Spina Bifida Association of Greater New England Empowerment Grant Program

The Empowerment Grant is available for any member of the Spina Bifida Association of Greater New England (“SBAGNE”) with spina bifida.

How much is the grant? 

The maximum grant amount per person is $250/calendar year.

A family with more than one youth or adult with spina bifida may apply for one grant for each member with spina bifida.

What kinds of expenses qualify?

Grants may be requested to pay for or reimburse payment for:

  • adaptive equipment
  • advocacy activity
  • assistive technology
  • durable medical equipment or supplies not covered by insurance
  • educational activity
  • empowerment activity
  • recreation activity and/or equipment
  • social activity

Application Period

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.  The annual grant program will be available to all eligible SBAGNE members until all funds are depleted.

Distribution of grant awards:

Each individual may apply for a maximum annual grant award of $250.  The grant award may be distributed in smaller amounts over the course of the year, if needed, up to a maximum of $250.

How do I apply for a grant?

The applicant must do the following or the application will not be approved:

  1. If you are not already a member of SBAGNE, we request that you complete a membership form.  There is no cost to become a member of SBAGNE.

Please follow this link to join:  Become a Member

  1. Complete the application at this link: Empowerment Grant Application
  2. If possible, please provide an invoice or receipt for eligible expenses.  SBAGNE prefers to pay third party vendors directly whenever possible.
    1. To request direct payment by SBAGNE to a third party vendor, please upload an invoice from the vendor, including payment instructions and organization address and contact information.  Upon approval of application, SBAGNE will pay the vendor directly and will provide the applicant with a copy of the receipt for payment for their records.
    2. If the applicant is applying for reimbursement for out of pocket allowable expenses, please upload all receipts with the application.  Upon approval of application, SBAGNE will mail a check to the applicant.
    3. If uploading an invoice or receipts as part of the application presents a barrier to your application, please contact the Executive Director to discuss at JBertschmann@SBAGreaterNE.org, office cell:  774.287.2988, P.O. Box 681, Natick, MA 01760.

 What is the review process?

  1. Upon receipt of each application:
  • The Executive Director will review the application in accordance with the current guidelines;
  • If incomplete, the Executive Director will communicate to the applicant which components of the application are missing and wait for further response to complete the application.
  • If the application is denied, the Executive Director will communicatie to the applicant the specific reasons for denial.  The applicant may resubmit a revised application.

2. Upon approval of the application, the Executive Director will:

  • Send direct payment to the third party vendor with a copy of the receipt to the applicant.
  • If reimbursement is sought, the Executive Director will mail a check to the applicant.

3. SBAGNE does not exclude any member from the New England area from applying for an empowerment grant unless the applicant does not have spina bifida.

Questions?

Please contact Jean Bertschmann, Executive Director, at JBertschmann@SBAGreaterNE.org, toll free: (888) 479-1900, or office cell: (774) 287-2988.