ERA Fund and ACE

Education Resources of Augusta (ERA) Fund

The Education Resources of Augusta (ERA) Fund is a philanthropic, community fund dedicated exclusively for the purpose of supporting public education in the Augusta Region. The ERA Fund represents a new way for corporate and individual donors to support public education in the Augusta Region. Contributions and grants of any size made to the ERA Fund are aggregated and granted to public school systems in support of activities above and beyond the limitations of normal operation budgets. These funds can be accessed through grants by any organization or district to support education initiatives within the following parameters:

  • Initiatives that improve graduation rates
  • Initiatives that enhance learning experiences, especially in the areas of Math, Science, Technology and Engineering
  • Initiatives that align curriculum and learning to skills necessary in high demand or technical fields

Alliance for Cybersecurity Education (ACE)

The establishment of Fort Eisenhower as the U.S. Army Cyber Command has generated demand for more technology workers. To fulfill this need, the Alliance for CyberSecurity Education (ACE) was developed. ACE is a consortium developed by the Aiken Technical College, the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, Augusta Technical College, the CSRA Alliance, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, the Columbia County School System, Fort Eisenhower, Augusta University, and the Richmond County School System to raise the effective value of the secondary educational system’s cyber education and its integration into post-secondary education. This will increase area students’ capabilities, generate an employable workforce for the US Military as well as the defense industry, and, in turn, position the CSRA as a resource and partner with NSA-Georgia, Cyber COE and Fort Eisenhower in cybersecurity expertise.

A primary goal will be to design certified secondary education curricula that will offer the opportunity for dual enrollment and channel students into existing or new post-secondary degree pathways, thereby offering an expedited and efficacious creation of a workforce directly achieving the needs of the expected growth of the cyber community.