Annette Urso Rickel Foundation
Enriching STEAM education across Florida.
We support inspired students and cultivate talented teachers through scholarships and grants—funding innovative studies and following their impact into the classroom.
We’re funding individual projects and organizations, big and small.
Past recipients include individuals as well as larger organizations. With our support, we hope your STEAM project will have a lasting community impact and demonstrate growth in students of all ages.
Newsroom
Latest News
A Student’s Essay: How France and Spain Made the World Feel Bigger
A student artist reflects on seeing Monet, the Louvre and Dalí in person, and on learning that education doesn’t only happen inside a classroom.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Palm Beach County
The Annette Urso Rickel Foundation supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Palm Beach County, which mails a free book every month to local children from birth to age five.
Six Years With the Olga Iglesias Project, and Five More to Come
The Annette Urso Rickel Foundation has pledged $20,000 a year through 2030 to the Olga Iglesias Project, extending a partnership that began with a $2,500 grant in 2021.
Our Mission
The Rickel Foundation identifies and funds projects which involve real-world problem-solving. We believe that joining Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) can bring creative solutions to the world’s big challenges.
Learn more about STEAM →
Featured Project
Protecting Florida’s coral reef through STEAM
Middle school students in the Science program at Palm Beach Day used a combination of sculpture, design, data analysis, and marine biology to study and problem-solve ways of protecting the coral reef in Florida.
“The Annette Urso Rickel Foundation enabled our school to create a research environment, one where our students could participate in an authentic exploration of innovation and discovery. It was a remarkable opportunity that really proved why this type of teaching method is so necessary for our leaders of tomorrow. We are forever grateful.”Read more about the project →
Community Impact
We are focused on providing solutions to today's concerns through thoughtful, sustainable practices and greater social awareness. We strive to improve our communities by supporting broader participation in educational and environmental concerns.
Interdisciplinary
The STEAM approach encourages divergent thinking and generates new technologies and ideas. With no boundaries between the arts and sciences, active engagement from diverse fields will force change through innovation.
Future Focused
STEAM is the future of student centered, inquiry-based education. The Annette Urso Rickel Foundation aims to equip young people to respond to real-world challenges with creative approaches.
Stewardship in motion
Your path to partnership with the Rickel Foundation.
We guide new and returning applicants through every stage—from eligibility to award management—while keeping reviewers and administrators aligned with the Foundation’s values.
“STEAM education opens doors for young minds to explore, create, and lead. This connects us with partners who share our vision of nurturing the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers.”
Jay Rickel-Finnegan
President, Annette Urso Rickel Foundation
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We’re interested in your project.
We believe young people reap enormous benefits from participating in STEAM projects—and that those benefits continue into adulthood. We want to help make more projects like these happen.