• North Carolina grants for people with developmental disabilities are available primarily to organizations, not individuals.money makes money image by Andrey Andreev from Fotolia.com
  
  Grants for North Carolina agencies and organizations supporting people with developmental disabilities are federally funded through the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities. Almost $1.9 million is awarded by the council every year. Some council funding is available to individuals to reimburse expenses for educational seminars and conferences, but the bulk of the funding is distributed through public, private and non-profit organizations operating in North Carolina.
  
  

Who Qualifies

• The federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act defines developmental disability as a severe, chronic and permanent disability due to mental or physical impairment that manifests before a person reaches age 22. To be considered developmentally disabled, a person must have substantial limitations in at least three of seven areas: self-care, language, learning, self-direction, mobility, economic self-sufficiency and ability to live independently. In North Carolina, people who experience a severe brain injury after age 22 may also be considered developmentally disabled under state law in certain cases, as are young children with major developmental delays regardless of whether they meet criteria around "substantial limitations." Organizations eligible for grants work to help this population.
  
  

Grant Applications

• The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities posts requests for applications on its website twice a year.signing a contract image by William Berry from Fotolia.com
  
  The council posts requests for applications twice a year on its website. In 2008, the council partnered with 19 North Carolina organizations including advocacy groups, service providers and universities to fund projects and services for people with developmental disabilities. Projects are selected based on their relevancy to the council's regularly updated five-year plan, which sets out the goals of the council in meeting the needs of the people it serves. Funding is awarded to projects that help people with intellectual or developmental disabilities become "full participants in their communities," the council notes on its website.
  
  

Grant Goals

• The broad goal of the council is to improve quality of life for those with developmental disabilities. Successful grant applicants will address that goal in their submission, with a focus on one of the following: employment, home ownership, inclusion at school, family support, self-advocacy and self-determination, relationships or community connection. All applications should comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and advance integration as mandated by the Supreme Court.
  
  

Individual Funding

• People with developmental disabilities can apply to the council's Jean Wolff-Rossi Fund for Participant Involvement for reimbursement of expenses from seminars or conferences. To qualify for reimbursement, the applicant must demonstrate in the application that the conference improved the person's knowledge, self-advocacy skills or networking abilities. Those who receive a Rossi Fund grant are required to share knowledge from the conference they attended with their community and the council.
  
  

Limitations

• All projects approved by the council must include a mix of federal and county funding. The funding ratio varies based on the funding period and whether the application comes from one of the 36 designated "poverty counties" in North Carolina, in which case federal funds can account for a larger portion of the money.
  
  

More Information

• Potential applicants wanting more information on applying for a grant or how the council makes its funding decisions can contact Melissa Swartz at the council at melissa.swartz@ncmail.net. The majority of the 34-member council are people with developmental disabilities and their family members.