Personal and Community Grants

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.

Universal Grant Application

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

Accessibility Grants

Up to $500 to support accessibility for projects, programs, and activities including:

• American Sign Language (ASL) and CART services
• Website and materials auditing to improve access
• Training how to make use plain language to make print and digital materials more accessible

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