Ability Beyond Disability Inc., (Bethel, CT) To support PepsiCo and Ability Beyond Disability in Pepsi Ripple – the next generation of corporate disability-inclusion – which will maximize efficiency and the hiring and retention of individuals with disabilities: $450,000.
Easter Seals Greater Washington Baltimore Region, (Silver Spring, MD) To provide startup funding for the Veteran Staffing Network (VSN), a social enterprise employment agency for veterans, wounded warriors, National Guardsmen, reservists, and their spouses: $412,000.
San Diego State University Research Foundation, (San Diego, CA) To support an innovative and engaging professional workplace-skills curriculum for college students with disabilities, combined with career-oriented work experience and internships, peer and professional mentorships, and placement assistance: $437,888.
Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center, (Nashville, TN) To build the capacity of congregations to expand, refine, and evaluate customized processes that equip faith communities to support employment for members with disabilities: $449,961.
2013 Grants Awarded
Signature Employment Grants
Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, (New Brunswick, NJ) To implement travel instruction, teaching individuals with traumatic brain injuries and mobility disabilities, and the professionals or family members supporting them, to access employment using public/community transportation: $45,705.
Allies, Inc., (Hamilton, NJ) To provide a system of case management (E-WRAP) for 20 employed individuals with neuromuscular disabilities who require ongoing supports not available through state Vocational Rehabilitation or other resources: $25,000.
Alternatives, Inc., (Raritan, NJ) To provide skill assessment, training, and recommendations for accomodations to 12 individuals with brain injury or neurological impairments in a retail setting through 'Retail University': $40,000.
Arts Unbound, Inc., (Orange, NJ) To provide emergency grant funds for general operating support of employment initiatives for artists with disabilities: $25,000.
Caucus Educational Corporation, Inc., (Montclair, NJ) To produce, promote, broadcast, and provide educational content to highlight initiatives that improve disability employment outcomes in a series of four public television programs, titled, “Make a Difference,” which appear on both public television and cable outlets throughout the New Jersey region: $50,000.
Community Options, Inc., (Princeton, NJ) To provide job-training to 12 individuals with disabilities at a social enterprise florist run by Community Options: $30,000.
Cornell University, (Ithaca, NY) To increase employment outcomes and economic impact for civilians and veterans with disabilities by building NJ benefits and work incentives planning capacity for staff at a minimum of 30 service providers: $50,000.
County of Union, (Elizabeth, NJ) To provide 3,333 one way rides to Union County residents with disabilities for the purpose of employment: $25,000.
DAWN Center for Independent Living, Inc., (Denville, NJ) To expand services, partnerships, and outcomes initiated under the 2012 Community Employment Grant to increase meaningful, gainful, and inclusive employment for 35 people with disabilities: $49,493.
Easter Seals New Jersey, (East Brunswick, NJ) To expand the program High School/High Tech by facilitating quality education, leadership, and work opportunities for 22 youth with disabilities through exploration and internships in high tech careers: $40,000.
Occupational Center of Union County, Inc., (Roselle, NJ) To hire an employment specialist to place 12 individuals with disabilities in employment, with a priority on those with physical disabilities who have a Ticket to Work: $40,000.
PRIDE Industries, (Roseville, CA) To provide vocational training and employment supports to help people with severe disabilities secure and retain employment in skilled trades positions: $34,824.
Raise Hope Foundation, (Verona, NJ) To train 22 individuals with mobility-related disabilities for employment in the financial sector: $40,000.
ServiceSource, (Clearwater, FL) To fund a planning grant as part of the Warrior Bridge TBI Demonstration Project, exploring a clubhouse model through the Acquired Brain Injury Life (ABIL) House as an effective employment strategy for veterans with TBI: $50,000.
The Center for Vocational Rehabilitation (Eatontown, NJ) To hire an employment specialist, who is specially trained to focus on the specific needs of individuals with seizure disorders, and place 28 people in employment: $35,000.
The Cerebral Palsy League, Inc., (Cranford, NJ) To support a training and apprenticeship program for four adults in the vending industry and purchase two ADA compliant vending machines: $38,000.
The Family Resource Network, (Trenton, NJ) To train 45 people with multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, stroke, neuromuscular weakness, and other mobility disabilities to find work electronically through networking and searching: $45,000.
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation, (Trenton, NJ) To fund a four-day summer experience workshop, which immerses students in business games and simulations that help them to prepare for life after high school: $49,133.
Community Employment Grants
Hurricane Sandy
Emergency Grants
Heightened Independence and Progress Inc., (Hackensack, NJ) To rebuild an accessible bathroom and entrance ramp in the home of an individual with MS whose first floor was flooded by Hurricane Sandy, necessitating temporary evacuation: $7,530.
Jawonio NJ, Inc., (Clifton, NJ) To replace food and other supplies depleted during Hurricane Sandy at five group homes for individuals with disabilities: $2,500.
LADACIN Network, (Wanamassa, NJ) To provide safe, standby power to two group homes in which residents with disabilities and complicated medical needs rely on electric feeding devices, power wheelchairs, and nebulizer treatments for survival: $5,000.
New Jersey Department of Human Services, (Trenton, NJ) To provide funds to homeowners and renters with acquired disabilities for rebuilding ramps damaged by Hurricane Sandy, while adhering to ADA code: $10,000.
