Disability Grants

People with disabilities have great assets and talents, may have obstacles in living a full life. Having a disability may entitle a person to benefits. In addition, there are grants for the disabled. This article will introduce some directions to find disability grants or funding for people with disabilities.

Disability Grants for Individuals

Grants for people with disabilities are individual grants for the purpose of education, mobility, and quality of life. These grants are difficult to find because they exist only among a limited number of funding sources. Michigan State University has been maintaining and updating a list of grants and funding information for the disabled: http://staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3disable.htm

Disabilty Grants for Organizations

Many disability grants are awarded to non-profit organizations or schools who work with people with disabilities. These grants help provide services such as housing, education, and assistance with daily living. There are both larger grants that serve larger numbers of people and “mini grants” that may assist one student in a classroom. The purpose of these grants is to make education, work, housing, and transportation accessible to people of different abilities. Organizations that serve people with disabilities can find grant opportunities listed at Grants.gov for federal grants or FoundationCenter.org for foundation grants.

Assistive Technology Grants

There is funding and grants for assistive technology from a variety of sources. These devices help people with disabilities enormously in every day life, but can be expensive. The best way for to obtain these disability grants is through an organization or school who applies on the individual’s behalf. There are some non-profit organizations who make donations of assistive technology such as wheelchairs, portable ramps, hearing aids, modified computers, and more. For example the Disabled Children’s Relief Fund (www.dcrf.com) makes donations to children in need.

Benefits for People with Disabilities

Not only are there disability grants, but cash assistance from the federal government. This assistance is not a grant, but an entitlement which means everyone eligible receives benefits. Two major government programs that provide direct financial assistance to people with disabilities are:

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) pays benefits if a person was employed for a specific period of time before being unable to work.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) pays financial assistance to people who are in need and eligible to receive the benefit.

To determine eligibility and to learn more, the Social Security Administration has a web page: http://www.ssa.gov/disability/