Grant Acceptance Criteria
This page is a summary of basic conditions that an ideal FSF grant recipient will satisfy. Check here first for high-level guidance, then move on to details in our rubric.
What It's All For
The big keyword around here is PWFs, or people with functionally limited abilities.
(Many terms link to longer definitions on our FAQ page.)
Our mission is to increase personal independence and sense of achievement for people with functionally limited abilities (PWFs), leading to improved community integration, involvement, and access.
Our purpose is to find those who will most effectively teach PWFs how to overcome chronic physical or mental impairments and perform basic work, school, social, or health-oriented goals better with others.
Our vision is to drive innovative programs that advance social inclusion and transform community mindsets, education, healthcare, and policies. We aim to empower PWFs, elevate individual self-worth, and build a culture of belonging.
The Big Three
Here are the top three requirements that will need the most thought and attention as you prepare your funding request:
- Must have a new or meaningfully improved project. We are project-based and rarely fund the simple continuation of a program as-is.
- Must actively and intentionally benefit people with functionally limited abilities. Merely accommodating special needs for occasional requests is not enough. The project should be designed to increase accessibility, involvement, and independence for many who have been prevented from participating due to their impairments.
- Must engage participants over at least 2–4 months, build skills progressively, and demonstrate improvements at the end of a participant's involvement. Singular workshops, conferences, or other events taking place over a few days or weeks do not meet our goals for long-term skill-building.
Project Checklist
Your project expects to help at least one third but less than two thirds of its participants experiencing:
- Long term functionally limited abilities;
- Chronic mental and physical impairments due to birth defects, illness, or injury;
- Little to no meaningful community access as a result of their impairments;
- Inability to enjoy basic human interactions with non PWFs besides paid professionals;
- Lack of available health-oriented, social, creative, career or academic opportunities.
Your project outlines realistic, measurable outcomes to the above by describing how they will increase PWFs’ abilities:
- To overcome limitations by building skills in group settings over many weeks or months;
- To develop personal independence or a meaningful sense of achievement;
- To enjoy greater community access, integration, or involvement with others;
- To access better careers or academics, improved health, creative expression, or applied adaptive research.
What Next?
If you believe your project satisfies the above criteria, proceed to our full rubric.