Opportunity Knocks Inc., (Freehold, NJ) To recover unbudgeted expenses from emergency tree removal at group homes, which allowed for the evacuation of residents with disabilities during Hurricane Sandy: $4,000.
Pathways for Exceptional Children, (Montville, NJ) To repair the greenhouse and fence used for the horticulture employment training program for youth with disabilities: $2,500.
Services for Children with Hidden Intelligence Inc., (Lakewood, NJ) To rebuild large accessibility entrance ramps damaged by Hurricane Sandy to two group homes for young adults with complicated medical conditions and disabilities: $3,000.
The Arc of Essex County, Inc., (Livingston, NJ) To remove trees that were destroyed by Huricane Sandy, blocking access to a group home property where residents are medically frail and physically disabled: $5,000.
The Arc of Warren County Chapter, Inc., (Washington, NJ) To install a gas generator in the Chapter's headquarters so that it can serve as an accessible emergency shelter for people with severe disabilities from the Chapter's 17 residential homes and the surrounding community: $10,000.
The Arc of Ocean County Chapter, Inc., (Lakewood, NJ) To offset expenses incurred as a result of Hurricane Sandy, including food, blankets, towels, pharmacy items, and other supplies, and the relocation of 75 individuals with disabilities: $5,000.
The Center for Family Support of New Jersey, Inc., (Paramus, NJ) To offset unexpected operating expenses due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, such as overtime compensation to staff required to remain at group homes during power outages and the temporary relocation of residents to hotels: $5,000.
The Rescue Mission of Trenton, (Trenton, NJ) To replace unbudgeted expenses due to Hurricane Sandy, including overtime pay to personnel caring for individuals with disabilities, food, supplies, and transportation to the evacuation shelter: $4,000.
The Salvation Army, (Union, NJ) To provide special assistance to individuals with disabilities by replacing lost vital mobility resources, such as ramps, hand rails, shower chairs, and wheelchair/mobility equipment: $10,000.
Tri-City Peoples Corporation, (East Orange, NJ) To provide supplies and labor for yard clean-up and minor repairs to homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy for senior citizens with physical disabilities who are unable to meet insurance deductibles: $5,000.
Wheeling Forward, (Brooklyn, NY) To provide power wheelchairs, Hoyer lifts, hospital beds, and other mobility-aiding devices to individuals in New Jersey with mobility disabilities whose medical equipment was lost or destroyed during Hurricane Sandy: $5,000.
Youth Consultation Service, Inc., (Newark, NJ) To offset the cost of damages from fallen trees and power outages during Hurricane Sandy to Sawtelle Learning Center, their flagship school for children with autism spectrum disorder: $5,000.
Beacon Press, (Boston, MA) To subsidize the cost of production of a book by renowned disability scholar, Lennard Davis, about the legacy and impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how to improve in order to keep the price point low and the book widely accessible: $15,000.
Council on Foundations, (Alexandria, VA) To help underwrite a national convening of foundation and business leaders on the urgent need for more public, private, and philanthropic sector partnerships to increase the employment of people with disabilities: $25,000.
Disability Funders Network, (Midlothian, VA) To support general operations of the Disability Funders Network during 2014: $5,000.
The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, Inc., (New York, NY) To support the expansion of the ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival and National Program to New Jersey: $20,000.
Kean University Foundation, Inc., (Union, NJ) To support the Institute for Adults Living with Communication Disabilities, which provides innovative therapy and support services for clients and their caregivers: $15,000.
Special Initiative Grants
Liberty Science Center, Inc., (Jersey City, NJ) To support two Special Needs Day events at Liberty Science Center during 2014, at no cost to guests, to encourage people with disabilities and special needs to engage in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education via interactive exhibitions and demonstrations: $20,000.
Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, (Cherry Hill, NJ) To support MSAA's Equipment Distribution Program, which provides wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and other equipment/mobility items that have a direct impact on individual safety, independence, and productivity at home and in employment, to individuals with MS in New Jersey, who would otherwise be unable to afford these items: $10,000.
New Jersey Department of Human Services, (Trenton, NJ) To fund capital improvements for up to four emergency food assistance providers, enabling people with disabilities to access services: $10,000.
North Jersey Navigators, Inc., (Bayonne, NJ) - To provide recreational and competitive adaptive programs that have been specially designed to develop and enhance the mobility skills of children and youth with physical disabilities: $20,000.
Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey, (Toms River, NJ) To recruit, train, and complete background checks for new volunteers needed to replace those who suffered losses due to Hurricane Sandy and are no longer available to assist with the subsequent increased requests from seniors with disabilities: $2,500.
Community Access Unlimited Inc., (Elizabeth, NJ) To replenish emergency kits depleted during Hurricane Sandy, which provide basic survival necessities, including food, water, blankets, heat packs, and pharmacy items, for residents with disabilities who require critical, round-the-clock care: $5,000.
Community Health Law Project, (South Orange, NJ) To provide legal assistance—such as accessing FEMA funding and other public entitlements, resolving landlord-tenant disputes, and replacing lost identification cards—to people with disabilities affected by Hurricane Sandy: $10,000.
Community Health Law Project, (South Orange, NJ) To support the Sandy Barrier Free Assurance Project, wherein CHLP plans to work with community partners, municipalities, ADA code, and construction officials and experts from NJIT to ensure that the aftermath of Sandy provides an opportunity to build better, safer, and more accessible communities for all individuals with disabilities who live in and visit shore and bay areas: $50,000.