The Foundation is a charitable nonprofit California corporation created in February 1992. The Foundation's charter is "...to educate the nation's public with regard to the history and present day activities of the United States Navy carrier aviation and its importance to our country's national security."

• to provide educational scholarships to children and grandchildren of present and former United States Navy carrier aviation personnel,
• the distribution of The Hook magazine to schools throughout the nation at no cost to the schools, and
• to establish and maintain a historical research library to preserve naval carrier aviation history.

The IRS has granted the Foundation the favorable IRS Code Section 501(c)(3) status, which means that all donations to the Foundation are fully deductible as charitable contributions on federal income tax returns.

As a charitable organization, the Tailhook Educational Foundation has no members. It depends on donations from persons who share the goals and vision of the Foundation. Over the past 33 years, more than 781 scholarships have been given to members of the Naval Aviation family. The Tailhook Educational Foundation currently provides several $2,000 scholarships yearly (1 $10,000, 1 $17,000 and 1 $19,000 scholarships were awarded in 2010 for a total of 72 awards totaling $192,000) to qualified children and grandchildren of the Naval carrier aviation community for higher education. The Foundation assists exceptionally qualified and deserving students to attain their goals of further education. Preference is given to the children of persons who have given their lives in the line of duty. The scholarships given are direct grants made out to the students and the schools which they attend.

The Hook is the only publication in the world that is dedicated to telling the story of U.S. Navy carrier aviation, both past and present. Each issue contains a selection of carrier and squadron histories balanced with departments containing the latest news of current units and aerospace industry developments affecting carrier aviation. Emphasis is placed on high quality reproduction of the best photographs available of U.S. Navy aircraft in operational situations. A typical issue of The Hook will contain more than 175 photographs and squadron insignia within its pages. Accompanying each carrier history article is a unique matrix containing a list of each squadron, type of aircraft, dates and area of deployment of the ship featured. The Tailhook Educational Foundation distributes this historical journal of naval carrier aviation achievement to over 1000 high school, preparatory school, college and university libraries. The Hook exposes students to the role naval carrier aviation has played in support of U.S. interests throughout the world. The journal serves as an educational and recruiting tool to foster student interest in the U. S. Navy. A long-term goal of the Foundation is to establish and maintain a scholarship endowment fund of sufficient size to be able to use the earnings to fund the scholarship program.

Contributions to the Tailhook Educational Foundation can be made in various ways. All donations are deductible from your federal and state income tax. You can contribute to the Tailhook Educational Foundation through an endowment, or "planned estate giving," a direct cash or non-cash asset donation, or by making the Foundation the beneficiary of a portion of your life insurance or retirement program. Our federal tax identification is 33-0487778 and our state registration number is D-1804104

The Tailhook Educational Foundation
P.O. Box 26626
San Diego, CA 92196-0626

1-800-269-8267