National Convention & Washington Seminar Guidelines & Procedures for Subsidies
Updated 4/11/2022
Procedures for Requesting Subsidies
- Persons seeking financial assistance to help with National Convention or Washington Seminar expenses should tell their chapter president. If there is no chapter in their area, contact Lucia Lee at 860-289-1971. Members who wish to receive a subsidy must register ahead of time.
- Chapter presidents, directors and officers will forward the request to the subsidy approval committee, with an opinion on whether or not the person qualifies for our assistance.
- Their recommendations will be based on these guidelines:
- All members must be paid-up members of the affiliate and their chapter. If there is no chapter in their area, they must be members-at-large.
- Members must have made a consistent contribution to our movement over the past year.
- We will subsidize a family member of first-timers when approved by the affiliate president on a case-by-case basis.
- We will subsidize a family member of first-timers when approved by the affiliate president on a case-by-case basis.
- We will subsidize a blind child and one parent or authorized guardian.
- If a couple (parents of a blind child) want to attend without the child, we will subsidize one parent.
- We will not subsidize those who received our assistance last year but failed to meet our attendance requirements.
- The subsidy approval committee will make the final decisions on subsidy eligibility after getting advice from chapter presidents and other leaders. The committee may only be able to distribute a limited number of subsidies based on the financial situation and needs of the affiliate. Not all qualified and recommended applicants may receive a subsidy. Applicants should also consider seeking support from their local chapter or an appropriate division; the ability of an applicant’s chapter or division to assist may be a factor in the subsidy approval committee’s decision-making.
- People must submit receipts for covered expenses within 30 days of return. Receipts must be individualized; if sharing a room, the bill must show your part of the payment. The same is true for airfare, food, and all other expenses.
- Subsidy advances will only be provided in extenuating circumstances. In such extenuating circumstances, subsidy advances will in most cases be in the form of the affiliate directly covering an expense required in advance such as purchasing an airline or train ticket for a recipient or making a hotel deposit.
Guidelines for Subsidy Request
National Convention Guidelines:
Subsidy recipients must attend all convention sessions and the Connecticut Caucus. Also, one other meeting (such as a division, board of directors, resolutions committee, or the banquet) or contribute in other ways to the well-being of our movement, such as childcare, NFB of CT exhibit hall table, Independence Market, or hospitality. Chapter presidents are responsible for monitoring the convention session attendance of the people in their chapter. The state president will appoint an attendance monitor for first-timers who are not associated with a chapter and for members-at-large. The chapter president and the attendance monitor will report abuse of our attendance guidelines to the president as quickly as possible.
Washington Seminar Guidelines:
Subsidy recipients must attend all Training meetings, the Great Gathering In, and assignment of legislative meetings.
National Federation of the Blind Code of Conduct:
Please read and agree to the National Federation of the Blind’s Code of Conduct. It can be found at Code of Conduct.