The Academy Foundation directly supports the overall mission of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: to recognize and uphold excellence in the motion picture arts and sciences, inspire imagination, and connect the world through the medium of motion pictures.

Through its grants, internship, fellowship, and visiting artist programs, the Academy seeks to: promote diversity; bridge the opportunity divide; attract and engage broad new audiences for theatrical motion pictures; provide a platform for underrepresented artists, the full range of film genres, and a variety of viewpoints and approaches; encourage filmmaking as a vocation; illuminate less visible aspects of filmmaking and the film industry through scholarly research, presentations, and discussions.