To advance the understanding and use of spatial data for the betterment of humankind and the effective operation of public and private organizations. The asprs foundation will establish an extensive and broadly-based program that provides grants, scholarships, loans and other forms of aid to individuals or organizations pursuing knowledge of imaging and geospatial information science and technology, and their applications across the scientific, governmental, and commercial sectors. A key short-term goal of the foundation is to fully endow all existing asprs awards and scholarships.

During 2017, the asprs foundation funded the following awards and scholarships given annually by asprs: - talbert abrams award- the purpose of the award is to encourage the authorship and recording of current, historical, engineering, and scientific developments in photogrammetry. - robert e. Altenhofen memorial scholarship- the purpose of this award is to encourage and commend college students who display exceptional interest and ability in the theoretical aspects of photogrammetry. - john i. Davidson president's award for practical papers- the purpose of this award is to encourage and commend those who publish papers of practical or applied value in pe&rs, the official journal of the society. - william a. Fischer memorial scholarship- the purpose of this award is to facilitate graduate-level studies and career goals adjudged to address new and innovative uses of remote sensing data/ techniques that relate to the natural, cultural, or agricultural resources of the earth. - kenneth j. Osborn memorial scholarship- the purpose of this award is to encourage and commend college students who display exceptional interest, desire, ability, and aptitude to enter the profession of surveying, mapping, photogrammetry, or geospatial information and technology. In addition, the award recognizes students who excel at an aspect of the profession that ken demonstrated so very well, that of communications and collaboration. - ta liang memorial award- the purpose of this award is to facilitate research-related travel by outstanding students in remote sensing. Such travel includes field investigations, agency visits, participation in conferences, or any travel that enhances or facilitates a graduate research program. - paul r. Wolf memorial scholarship- the purpose of this award is to encourage and commend college students who display exceptional interest, desire, ability, and aptitude to enter the profession of teaching surveying, mapping, or photogrammetry. - robert n. Colwell memorial fellowship- the purpose of this award is to encourage and commend college/ university graduate students or post-doctoral researchers who display exceptional interest, desire, ability, and aptitude in the field of remote sensing or other related geospatial information technologies, and who have a special interest in developing uses of these technologies. - the esri award for best scientific paper in gis- the purpose of this award is to encourage and commend those who publish papers of scientific merit in the advancement of knowledge about geographic information systems (gis). - the outstanding technical achievement award - the purpose of this award is to recognize an outstanding invention or design involving any type of equipment that applies to photogrammetry, remote sensing or geographic information management or, any outstanding method developed for the use of photogrammetry, remote sensing or geographic information. - francis h. Moffitt memorial scholarship- the purpose of this award is to encourage upper-division, undergraduate-level and graduate-level college students to pursue a course of study in surveying and photogrammetry leading to a career in the geospatial mapping profession, especially the teaching profession. - abraham anson memorial scholarship- the purpose of this award is to encourage students who have an exceptional interest in pursuing scientific research or education in geospatial science or technology related to photogrammetry, remote sensing, surveying and mapping to enter a professional field where they can use the knowledge of their discipline to excel in their profession. - john o. Behrens institute for land information (iii) memorial scholarship- the purpose of this award is to encourage students/persons who have an exceptional interest in pursuing scientific research or education in geospatial science or technology or land information systems/records to enter a professional field where they can use the knowledge of this dis