The Lynford Family Charitable Trust was incorporated in New York in 1984 and its sister charity, The Lynford Family Fund, was established at the New York Community Trust in 1988 (the “Lynford Trusts” or the “Trusts”). The Lynford Trusts have been the primary vehicles for philanthropic giving by Jeffrey and Tondra Lynford. Since inception, over 1,000 not-for-profit organizations have received financial support, but only a few representative examples will be discussed below.

Philosophy
The Trusts have adopted a philosophy of charitable giving based on two simple considerations:

• A charitable request should fall within one of the following four broadly defined “target” areas of giving: education and health, historic preservation and environmental conservation, the performing and visual arts, and research relating to public policy issues.
• Smaller, “grass roots” organizations with limited access to financial resources receive special consideration, because a modest grant to such recipients could have a meaningful impact on their efforts. Further, priority is given to those organizations where a Lynford family member has a “hands-on” or “value-added” relationship.

Education and Health
In 1983 Tondra Lynford co-founded Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc. (“Resources”) in her kitchen with two other mothers. Resources has helped more than 200,000 people find and obtain programs and services for children with learning, developmental, emotional and physical disabilities. Thus education and health issues are of great interest.

As parents of an autistic daughter, the Lynfords have supported many organizations that focus in this area of special concern. Tondra has served as President of the Board of Directors of Vista Vocational and Life Skills, Inc. which provides services to a 150-member special needs community situated in Westbrook, Connecticut. Jeffrey has served as Chairman of both its Endowment Campaign and its Real Estate Committee. In 2001 he received Vista’s President’s Award for his efforts on its behalf. In 2005 Tondra received the Caregiver of the Year Award from the New York Chapter of United Cerebral Palsy for her co-founding of Resources.

The Trusts have funded both domestic and international efforts in education and health. They have established graduate fellowship programs at Princeton University and the Weill Cornell Medical School. At Weill Cornell, the program provides travel funds to enable recipients to obtain educational/medical experiences in developing countries. Annually, at least two medical students (one male and one female) are posted to nations where they can assist indigent patients and the need for modern medical care is the most pressing. Most recently, this program has supported the efforts of five medical students abroad. Also, the Trusts have provided funds to assist in the establishment of medical clinics in remote overseas locations and created endowments at institutions which support music, mathematics, and medical education, including the Institute of Mathematics and Supercomputing (“IMAS”) at Polytechnic Institute of NYU in Brooklyn, New York.