcomed people to the campus. A practice facility for the crew team was built. Vans were purchased for cadet travel and a 250-acre recreational campus was acquired.

As the Foundation’s success grew, it was asked to expand its mission. In 1986, it became the Coast Guard Foundation — dedicated to the needs of the entire Coast Guard family.

A Wide Range of Support
Since the Foundation began in 1969, it has undertaken thousands of projects. Here’s a sampling of the many endeavors made possible through generous donors:

	provide college scholarships to dependents of enlisted men and women;
	sponsor distinguished guest lectures at the Coast Guard Academy;
	support an annual summer program to introduce gifted minority high school students to the field of engineering and to the Coast Guard Academy environment;
	manage endowments promoting academic, leadership and athletic excellence for Academy cadets;
	fund family-oriented off-duty recreational facilities for enlisted men and women at Coast Guard bases around the nation;
	provide funds to purchase performance-enhancing equipment on hundreds of bases and cutters;
	underwrite the Academy’s intercollegiate and intramural athletic and sail training programs;
	construct facilities at bases and the Academy campus, including the Academy’s Seamanship/Sailing Center, Rowing Center, Visitors’ Pavilion, and Track and Field complex; the Foundation built an Aquatic Complex at a West Coast base and family activities centers in Hawaii, Alaska and Alabama.

These, plus hundreds of smaller scale projects, are designed with one thing in mind: to help the Coast Guard’s men and women be the best they can be, on duty and off.

Giving to the Foundation is easy. Click here to find out about various gift opportunities.