Ability history

The Ability Experience, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 1977 and remains the exclusive philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi with the purpose of instilling lifelong service in our fraternity members and serving people with disabilities.

1983 – First in Northeast to provide day services for individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury

Ability began life in 1985 and soon became a market-leading package, gaining over a quarter of a million registered users by the end of the decade.

Ability began life in 1985 and soon became a market-leading package, gaining over a quarter of a million registered users by the end of the decade. Its success as one of the first integrated packages for the PC was recognised as early as 1987 when it won the Barclays Bank British Micro Computing Award.

1995 – Began services in NY, first for people with TBI

The first major upgrade to this, Ability Office 2000, was released in March 2000 and included several major new features, such as a Macro programming language, a multi-sheet spreadsheet, and native support for Microsoft Access 'mdb' files in Database.

2005 – One of the first organizations in the country to close its sheltered workshop and move all people served into community based employment

2007 – New program for young adults with mental illness cited as “state of the art” by the federal government

2009 – Opened Roses for Autism program in Guilford, CT

2014 – Opened Howland House in Beacon, NY, creating a revolutionary model of care for our aging and medically frail population.

2016 – Launch of comprehensive Resource Center, providing thought leadership and guidance to other service providers

Ability Office 9 and 10, released in 2019/20, are functionally equivalent to version 8 (upgrades are free from version 8) and feature minor security enhancements only.