Grants & Funding

AVIXA Foundation Accepting Applications for Brad Sousa Impact Fund Grant

• By Kate Lucariello
• 03/07/24

The AVIXA Foundation, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association's charitable arm, has announced the launch of the Brad Sousa Impact Fund to honor the late Brad Sousa, AVIXA board member and AVI Systems chief technology officer. The foundation has seeded the fund with $50,000 and hopes that others in the industry will donate what they can toward a $200,000 goal.

The fund's aim is to "identify and empower digital transformation, contributing to a more equitable and sustainable future worldwide," the foundation said, by giving grants to "developing audiovisual and digital transformation professionals and their understanding of each other's overlapping needs."

The foundation said the fund will invest in:

• People "seeking educational and vocational outcomes;"
• Programs "with social consciousness and purpose, impacting society/community/culture;" and
• Partnerships "that amplify missions of associations, community, and nonprofit organizations."

The foundation said Sousa was dedicated to using technology to make an impact in society and the world, not just influence them.

"He loved seeing the industry’s workforce evolving in real time — especially the diversity of scholarship applicants," said Sarah Joyce, the foundation's executive director. "He enjoyed reading what individuals were currently studying and their plans for the future. The Brad Sousa Impact Fund will allow the AVIXA Foundation to carry on his passion by supporting programs and people around the world."

Visit the Impact Fund page to learn more, donate, suggest an initiative to fund, and view eligibility requirements for a grant.