Our mission is to identify, fund, and track strategic projects which benefit persons with intellectual disabilities**, improve their quality of life, and assist them to rise to their full potential. We seek to advance our mission by:

• Creating opportunities for persons with ID that are integrated in the community, foster their independence, and facilitate their personal choice

• Highlighting the gifts and abilities of persons with ID in order to promote understanding and acceptance in the broader society

• Supporting programs that reflect our values, implement best practices in the field, and, where appropriate, challenge service agencies to adopt innovative approaches

• Fostering dialogue and cooperation between non-profit agencies in order to promote systemic change and create models that can be replicated in other agencies and geographic areas

• Promoting plans for sustainability of strategic initiatives beyond their WSAF funding cycle

**The William S. Abell Foundation funds programs for persons with intellectual disabilities only, and not for persons with other developmental disabilities. "The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities has substituted the term intellectual disability as a narrow definition of mental retardation. This disability is characterized by 1) intellectual functioning level (IQ) below 70-75; 2) significant limitations in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills; 3) a disability originating before the age of 18.”