Conference Funding

Jean Wolff-Rossi Fund for Participant Involvement

The Jean Wolff-Rossi Fund for Participant Involvement (Rossi Fund) empowers people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their family members with opportunities to actively participate in making decisions that impact them. Through the Rossi Fund, individuals with I/DD and their family members can receive reimbursement for specific expenses for seminars and conferences that are designed to improve their knowledge, networking, and advocacy skills.

The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) makes all decisions on the disbursement of funds. Applicants receiving Rossi funds will be asked to complete a Rossi Fund Participant survey to share their knowledge.

Eligibility

To qualify for funding, you must be:

• A person with an I/DD, or the parents, family members or individual guardian of a person with an I/DD, or parents of a child at risk of I/DD.
• Resident of North Carolina

NCCDD Council members are not eligible for Rossi Funds.

Reimbursable Expenses

To allow more people with I/DD and families to participate, the Rossi Fund only partially funds the cost of attending an event. Reimbursement is provided for the following types of expenses. Individuals may apply for funds to cover up to three of these expenses on their application:

• Child Care or Respite (up to $15.60/hr., maximum $150/day)
• Personal Assistance Services (up to $15.60/hr., maximum $150/day)
• Conference/seminar registration
• Hotel/Lodging (up to $98)
• Transportation (67 cents/mile – NC State government rate is subject to change)
• Other expenses are at the discretion of the NCCDD

How to Apply

An application must be received by NCCDD 15 days prior to the first day of an in-state event and 30 days prior to first date of an out-of-state event. Applications are funded on a first-come, first-served basis. The NCCDD reviews applications frequently, and the decisions on all applications will be mailed in writing to all applicants.

Awards Decision Making

The awards are limited to $1,000 per year, per person, per household for in-state events, and up to $1,200 per year, per person, per household for out-of-state events. Regardless of how many people apply, the maximum amount available for any single activity or event cannot exceed $3,000 in-state and $3,600 out-of-state. An individual may only receive one Rossi Fund award in a 12-month period.

To allow more families of people with I/DD to attend events, NCCDD may decide to only partially fund the cost of attending an event. Individuals are encouraged to secure additional funding from other sources, such as other state agencies, private foundations, consumer or advocacy organizations, or their employer.

If the total amount of applications received at the same time exceeds the above limits, NCCDD will use the following criteria to fairly award the funds:

• Is this a first time user of the fund?
• Is this a first time attendee for this activity or event?
• Will the attendee enhance ethnic or cultural diversity?
• Is the applicant from rural or other underserved or unserved areas?
• Which applications were received first?

Apply for the Jean Wolff-Rossi Fund for Participant Involvement

Eligibility for the Rossi Fund requires distribution consistent with the Council’s mandate in federal law for commitment to systems change, advocacy building and capacity building.

Conference/Speaker Fund

The Council’s Speaker Funding serves to advance the goals by sponsoring conferences of the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD). In determining whether to fund conference meeting space, accessible accommodations, or a presenter for a conference, NCCDD also considers factors including, but not limited to:

• Target audience (e.g., national, multi-state or regional, statewide; self-advocates, parents, providers, direct support professionals, etc.);
• Involvement of people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) and family members in the planning of the event;
• Alignment with the Council’s goals and objectives as determined in NCCDD’s Five-Year State Plan;
• Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
• Accessibility of conference location, facilities, publications, materials and programs;
• Information on how conference planning will determine the accessibility of the facility where the conference will be held;
• Evaluations measuring participant satisfaction including questions about accessibility to the conference facility; 
• Outreach to and expected degree of participation of people with I/DD or their family members during the conference;
• Focus on systems change, advocacy, and community capacity building for people with I/DD and families;
• Collaboration with Council grants or inclusion of presentations from Council grantees;
• Willingness of the applicant to agree, as a contingency for funding and at Council discretion, to waive registration fees, dependent on conference size and funding request, for up to five Council members/staff selected by the Council for attendance at the event;
• Potential to build or enhance collaboration or partnership with the national DD Network, state DD network programs (i.e., P&A, UCEDD), or other key stakeholders; and
• Endorsements from agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Deadline for Application

Requests for conference/speaker funding should be received in the Council office a minimum of six weeks prior to the conference. If a request is received less than six weeks prior to the conference, the Council reserves the right to disqualify the request. Council sponsorship must be acknowledged on conference flyers and agendas. 

Apply for Conference Funding

Conference Funding requests are reviewed through NCCDD’s Executive Committee, which usually meets on the third Monday of each month.