The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, established in 1946 by Ambassador and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, honors their eldest son who was killed in World War II.

The mission of the Kennedy Foundation is to provide leadership in the field of intellectual disabilities and service to persons with intellectual disabilities, both those born and unborn, and their families.

Today, the Foundation has two major objectives:

1. to improve the way society deals with its citizens who have intellectual disabilities, and

2. to help identify and disseminate ways to prevent the causes of intellectual disabilities.

The guiding strategy of the Foundation is to fund areas where a multiplier effect can be achieved through development of innovative models for services and supports to persons with intellectual disabilities and their families, or for highly selective demonstrations of the prevention of intellectual disabilities. The Foundation operates by providing seed funding that encourages new methods of service and supports, and through use of the Foundation's influence to promote public awareness of the needs of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.