Personal and Community Grants

The NH Council on Developmental Disabilities offers a variety of grants to individuals and their families or groups to support disability related activities, initiatives, and personal goals. Priority is given to individuals who have not previously applied for a grant from the Council. The Council is unable to cover DSP/support and travel costs.

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The NH Council on Developmental Disabilities (NHCDD) announces the Peter Fleming Best Buddies Leadership Grant

Peter Fleming dedicated his life to advocating for people with developmental disabilities. He served as Vice Chair of the NH Council on Developmental Disabilities, as a Special Olympics athlete, coach, and Board member, was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Self Advocacy Leadership Team (SALT) and was a founder of the New Hampshire Chapter of Best Buddies.
In his honor, the NHCDD has developed a new grant that will award two individuals per year with up to $500 towards the cost of attending the annual Best Buddies National Leadership Conference. This grant will support building leadership and advocacy skills necessary to make inclusive and integrated communities a reality. This grant will ensure that the work done by Peter and other advocates will continue.

Peter attended the National Leadership Conference for twelve years. For eight of those years, he served on their Advisory Board. He spoke often on how much the conference meant to him and how important it was to share what he learned with his fellow SALT, NHCDD members, and state legislators.

Peter passed away in early 2020. He is deeply missed by all of those who were privileged to work alongside him. It is the hope of the NHCDD that his legacy will continue through the next generation of advocates.
For more information on this grant on others, please check out the NHCDD web site at www.NHCDD.NH.gov or contact Vanessa Blais at Vanessa.A.Blais@ddc.nh.gov / 603-271-7040.

The following grants are offered, subject to available funds. Download the application, complete it electronically in any PDF reader, such as Acrobat Reader, save it and submit it via email. You can also simply print the form, complete it by hand, and send it via the mail.

    Employment and Post-Secondary Education Grants

    Up to $1,000 for two separate purposes:

    1. Support individual inclusion in employment including:
      1. Drivers’ education
      2. Interview clothing/uniforms
      3. Trade tools
      4. Assistance with resume/cover letters
      5. Job application assistance
      6. Temporary transportation
    2. Support individual inclusion in post-secondary education including:
      1. Coursework education/certification
      2. Career/college exploration consultation

    Personal Education and Leadership Grants

    Up to $500 to support development of leadership and self-advocacy skills/strategies including:

    • Attending conferences
    • Attending information webinars
    • Trainings

    Community Projects and Educational Programs

    Up to $1,000 to support community and school projects that aim to make communities more inclusive for people and students with developmental disabilities including: 

    • Technical assistance to people interested in developing and managing inclusive cooperative housing
    • Train the trainer opportunities to teach self-advocacy skills
    • Camps and recreation facilities wishing to improve access
    • Inclusive playgrounds and equipment
    • Inclusive trails
    • Communication boards

    Innovation Grants

    One-time, seed funding up to $5,000 for innovative community projects or educational programs that address a need including:

    • Encouraging positive emotional and social well-being by providing financial support to programming that reduces stress and promotes inclusion
    • Collaborative work addressing emergency preparedness 
    • Creation of cooperative respite programs
       

    Accessibility Grants

    Up to $500.00 to support accessibility for community projects or educational programs that help achieve goals and objectives in the Council's Five Year Plan.

    Funds may be used to:

    • ASL/CART services
    • Closed Captioning
    • Voice Over Audio
    • Website and materials auditing for accessibility improvement
    • ADA Communication Access kits for organizations who serve people with disabilities
    • Training in how to make your print and digital presence more accessible Assistive devices