WAI Awarded with $1M Grant by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to Support Girls in Aviation Day Mission

Women in Aviation International (WAI) is proud to announce the awarding of a $1 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to strengthen the organization’s initiatives encouraging youth to pursue STEM futures through media platforms, industry partner coalitions, and cultivation of female aviation champions. 

“WAI is humbled by and grateful for the generous support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to assist our organization supporting the growth of our Aviation for Girls and Girls in Aviation Day programs which help girls and women of all ages and backgrounds to find their aviation dreams,” Allison McKay, WAI CEO says. “For more than 30 years, WAI has been devoted to inspiring thousands and thousands of girls and women to pursue careers in aviation. This grant will not only honor the legacy of Barron Hilton’s love of aviation but will also provide us with the needed funding to multiply the reach of our Girls in Aviation Day program to inspire countless youth to pursue a never-before-considered future in aviation, aerospace, and STEM.” 

About the Hilton Foundation: International hotelier Conrad N. Hilton established the grantmaking foundation that bears his name in 1944 to help people living in poverty and experiencing disadvantage worldwide. Today, the work continues, concentrating on efforts to ensure healthy early childhood development and sustainable livelihoods for youth, support young people transitioning out of foster care, improve access to housing and support services for people experiencing homelessness, identify solutions to safe water access, and lift the work of Catholic sisters. Additionally, following selection by an independent, international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $2.5 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to an organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. The Foundation is one of the world’s largest, with $7.5 billion in assets. It has awarded grants to date totaling more than $2 billion, $207 million worldwide in 2020. Please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org for more information.