The Mabel Mercer Foundation was established in 1985 as a nonprofit to preserve and advance an endangered part of American musical heritage: the intimate art of Cabaret performance and the Great Songbook of its repertoire. Through sponsorship of live performances and broadcasts, the Foundation endeavors to entertain and educate a public raised on mass-produced pop music, to stem the effects of shrinking music education budgets, and to encourage practitioners in the present-day cabaret field. The Mabel Mercer Foundation has presented cabaret showcases around the country and abroad, including its flagship annual New York Cabaret Convention. In addition, the Foundation augments its worldwide reach with virtual music presentations and provides outreach to students via American Songbook competitions, scholarship awards, concert tickets, and masterclasses. Named after Mabel Mercer, arguably the supreme cabaret artist of the twentieth century, the Foundation also functions as a central source of information for artists, presenters, promoters, and the general public about Ms. Mercer and the art form she exemplified.