As the philanthropic arm of the American Marketing Association, the AMA Foundation (AMAF) strengthens and elevates the marketing profession by advancing knowledge, building a global community of marketing leaders, and supporting marketing initiatives that drive innovation and societal impact.
Through our established global community, world-renowned journals, and vast chapter network, the AMA and AMA Foundation are uniquely positioned to empower marketers at scale. As the essential community for marketers, our people-first strategy connects marketers with the resources, knowledge, and relationships they need to lead the industry forward. We don’t just observe the future; we develop the people who are building it.
Gifts to the AMA Foundation empower the next generation of marketing students, develop forward-thinking faculty, support passionate professionals, build a dynamic community, and celebrate influential and transformative marketers and their work.
Ways to Support the AMA Foundation
Explore the menu below to learn more about how you can make a lasting impact by donating online or by mail, making a planned gift, or becoming a corporate partner:
Transform today’s marketers into tomorrow’s changemakers. The Marketing Excellence in Action Fund expands access to AMA’s Marketing Competency Model and equips professionals with the skills to stay ahead in a fast-changing field. From subsidized learning for early-career marketers and career changers to the creation of innovative training formats for practitioners, your support helps marketers at every stage grow, adapt, and lead.
Invest in the future of marketing by empowering tomorrow’s leaders today. The Inspiring Next Gen Fund provides scholarships, leadership development, and immersive learning experiences that prepare students to thrive in the workforce. From small workshops and individual assistance to large-scale events and cohort activities, your support ensures aspiring marketers gain the skills, confidence, and connections they need to become the innovative leaders of tomorrow.
Drive the discoveries that will shape marketing for years to come. The Breakthrough Marketing Research Fund fuels bold, forward-looking scholarship by providing grants to researchers, funding conference participation to refine early ideas, and supporting hands-on workshops that sharpen essential research skills. With your investment, groundbreaking insights can find their way into AMA’s world-renowned journals – and into practice – faster.
Reimagine marketing education for the modern world. The Innovators in Marketing Education Fund supports visionary educators who are developing new classroom strategies, tools, and approaches that bring cutting-edge research and ideas directly to students. By amplifying and accelerating innovative teaching, your support helps ensure the next generation of marketers learns in ways that are engaging, relevant, and impactful.
Build a stronger, more diverse talent pipeline of business leaders. The AMA Diversity Leadership Institute Fund supports a multi-day retreat designed to empower undergraduate marketing students from historically underrepresented identities who are passionate about advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Participants collaborate with their peers, faculty members, and industry leaders to address real-world DEIA challenges, reflect on the intersection of identity and leadership, and develop skills that will shape their future contributions to marketing. Click here to learn more about the Diversity Leadership Institute program.
Support the AMA Foundation’s full mission. With a donation to the General Fund, your gift will be directed to the area of greatest need within the AMA Foundation to help us invest in the leaders who will solve the challenges and define the value of marketing for years to come.
Donate to a specific fund or make a gift to the General Fund to support the AMA Foundation’s full mission, with your gift directed where it’s needed most. Please make checks payable to the American Marketing Association and mail to 130 E. Randolph St., 22nd Floor, Chicago, 60601
Deepen your Connection to the AMA Foundation with a Planned Gift. Planned giving ensures your support for the AMA Foundation continues with a gift in your will. It also provides the flexibility to change your will as life’s circumstances change. By including the AMA Foundation in your will or living trust, you help ensure we can continue advancing knowledge, building a global community of marketing leaders, and supporting marketing initiatives that drive innovation and societal impact.
Are you ready to get started? Consult with your financial or legal advisor and contact Aria Childers, Manager of the AMA Foundation, at achilders@ama.org for additional information on charitable giving or to chat more about the personal benefits of creating an annuity with AMA Foundation
Gain exposure across AMA communities, build brand awareness, and support the future of marketing. Contact Aria Childers, Manager of the AMA Foundation at achilders@ama.org to learn more.
The American Marketing Association Foundation is a nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible.
Celebrate Transformative Marketing through AMA Foundation Awards
AMA Foundation Awards and Scholarships recognize marketing visionaries in academia and industry who have elevated the field and support the next generation of marketers who will transform the profession. Click below to view all AMA Foundation awards and current open nominations.
History of AMA Foundation
The AMAF was established by the action of the AMA Board of Directors in June 1992. The Foundation was established for future restricted contributions as well as to encourage marketing women and men to contribute their time, talents, experience and other resources to foster the use of good marketing practices to benefit the larger society in addition to the organizations for which they are working, or had worked.
The first monetary pledge to the Foundation was made by Trustee Sheth’s Foundation in the form of a contribution to an endowment fund from which the earnings were to be used for the AMA’s Doctoral Dissertation Awards (since renamed as the John A. Howard/ AMA Doctoral Dissertation Awards).
The first cash contribution was donated by the AMA Knoxville Chapter, which was a leader in the effort to assist in the transition to free-marketing economics in Eastern Europe.
Please contact achilders@ama.org with any questions.
Founder of the AMA Foundation
AMA Foundation Board of Advisors
The AMAF Board of Advisors has equal representation from the academic and practitioner fields as we strive to serve the unique philanthropic goals of both groups.