Care For Others Online Application
A Helping Hand so You can get Back on Your Feet
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Need a helping hand? Read our eligibility requirements before filling out your application to make sure you will be eligible for the assistance you need to bring you and your family through a difficult time.
General Qualifying Criteria
Care for Others provides Helping Hands Grants of up to $1,000, depending on eligibility. These grants are made to working people, those people who can prove they are willing or able to work, who are permanently disabled or retired but live independently and are temporarily unable to meet their day to day expenses due to circumstances beyond their control. Applicants who are eligible can receive assistance only once a year, twice in their lifetime and the maximum total award will not be greater than $1000. You may be qualified if you meet the following criteria:
1. You are at least 18 years old.
2.You are a citizen of the United States.
3. Your current household “net” earned income or projected earned income is double your rent or mortgage but no more than your rent or mortgage plus $2500.
4. You are currently working 35 hours a week or more or have a documented job offer in hand that will have you working 35 hours a week or more.
5. You have not been unemployed or on leave for more than 60 days.
6. You are permanently disabled or retired receiving monthly benefits.
7. You are no more than two months behind on any bill you are seeking assistance with.
8. Your application is either for yourself or someone living in your household.
9. You have not received a Helping Hands Grant within the same year of this request for assistance.( a year is calculated from the date the last grant was awarded).
10. You have not received a Helping Hands Grant twice already.
11. You have regular access to a computer and the internet and a viable e-mail address to which we can communicate with you.
12. You can access a scanner, fax machine or the postal service during the documentation phase of your application.
13. You will be able to prove through documentation that your need for financial assistance is short term and it is because of an extenuating circumstance
14. You have exhausted all other means of funding your request including but not limited to community, government and church resources and use of savings, investments or other supplementary income.
Please note: The amount of our Helping Hands Grants, up to $1000, is dependent upon eligibility. Applicants who are involved in 3 or more assistance programs, i.e. public housing, PIP, HEAP, WIC, food stamps and Medicaid will be evaluated on an individual basis and may only be eligible for up to $250. Anyone receiving cash assistance ( welfare) is not eligible for a Care For Others grant.
If any of these situations applies to you, you could be eligible to receive a Helping Hands Grant from Care for Others:
•Loss of income due to temporary job loss (no more than 60 days) leaves you unable to pay your rent.
• Working individual or family with unexpected temporary (one-time) medical or prescription drug expenses not covered by insurance.
• Working individual or family in need of auto repair to get to work.
• Working individual or family with temporary( no more than 60 days) disability that prevents them from working and can’t pay a utility bill.
• Retired or permanently disabled on limited income but normally able to manage with an unexpected expense they can’t meet.
• Recently permanently disabled person(s) in need of home improvements to accommodate disability.
• Working people who do not qualify for conventional, government and county funded programs.
Helping Hands Grant Type 1. Urgent Needs Grants
Care For Others makes Urgent Needs Grants by remitting payment to a creditor for an emergency or unexpected expense on behalf of the applicant that has been documented to be a temporary, short term or one time financial need.
In making an Urgent Needs Grant, our goal is to prevent an otherwise self-sufficient individual or family from entering the cycle of poverty as a result of the financial burden placed upon them with this unexpected expense.
You may be eligible for an Urgent Needs Grant if:
• You or your family have encountered a short-term emergency expense that must be paid if you are to remain self sufficient but that you cannot afford at this time without assistance. For example, a person who does not have access to public transportation and needs help with an emergency car repair that will keep him/her working would be an example of someone who might be eligible for an Urgent Needs Grant. Cars must have less than 100,000 miles and be less than 10 years old in order to be considered for repair assistance.
• You need help with a regularly scheduled expense like your rent because of a short term medical leave that temporarily reduced your income. For example, a person who can normally afford to pay his/her rent but needed 4 weeks off to recuperate from surgery could be a candidate for an Urgent Needs Grant.
In order to qualify for an Urgent Needs Grant
1. At least one adult in your household must be employed 35 hours a week or more. You have not been unemployed or on leave for more than 60 days.
2. Your household’s single largest source of income is earned from working.
3. Your household’s total “net” earned income is equal to double your rent or mortgage, but not more than your rent or mortgage plus $2500.
4. The expense with which you need assistance can be paid on your behalf directly to a vendor. (Care For Others does not pay credit card bills)
5. The expense with which you need assistance can be paid in full for no more than the maximum grant for which your household qualifies from Care For Others.
6. The expense with which you need assistance with can be documented.
Please note:
Urgent Needs Grants cannot be used to remit payment for regular expenses that an applicant can no longer afford due to a long term (more than 60 days) reduction in income. For example, an applicant that has suffered a long term income reduction because they have been unemployed or ill for more than 60 days and their rent or utility bill is more than two months late would not be a good candidate for an Urgent Needs Grant from Care For Others.
Helping Hands Grant Type 2. Bridge to Employment Grants
Care For Others makes Bridge to Employment Grants by remitting payment for a small fee or expense that will allow a temporarily unemployed individual return to productive, full time employment.
In making a Bridge to Employment Grant, our goal is to provide a willing but temporarily unemployed person the means to return to work.
You may be eligible for a Bridge to Employment Grant if:
You are currently unemployed and need help to afford a small, work related expense that will immediately return you to full time employment (35 hours a week or more). For example an unemployed nurse who has a job offer in hand but cannot afford the cost of renewing his/her license or buying new uniforms for work would be an excellent candidate for a Bridge to Employment Grant.
