In 1972, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard founded the American Institute for Public Service, a 501c3 public foundation, to establish a Nobel Prize for public and community service - The Jefferson Awards.

The Jefferson Awards are presented on two levels: national and local. National award recipients represent a "Who's Who" of outstanding Americans. On the local level, Jefferson Awards recipients are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or reward.

History and Founding Purposes of the Jefferson Awards
In 1997, for our 25 th Anniversary, we created an 8-minute video that describes the history and founding purposes of the Jefferson Awards.

History of the Jefferson Awards
Video | 15 mb