The foundation assists donors in making charitable gifts to the community, provides services for nonprofit organizations to create new or manage existing endowments and makes grants for new projects. Preference will be given to programs that meet the following criteria: serve those who are mentally or physically challenged as a result of visual and/or hearing impairments; provide professional development for Union County public school teachers; or address community needs through innovative approaches (funding available only to programs that cannot be covered by normal budgets of existing charitable agencies).