ESFL Funding Request

* As of September 7th, we are on a waiting list.  All applications will be processed in the order they are received and we will let you know as soon as possible if we are able to move you off of the wait list.

Enhancing Skills for Life, aims to provide financial support to individuals living without both hands, arms or all four limbs.  We provide opportunities to engage in various social, sport and learning environments, share tips and tricks and build lasting and supportive friendships within the limb loss/limb different community. These opportunities include, but are not limited to the Skills for Life: Bilateral Upper Limb Difference Workshop.

Funding requests are accepted for assistance with travel and accommodations directly associated with such opportunities. Approved funding requests will be granted at the discretion of the board/scholarship committee and can range from $50 to a maximum of $1,000 per individual ($1,200 for SFL 7). The approved funds will be paid directly to the individual applicant either by check or PayPal upon completion of the event. Receipts are required for reimbursement. 

Eligibility: Applicants must be living without both hands/arms minimally and have financial need for assistance.

Criteria: Applicants will be evaluated based on financial need and funding available for the program.

For questions or more information, contact info@enhancingskillsforlife.org or call Shawn Johnson at 713-240-8336.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Applications must be submitted online, but exceptions will be made in special circumstances.  Funding recipients will be contacted by email, phone or zoom for follow up questions so please provide accurate contact information. Approval time can vary from a few days and can be up to a few weeks when applying for workshop events, please make sure to note any urgent deadlines in your application.  See more details about the scholarship overview, process, expectations, and resitrictions towards the end of the application.

Scholarship Overview, Process, Expectations & Restrictions

Overview
-Financial need should be provided in the application.  Insufficient information may lead to follow up questions.

-Scholarships are for hotel and travel expenses only. Other fees related to an ESFL event, can be discussed on a case-by-case basis.  Meals are not a reimbursable expense as we try to offer as many meals as possible at ESFL events.

-For an ESFL event, the maximum scholarship allowance is $1000.  SFL Workshops can be up to $1200 on a case-by-case basis.

-If you use miles for your flight, points for your hotel stay or travel by car, you might come in way under the total allowed amount.  This would be amazing as the leftover amounts can go to helping other people.  The point of maximum allowed amount is to cover as much of the scholarship recipient’s travel and hotel expenses as possible, it is NOT to see how close you can get to the maximum allowed amount.  We will not be able to cover extra nights because your flight was cheaper than expected or because traveling by car is cheaper than a flight.

-Reimbursement is made by check or PayPal after the conclusion of the event.

Overall SFL 7 Process
1) Fill out the ESFL Scholarship Application on the SFL 7 Website. We will not be able to pay for your hotel or travel if we do not have your application. We need the application completed so we can get you entered into our spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is what we use to communicate the master billing/scholarship list to the hotel and for tracking ESFL reimbursement to recipients.

2) Reserve your SFL 7 hotel room with your own Credit Card as soon as possible (the reservation can always be cancelled closer to the time if needed). We will pay the hotel directly upon checkout through our master billing/scholarship list. The hotel needs your CC on file for incidentals and/or any room service/restaurant charges. In the event, the hotel block rate sells out, please see our Alternate Hotels document.

3) Register for Skills for Life 7 Workshop, if you are under the travel/hotel amount and family members have paid for the family member registration, we will likely be able to reimburse that fee at the conclusion of the event.

4) A scholarship committee representative will be reaching out by email or phone to either ask additional questions and/or confirm your application has been approved.

5) Once your application is officially approved, please confirm your hotel reservation and workshop registration by emailing info@enhancingskillsforlife.org.

Hotel
-Please verify the number of nights ESFL will cover at the negotiated rate. For example, if the Skills for Life Workshop is 3 days, ESFL will cover 4 nights.  Additional nights will be your responsibility.  For the bowling events or any other ESFL program, please verify the number of nights that ESFL will cover at the negotiated rate.

-Once you make your own reservations, please send confirmation to: info@enhnancingskillsforlife.org

-You will be added to the ESFL scholarship list

-ESFL will pay the event hotel directly upon checkout.  If you are staying at a different hotel that has been preapproved, reimbursement will be handled differently.

Flight
-Standard economy fares will be reimbursed, any changes to the reservation that cause an increase in price or any upgrades will be the responsibility of the scholarship recipient.

-Certain exceptions may apply.

-Once you make your flight reservations, please send confirmation/receipt to info@enhnancingskillsforlife.org

-Recipient will be reimbursed for full or partial flight depending on what is left over from the allowed amount after paying the hotel.

Car Travel
-Please keep gas receipts and email receipts to info@enhnancingskillsforlife.org.  Make sure the receipt is for gas only when you submit or it will not be reimbursed.

Other
-If you use Expedia or a 3rd party to make hotel/flight combination reservations, we will need a clear breakdown of hotel and flight costs.  Resort fees are not included in most 3rd party reservations and are the responsibility of the scholarship recipient.

-We will not reimburse an AirBnB stay unless it is organized and approved by ESFL.

-If you rent a car at the event, this must be pre-approved by ESFL and used to help with group transportation as needed.

Overall Expectations
Attendance

As a scholarship recipient, the expectation would be attendance at all events for the duration of the conference. We will not reimburse hotel nights or flights if you only attend portions of the event.

Social Media/Public Acknowledgement

As a scholarship recipient, we will require social media tags of ESFL either while at the event or within one week post event. We will make sure to communicate what these requirements are close to the event. It will be something small along the lines of “Thanks for making this possible, @Enhancing Skills for Life!”

                                                                                               

Please read and sign the statement below

I certify that all statements in this application are true and I have provided accurate contact information. I understand that all financial and medical information will remain confidential.

I have read the above "Scholarship Overview, Process, Expectations and Restrictions" and by submitting this application acknowledging understanding of the above section.

Permission: Scholarship money is made possible becuase of generous donations and we would like to share what the financial assistance has meant to you.  Your invaluable testimonial will have an impact on future donor decisions.  To that end, I give Enhancing Skills for Life permission to contact me for an anonymous or identifying testimonial for their website and social media. 

If applicant is under the age of 18, please enter the full name of Parent/Guardian