In order to qualify for a Bridge to Employment Grant:
1 .You are currently unemployed.
2 .No more than 60 days will have passed before you will be starting a documentable position where you will be working 35 hours a week or more.
3. The salary you stand to earn in connection with this job will increase your “net” household earned income to at least double the rent or mortgage but not more than the rent or mortgage plus $2500.
4. The work related expense with which you need assistance can be paid on your behalf directly to a vendor
5. The work related expense with which you need assistance can be paid in full for no more than the maximum grant for which your household qualifies from Care For Others.
6 .The work related expense with which you need assistance can be documented.
Please note:
Bridge to Employment Grants cannot be used to remit payment for an expense that might or might not have the effect of returning that individual to full time work. For example an applicant seeking assistance with tuition for a class in hope of getting a job would not be eligible for a Bridge to Employment Grant unless there was a documented job in hand dependent upon completion of that class.
Helping Hands Grant Type 3. Independent Living Grants
Care For Others makes Independent Living Grants by remitting payment to a creditor/vendor on behalf of persons who are permanently unable to work but who nevertheless are normally able to live independently on the fixed income to which they are entitled- for example their retirement income (pension, social security) or their permanent disability income (SSI).
In making an Independent Living Grant our goal is to help financially responsible persons who cannot work to continue to live independently on their limited fixed incomes .Care For Others will assist them with a one time, short term, unexpected, unaffordable expense that conventional agencies and resources cannot assist them with.
You should apply for an Independent Living Grant if:
• You need assistance to cover a small, irregular expense that would subsequently improve the quality of your life, but which you cannot afford without assistance because of your fixed income. For example a permanently disabled person who can usually make ends meet on their disability payment needs help with an access ramp repair that is not covered by Medicare. This individual would be a good candidate for an Independent Living Grant.
• You need help with a regularly scheduled payment like rent because of a short term emergency situation that hinders your ability to remain independent. For example, a retired person who is normally self sufficient but needs help because an unexpected furnace repair this winter has made it temporarily impossible for that person to pay the rent. He/she would also be a good candidate for an Independent Living Grant.
In order to qualify for an Independent Living Grant:
1. You must be permanently unable to work due to a disability or retirement;
2. Your household’s single largest source of income must be either disability income or pension /retirement income to which your household is entitled. (This must be the income from the income provider in the household. An unemployed parent cannot be using his/her child’s permanent disability payments as earned income.)
3. Your household’s total earned income from all sources including retirement and or disability must be equal to double your rent or mortgage but not more than your rent or mortgage plus $2500.
4. The expense with which you need assistance can be paid on your behalf, directly to a vendor
5. The expense with which you need assistance can be paid in full for no more than the maximum grant for which your household qualifies from Care For Others.
6. The expense with which you need assistance can be documented.
Please note:
Independent Living Grants cannot be used to remit payment for regular expenses that are no longer feasible due to a permanent reduction in income. For example a person who becomes disabled and can no longer afford his/her monthly rent or mortgage because of reduced income to which he/she is now entitled because of permanent disability benefits would not be a good candidate for an Independent Living Grant.
General Documentation Requirements for Helping Hands Grants
As a 501 c 3 (tax exempt) organization, Care For Others is required by law to perform due diligence on the applications we receive prior to making a grant.
Applications should be honest, concise and factual.
Before we can review an application for a Helping Hands Grant we must have documentation for the following:
• Proof of identity. This may be in the form of a drivers license, state issued ID or a military ID
• Proof of address. This may be in the form of a utility bill or other major bill in the name of the applicant and being mailed to the address listed on the application.
• Proof of employment/income. Usually documentation of two months income is required This can be in the form of pay stubs where salary and hours worked are indicated., social security benefits letters and disability benefits letters. In the case when it is new employment or income is direct deposited a letter from the employer on their letter head indicating contracted hours, salary, position and start date will suffice. In most cases the most recent copy of your income tax return will be requested. In addition, the name, address and contact number at place of employment is required.
• Proof of circumstances surrounding your need. For example if a person has requested help paying rent because they had surgery and lost income because of medical leave we would require documentation from their physician as to the date of surgery and when they were released to return to work.
• Proof of expense and amount of assistance requested. For example if a person is requesting help with a car repair bill we would request an estimate from a certified car mechanic. If the estimate is over $500 two estimates will be required. In addition all requests for car repairs would require proof of current car insurance.
In addition:
• Your application and documentation must be able to prove that your expense is short term and it is a documentable extenuating circumstance.
• You must be able to prove that there is a plan in place to improve your situation. (i.e. a documented job search or working with an employment agency, taking a class to improve employment options and working with a budget counselor are a few examples).
• Your household net income (after deductions) must be at least 50% more than what you are paying in rent or mortgage but no more than your rent or mortgage plus $2500. For example if your rent or mortgage is $500 a month, your household net income must be a minimum of $1000 and no more than $3000.
• All savings and investment resources must be utilized before seeking our assistance.
• All resources through your state, county or local organizations, churches and clubs must be exhausted before seeking our assistance.
All documentation is completely confidential. We will never request documentation that an honest applicant could not obtain. However, an application cannot be sent to the review board or receive funding until we have documentation to support it. All documentation must be received no later than 30 days after your application is filed or your application will become null and void.
If you have any questions regarding your eligibility after reading the above please call 440-591-3224 and someone will be happy to answer your questions.
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