Grants for Families Living with Autism

On the subject of grants for families living with autism, there's some good news and there's some bad news.

The good news is that there are quite a few funding organizations out there with grants for individual families. Some are large, national foundations. Others are small, local foundations. Many are likely to have programs that serve families like yours.

Now, for the bad news. First, of course, these grant programs are very competitive. You're not the only family living with autism that really, really needs money - right away. Second, though, grants that directly fund families are very small. Most are $500 and under. For families looking at tens of thousands of dollars in therapy bills, $500 seems almost meaningless.

There's a little more news, too, which may be good or bad depending upon your point of view. First, grants to families rarely go directly to families. Instead, the funders insist that the grant money be disbursed directly to medical providers. In some cases, the funders even describe the types of therapy for which their money may be used. Second, grants ARE available, in much larger amounts, for organizations interested in providing programs for families living with autism. If you are part of a non-profit (501 C 3 tax exempt) organization that has big plans for creating programs and services, you may be in a great position to raise significant funds.

Still interested? If so, take a look at this directory of grants. This is not a comprehensive list, but it does include many of the larger agencies out there. Have more grant opportunities to add to the list? Let us know by posting a comment!