Help & Support: AFTD Quality of Life Grants Now Provide Better Benefits to People with FTD
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AFTD’s Comstock Grant program, which offers modest financial assistance to people with FTD and their care partners, has benefited hundreds of families through its Respite Grants, Travel Grants, and Quality of Life Grants, which AFTD introduced in 2017. Six years later, we are introducing changes designed to streamline the delivery of Quality of Life Grants – and provide more support to recipients.
The Comstock Quality of Life Grant offers direct financial assistance to persons diagnosed, allowing them to purchase products or services to improve their quality of life. Persons diagnosed could apply once per fiscal year (which runs from July 1 to June 30) for a $500 Visa card.
Following its pilot run of 22 recipients, the Quality of Life Grant has grown rapidly — AFTD awarded almost 400 Quality of Life Grants last fiscal year, with recipients using them for iPads or tablets to support communication, exercise equipment, hobby supplies, or for celebrating a favorite pastime, for example.
As interest in the Quality of Life Grant has grown, we have identified certain challenges: stores not accepting the card, difficulty using the card, cards being lost or stolen, and funds not being used. AFTD has responded to these issues by making the following adjustments for fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1:
- We will transition from prepaid Visa cards to a reimbursement model identical to that used for Respite Grants.
- We will ensure staff support is available to assist those diagnosed in completing the reimbursement process; email support is available by emailing the AFTD HelpLine Manager or and comstockgrants@theaftd.org, and phone support is available through the HelpLine at 1-866-507-7222.
- We will update the questions on the reimbursement form to capture better information on how the grant is being used.
- The program will continue to run from July 1 to June 30.
- Applicants may still only apply once per financial year.
- The maximum award remains $500.
- The grant can still be used by persons diagnosed to purchase goods or services to improve or maintain the quality of life.
- We will continue to require proof of an FTD diagnosis at the initial application and follow-up documentation for every fifth grant awarded.
- A secondary support person will still need to be identified on the grant application.
- Families will continue to be able to apply for Respite and Quality of Life Grants each fiscal year.
AFTD is committed to retaining the grant’s strong person-centered focus, allowing persons diagnosed to use it in ways that have maximum impact on improving their quality of life, with the support and supervision of a care partner or family member as necessary.
The full Comstock Grant program for FY24 will open on July 1 with these changes in effect. Care partners can apply for the Respite Grant by clicking here. People living with FTD can apply for a Quality of Life Grant by clicking here. Guidelines for both grants are available on their respective application pages.
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