In 1996, Countess Anikó Bethlen established the Bethlen Foundation to support disabled people. Following the family tradition, she used her experience and financial resources to help those who suffer from physical disabilities. However, the foundation performs charitable work not by awarding financial support, but by distributing medical equipment for disadvantaged persons which it receives from western donations. The foundation also operated for a while a bookbinding workshop in Târgu Mureș, in the hope of helping unemployed people to earn a living. Countess Bethlen reckons among the property of the foundation all the objects belonging to the collection.
