Who is eligible:
Persons having or directly supporting a person with an ASD (autism spectrum disorder) (autism, asperger’s or PDD-NOS) will be eligible for grant consideration.  Shawano County residents will be given first considerations for available funds.  Funding left over will be allotted to individuals residing in other counties in Wisconsin, must be a Wisconsin resident to apply.

Granting periods:
Grants will be given out on a quarterly basis and will be issued in the months of March, June, September and December.
Grants will only be accepted:
Jan. 1st to Feb. 1st                      1st quarter (Jan, Feb, March)
Apr. 1st to May 1st                     2nd quarter (April, May, June)
July 1st to Aug. 1st                     3rd quarter (July, Aug, Sept)
Oct. 1st to Nov. 1st                     4th quarter (Oct, Nov, Dec)

Grant awards: 
One week prior to final review of applications you may receive a phone call from one of our Board Members to obtain further information regarding the item(s) being requested.  After final approval, you will be contacted via telephone if your grant is accepted (alternative contact source mail).  Approved grants will receive a letter via mail indicating awarded amount (awarded amount may not always be requested amount).  At no time will grant checks be directly cut or sent to the requestor/individual.  All grant requests must be mailed in to: Bridge the Gap, Inc. N6131 Hwy 47-55, Shawano, WI 54166

If individual is requesting an item (example trampoline and weighted vest).  The provider on the grant application would be company items would be purchased through such as Abilitations, SportsTime, etc.  You need to include shipping/handling/tax if applicable in your total grant request amount (not to exceed $500 annually) and make sure company will accept a corporate check as payment prior to submitting your request.

If the requested grant is approved, the individual may begin using the funds by contacting the provider.  All funds will be sent directly to the indicated provider/company.  Grant funds must be used within 90-days of approval, and grant checks will be voided after that time period.  At no time may funds be transferred, they may only be used for providers indicated on original application form and only for items on original application form that were requested.  If individual can no longer use the funds, a check made payable to Bridge the Gap, Inc. must be sent back and the funds will be used for an alternative individual.  Check should be mailed to: Bridge the Gap, Inc. N6131 State Hwy 47-55 Shawano WI 54166.

Families or persons with ASD can apply annually (January – December) for funding, with a maximum award of $500 annually.  Priority will be given to those families/persons who have not received funding in previous years.  Bridge The Gap is a funding source of last resort.  Families may be asked to provide verification of denial from such sources such as Children’s Long Term Support, Family Support and/or MA. 

Reduce, reuse, and recycle policy:
All persons receiving funding for therapeutic items from Bridge The Gap will be asked to sign a contract, which states that when the item requested is no longer of therapeutic value to the person on whose behalf the request was made, Bridge The Gap will be notified and the item will be donated back to Bridge The Gap for use with other families/persons having similar needs.  Bridge the Gap Board Member may call families periodically to verify if previously granted items are still in use and to check if families would like to re-donate item to Bridge the Gap, Inc. for others to use.

Applications are only accepted via "snail" mail.

Bridge the Gap, Inc.
N6131 State Hwy 47-55
Shawano Wi 54166

Grant Application (DOC)