AT Funding Guide
Section 1: Public Sources of Funding
The following links will take you to public or government sources of funding. To determine the most likely agencies to pay for the AT you need, look closely at the eligibility requirements and financial criteria of each source and what types of AT devices and services the agency will fund. Due to eligibility requirements, funding for AT from public sources is far from guaranteed. You will have to build a strong case for the AT you need. Most agencies will have an internal appeals process if you disagree with the initial decision made in your case request.
- Access to Indepenence
- Aloha Independent Living Hawaii
- Children’s Hearing Aid Program
- CSC Hard of Hearing Program
- Developmental Disabilities Division Individual Supports Budget
- Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
- Early Intervention
- Going Home Plus Project
- Hawaii Department of Special Education
- Hawaii Health Care Premium Assistance Program
- Hawaii Library for the Blind and Print Disabled
- Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind
- Head Start/Early Head Start
- Hearing Aid Resources in Hawaii
- Hoʻpono Services for the Blind
- Medicaid I/DD Waiver
- Medicaid Waiver Services
- Medicaid Hawaii MedQuest
- Medicare
- Relay Hawaii Equipment Distribution
- Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
- Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- TRICARE
- Veteran’s Benefits
Section 2: Private Sources of Funding
Public sources of funding have been exhausted and appeals have been rejected. Private insurance or the insurance that you do have will not cover the assistive technology needed. The next step should be to search for private nonprofit organizations and foundations that may be able to assist. There are many such sources in the state and nation, but they have restrictions on what they will provide, vary widely on eligibility requirements, and the resources available to them are limited. A person who needs funding for assistive technology may turn to a private nonprofit agency, organization, trust, or foundation for assistance. This Section describes such groups and lists contact information, but there may be others in your local communities that are not listed here.
Multiple Areas of AT
- Ability Found – Equipment for mobility and daily living activities for people of all ages
- Alyssa V. Philips Foundation – Equipment to increase the independence for people with Cerebral Palsy
- ATRC Alternative Financing – ATRC provides low interest loans for assistive technology
- Be Perfect Paralysis Awareness Foundation – Medical supplies, wheelchairs, small scale home or car adaptations, and participation in activity based therapy programs for people with paralysis and varying neurological disorders
- Chive Charities – Mobility devices, service dogs, wheelchair adapted vans, and more for people with rare medical conditions, Veterans, military families, and first responders
- Duchenne Family Assistance Program – Financial assistance for home and vehicle modifications and equipment needs for families living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
- Gwendolyn Strong Foundation – Wheelchair repairs and modifications, home modifications, accessible vehicles, standers and wheelchairs, medical equipment, and other assistive technology for people with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)
- Habitat for Humanity Aging in Place – Home repairs and modifications along with community supports for older adults
- Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults, National DeafBlind Equipment Distribution Program – Provide equipment to enable access to telephone, advanced communications, and information services for people who are low income with DeafBlindess
- Laughing at My Nightmare Grants – Will cover any kind of AT. One set of grants for people living with muscular dystrophy, one for people living with any disability
- Limeades for Learning, Sonic Foundation – Funding classroom projects for public school teachers
- Lion’s Club International – A variety of grant projects including vision supports, diabetes supports, and matching grant programs
- Make a Wish Hawaii – Children’s wish granting foundation, can include assistive technology or home modifications
- Multiple Sclerosis Foundation Assistive Technology Program – Equipment for activities of daily living, communication, computers, environmental controls, home and vehicle modifications, orthotics, seating, positioning and mobility aids, vision, hearing, and cooling aids for people with Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscular Dystrophy Association – Equipment assistance for a variety of AT for people with Muscular Dystrophy
- My Gym Foundation – assistive devices, medical equipment, and sensory devices for children under 18 with physical, cognitive, or developmental disabilities
- NAPA Center Kids Foundation – Equipment such as bikes, communication devices, medical equipment, wheelchairs and more for children with illnesses or sudden injury
- Oracle Health Foundation – Wheelchairs, AT equipment, prostheses, care devices, hearing aids, vehicle modifications and more for children under 18 with any disability
- Project 34 – Medical equipment and assistive devices for people with spinal cord injuries
- Sunshine Foundation – Children’s wish granting foundation, can include assistive technology or home modifications
- The Perseverance Project Grant Program – Home and vehicle modifications, specialized home or exercise equipment, and more for people with neurological disorders, movement disorders, spinal cord injury, or amputation
- Triumph Foundation Keep Moving Forward Grant – Equipment for activities of daily living, home and vehicle modifications, adaptive computer devices, recreational equipment, etc for people with spinal cord injury
- Tyler Schrenk Foundation – Several grants for AT in all categories for people with all disabilities
- Twilight Wish – Can request wheelchairs and other assistive technology for adults over the age of 65
- United Cerebral Palsy Elise S. Bellows Fund – Any category of assistive technology for an individual with a disability
- Victoria’s Victory – Home and vehicle modifications and mobility equipment for people with mobility disabilities
Daily Living
- Dysphagia Food Bank – Thickeners, pre-modified foods, therapy tools, oral care supplies, and adaptive equipment for people with dysphagia across the lifespan
Hearing
- Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing – Financial aid for various costs incurred for children and teens who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- CaptionCall – No cost service for people with hearing loss who need captions to use the phone
- Hearing Aid Project – Hearing aids for people who cannot purchase them on their own
- Help America Hear – Funding of last resort for people of all ages needing prescription hearing aids
- Miracle Ear Foundation – Funding of last resort for people of all ages needing prescription hearing aids
- TPA Hearing Trust – Provides financial aid to people with deafness or hearing loss
Seating, Positioning, Mobility, and Recreation
- AMBUCS Amtryke Therapeutic Tricycle Program – Amtryke adpated tricycle grant program for people with mobility disabilities
- Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association Orthotic Grants – Financial assistance for orthotics for children with hemiplegia or hemiparesis
- Kelly Brush Foundation – Grants to purchase sports equipment for people with spinal cord injury
- McLindon Family Foundation – Provide adaptive bikes to children and young adults with special needs, including conditions like Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Batten Disease, Charge Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Hydrocephalus, Autism, and more
- Steps of Faith Foundation – Providing prosthetic limbs to uninsured and under insured amputees
Speech Communication
- Apraxia Kids – Tablets for communication devices provided to children diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech
- Bridging Voice – Partnering with Eleven Labs to create AI Voices for people diagnosed with ALS and similar conditions
- National Autism Association Give a Voice Program – Provide iPads for AAC to people with Autism that are nonspeaking or unreliably speaking
- Small Steps in Speech – Grants for communication devices and apps for children 3-22 with communication disorders
Vehicles and Modifications
- Magic Mobility Vans – Wheelchair accessible vans provided for individuals and families of all ages, children, adults, and Veterans
Vision
- Association of Blind Citizens – Fund to cover 50% of costs for assistive technology for blind and visually impaired individuals
- Computers for the Blind – Provides affordable, accessible refurbished computers and training to people of any age with a visual impairment
- National Federation of the Blind Free Slate and Stylus Program – Will distribute plastic, four-line, twenty-eight cell slate with a saddle stylus for Braille to anyone that is blind or low vision
- National Federation of the Blind Free White Cane Program – Every six months any blind individual can request a free white cane
- New Eyes – Provide basic pair of eyeglasses for low income individuals of any age
- VSP Eyes of Hope – VSP network doctors can provide no cost vision care if certain criteria are met