FirstEnergy Corp. Grant for Membership and Conference

Down syndrome organizations that support individuals, families, and communities impacted by Down syndrome located within the FirstEnergy service areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey are eligible to receive a grant of up to $3,000 that can be used to pay for DSAIA membership and leadership conference registrations. Please note that the scholarship application for this grant is in the link below.  Do not use the regular scholarship application to submit your request for the FirstEnergy grant.

Application and Criteria

Please refer to the map below to see if your organization qualifies according to FirstEnergy's service area map. 

Applications will be accepted until June 1, 2018.

Member Scholarship Opportunities

Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action offer partial scholarships to small organizations throughout the year.  These scholarships will be awarded by the DSAIA Membership Committee on a limited basis and are based on financial need along with other considerations.  Most scholarship awards are for $500 or 50% of the regular membership fee. Applicants must meet the scholarship criteria listed below and complete the Scholarship Application.

eligibility

Potential member must meet all requirements of membership as written in the DSAIA Bylaws. 

• Must be a duly-formed not-for-profit entity

• Must have a Board of Directors responsible for setting policies

• Must be substantially devoted (at least 50% of time and funds) to serving individuals with Down syndrome

• Budgets under $35,000 are given the highest priority. Budgets over $35,000 will be considered on special circumstances - please be specific with the reason for your request for scholarship.

requirements of scholarship recipients

• Board of Directors of organization (and any staff if applicable) will be required to attend an orientation via webinar within 30 days of scholarship award

• Organization will add their full list of leaders to the DSAIA website under their group's "bundle" for full access to resources within 7 days of scholarship award

• Organization will be introduced to their "mentor" DSA and will maintain a schedule of calls/interactions based upon mutual availability
  
  
• Organization's staff and at least 30% of the board must complete the Board Development Online Course within 6 months of joining.

application process

Enter your data into the Scholarship Application Form and submit.  Please remit application and any collaborative information as soon as possible as scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.  All applicant information will be kept confidential.  All scholarship award recipients will be asked to have their complete board/staff participate in an interactive webinar to learn about the DSAIA resources available within the first 30 days of membership.