National Academy Foundation

In 1980, the first Academy of Finance opened in John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, New York, after the New York City Board of Education accepted Sanford I. Weill's proposal to address the disconnect between the need for skilled workforce talent and the lack of opportunity for young people in New York City by creating a public-private partnership in high schools that exposed young people to genuine career skills that traditional schools don't offer. As he later explained to the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means when testifying on the benefits of the program:You saw young people playing in the street, young people without having a clue of what life was about, and how they can become part of the system. That was the beginning of the idea that maybe the private sector should get together with the public sector and see if we can create a high-school level program that can expose young people for a career in the financial services industry.Weill's initial program focused on finance, which was Weill's specialty. In 1987, NAF's launched a Hospitality and Tourism theme with the opening of two pilot Academies, one in Miami, Florida and another in Richmond Hill, New York, with support from the American Express Foundation. In 2000, NAF piloted a third theme, opening Academies of Information Technology in 12 high schools across the country with support from Lucent, AT&T Corporation, United Technologies, GTE/Verizon, Oracle, Computer Associates and Compaq. In 2007, NAF launched its fourth academy theme, the Academy of Engineering as a collaboration between NAF, Project Lead The Way (PLTW), and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc. (NACME) to provide underrepresented students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in STEM careers. Health Sciences, a theme launched in 2011–2012, quickly earned Academy of Health Sciences involvement to help prepare young people for careers in health.

In 2019, the NFL awarded eight social justice organizations, including NAF, with a $2 million grant for "reduc[ing] barriers to opportunity." In one high-profile example, it partnered with United Technologies in 2020, launching two $3 million engineering academies in high schools in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.