Funding

Requests for Proposal

ACDD encourages those submitting proposals to be brief and clear. Please note that the Council places more importance on content than length. Proposals that are unnecessarily long, too wordy, or too full of jargon will not improve the proposal evaluation score.

Applicants are encouraged to develop innovative and creative proposals for fostering inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Resources

There are no open requests at this time. Please join our list serve for RFP announcements.

    For questions concerning reporting, please contact:

    Melissa Sylvester
    Director of Planning, Research and Evaluation
    Alabama Council on Developmental Disabilities
    100 North Union St.
    Suite 682
    Montgomery, AL 36130-1410

    Email: melissa.sylvester@mh.alabama.gov

    Phone: 334-242-0246

    Consumer Involvement Fund

    The Consumer Involvement Fund (CIF) reimbursement program is designed to empower individuals with disabilities and their family members with the opportunities, experiences, resources, and information they need to participate meaningfully in decisions being made which affect their lives.

    The CIF provides partial funding to participate in professional or informational conferences, legislative advocacy skills training events, public forums, focus groups, hearings, and other similar activities. CIF promotes independence, productivity, and community inclusion of people with developmental disabilities.

    Requests are considered on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, the Consumer Involvement Fund Committee (CIFC) will give considerable weight to CIF applicants who are:

    • Alabama residents
    • First time users of the fund
    • First time attendees at a particular activity or event
    • Attending to enhance ethnic or cultural sensitivity
    • Applicants residing in rural or other underserved and/or unserved areas

     

    (Please use the translation option at the bottom of this page to translate this information into other languages as needed.)

    For applications or questions concerning the ACDD Consumer Involvement Fund, please contact:

    Felicia Dumas, Fiscal Manager
    Alabama Council on Development Disabilities

    100 North Union Street, Suite 682
    Montgomery, AL 36130-1410

    Email: felicia.dumas@mh.alabama.gov
    Phone: 334-242-3972

    FAQs

    • An individual with a developmental disability. (Developmental Disabilities Definition)
    • A parent of an individual with a developmental disability
    • A family member of an individual with a developmental disability.
    • A guardian of an individual with a developmental disability.

    The Consumer Involvement Fund has two types of funding programs: INDIVIDUAL FUNDING (CIF Individual Fact Sheet) (CIF Individual Application) $400 per year, per person for In-state events $1,000 per year per person for Out-of-state events ORGANIZATION FUNDING (CIF Organization Fact Sheet) (CIF Organizational Application) The Council will determine the amount of funding based on the number of applicants for the event, the location of the event, and the availability of funds allocated for the month. The Council’s Consumer Involvement Funds can only partially fund the cost of attending an event. The Council requires persons wishing to receive Consumer Involvement Funds to secure partial funding from other sources, such as other state agencies, private foundations, consumer or advocacy organizations, an employer, use of his/her own money, or time match.

    • Registration Fees
    • Child Care or Respite Care
    • Personal Assistance
    • Hotel/Lodging
    • Meals
    • Transportation
    • Other (at the discretion of the CIFC)

    • 30 days prior to the event
    • CIFC will review applications for funds monthly
    • Print, mail, or fax, the individual application form
    • Print, mail, or fax, the organization application form/expenditure report
    • Application materials are also available in large print and Braille upon request.

    • Once the application has been received by the CIFC, the applicant will be sent an approval letter from the CIFC informing the applicant of the amount of the award or if the application is denied. Included in the award letter will be details for reimbursement of approved expenses and an acceptance form to be returned to the CIFC.
    • In order to receive partial funding from the CIFC, the applicant must meet the 25% match requirement. Examples of the match requirement are: volunteer hours, travel time, donated time/items, discounted fees/items, and any expenses paid personally.

    • After returning from an event, all individuals receiving Consumer Involvement Funds will be asked to complete forms and reports that must be returned before reimbursements will be processed. CIF applicants will be asked to share information received from the event with his or her local community, local legislators. Also, applicants will have the opportunity to share experiences at Council meetings and/or write articles for ACDD magazine and share photographs of their attendance as well.
    • Consumer Involvement Funds are reimbursed for actual expenses.
    • A receipt for each expense to be reimbursed must be submitted to Council before a reimbursement request can be processed.

    Local match is your financial portion of the CIF award. The Local Match Share consists of in-kind value and/or non-federal cash contributions. All fund recipients are required to contribute a 25% match of the total fund award (unless waived by the committee). In-kind match examples can be: attendance at event/activity, travel time to and from destination of event/activity for the applicant and/or driver, time spent on presentations regarding event/activity the applicant attended and/or volunteer time.

    To calculate the 25% required match, divide the amount of your federal dollars request by 3. Then to calculate the total grant amount, combine the one-third figure with the federal dollars requests.

    For additional questions or information, please contact the: Alabama Council for Developmental Disabilities Consumer Involvement Fund Felicia Dumas, Fiscal Manager 100 North Union Street, Suite 682 Montgomery, AL 36130 (334)242-3972/Direct Line (334)242-0797/Fax Line (800)232-2158/Toll-Free Email: felicia.dumas@mh.alabama.gov