The AFIT Foundation is a private organization founded in 1986. It is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit corporation, incorporated in the State of Ohio for the purpose of furthering the goals of the Air Force Institute of Technology. The Foundation consists of a Board of Trustees and the Association of Graduates. The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the Foundation. The Foundation is a non-federal entity within the context of the DoD Joint Ethics Regulation (JER). Section 1-224.

Motivated by concerns regarding involvement of Air Force active duty and civilian personnel in the management of private, non-profit organizations, the members of the Association of Graduates voted in 1989 to merge with the Foundation. Managerial functions are performed by the Foundation Board, which must include representation from the AOG. Members of the Board of Trustees are elected by the Board, and may be AFIT graduates, former faculty, or friends of AFIT with a strong interest and commitment to the Air Force Institute of Technology.

The completed Icarus Memorial Statue was donated to the U.S. Air Force Museum by the AFIT Foundation in 1998. Many contributed to this memorial; major donors are recognized on separate plaques nearby. Icarus was designed and fabricated by Karkadoulias Bronze Art, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio. Upon completion, the monument was offered as a gift to the Department of the Air Force and, under the provisions of Title 10, United States Code, Section 2601, accepted. While originally planned for the circle at the center of the AFIT complex, the Foundation board determined that having the statue installed in the atrium of the National Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson would be appropriate, and would enable the statue to be viewed by larger numbers.