AHIMA Foundation

AHIMA Foundation was originally founded in 1962 as the Foundation of Record Education (FORE). Originally, FORE provided a vehicle for individuals and organizations to donate books to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). With the assistance of FORE, the health information management (HIM) resource collection of books, journals, and other publications grew, so in 1965, the FORE Library was founded. In addition to maintaining and growing the library, the Foundation also provided loans to HIM students, ensuring the next generation of highly trained professionals. As the HIM community grew, in 1991 FORE responded to the needs of the professionals in the industry by establishing the [AHIMA Foundation Merit Scholarship Program.](https://ahimafoundation.ahima.org/about-us/scholarships/) **As the health information industry continued to evolve through the decades, so did AHIMA Foundation.** The Foundation began to fund research, discovering best practices and ensuring policy reflected the latest research findings. In 1996, to represent the ever-expanding role of the Foundation in the advancement of HIM, FORE become the “Foundation of Research and Education.” At this time, FORE established itself as a fully self-sufficient Foundation to attract individual and corporate support ? with a mission to offer more scholarships, fund research projects, and expand the Library's collection. In this same year, FORE began raising funds through a silent auction and other fundraising initiatives. In 1997, AHIMA Foundation’s Board of Directors established the foundation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a separate legal entity from AHIMA. **Today, we believe health information is a force for the greater good – with the consumer at the heart of our work and partnerships.** Seismic changes in the healthcare industry — technology advances, consumerism, and a renewed focus on information access and sharing — have all amplified the urgency for the Foundation to reimagine its role within AHIMA and the broader healthcare industry. We empower consumers and communities to be engaged and activated participants in their everyday health and wellness journey, using trusted health information from traditional and emerging sources. Through our ***Health Literacy for Health EquityTM*** initiative, we offer an interactive path forward to increasing health literacy and empowering every person with the tools and resources to manage their health.