Ayers was one of three Chicago educators who applied for a grant from the Annenberg
Foundation in 1995, which was one of 5,200 grants the
foundation made during its first 15 years. That $49 million grant, plus additional funds raised locally, funded the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which sought to improve Chicago public schools. Obama was selected by Chicago officials (not Ayers) to chair the board set up to administer Annenberg Challenge funds, and he headed it until 1999. FactCheck.