ACA PPLC Legislative Grant Announcement 2009!

The ACA Public Policy and Legislation Committee is pleased to announce the availability of legislative grants on a competitive basis for fiscal year 2009!  A variety of policy challenges and opportunities exist at the state and national level, and consequently the Public Policy and Legislation Committee views the dissemination of legislative grants as one of its most important functions.

Legislative grants are awarded to support projects that advance the counseling profession or advocate for clients.  The typical grant award is expected to be between $250 and $1,500.  Grant applications must be accompanied by a budget detailing the project(s) to be undertaken, and indicating the proposed uses for the grant award and the dollar-for-dollar matching funds required from your organization.

Please note that ACA will not be holding a Legislative Institute in 2009, therefore applications will not be accepted for subsidizing counselors’ attendance at the Legislative Institute.

All applications must be postmarked no later than September 15th, 2008.  E-mail submissions will be accepted (email to clum@counseling.org), and must be sent by close-of-business on September 15th.  We encourage those submitting applications by e-mail and fax to follow up with us to ensure we received your application.

The Committee would like to stress the importance of adequate follow-up on the part of those entities receiving a grant.  The Committee is unlikely to approve a grant to an ACA entity which has failed to complete the required follow-up report on the use of previous grant funds.  For those organizations that receive a grant this year, follow-up reports will be due in the spring of 2009.

We wish you the best of luck in applying for a grant, but please keep in mind that we routinely receive significantly more requests for funds than we can accommodate.  In the meantime, we encourage you to contact us about any public policy challenges you or your colleagues are facing.

If you have trouble opening the attachments (application and background information), please contact Christie Lum at clum@counseling.org or at (800) 347-6647, x354.  For further questions regarding the ACA Public Policy and Legislation Committee’s grants, priorities, or the grant process, contact me at the e-mail address below.

Sincerely,

Harriet Gardin Fields, M. Ed., LPC/S, NCC/C
(803-754-0124; e-mail: hfields213@aol.com)
Chair, Public Policy & Legislation Committee
American Counseling Association