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

• Target audiences (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 and family members in the planning of the event
• Alignment with the Council’s goals and objectives as determined in the Five-Year State Plan of the NCCDD
• Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Accessibility of conference location, facilities, publications, materials and programs;
• Inclusion in the funding request containing objectives on how conference planning will determine the accessibility of the facility in which the conference/event will be conducted;
• Evaluations measuring participant satisfaction including questions with regard to facility accessibility for conferences/events funded by the Council (as applicable)
• Outreach to and expected degree of participation of people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and/or their family members in a conference
• Focus on systems change, advocacy, and community capacity building implications for persons with intellectual and other developmental disabilities 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 national DD network, state administration on DD network programs (i.e., P&A, UCE), or other key stakeholders
• 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.

TO APPLY FOR CONFERENCE FUNDING, DOWNLOAD THE FORMS HERE:
*NOTE: Conference Funding requests are reviewed through our Executive Committee, which typically meets on the 3^rd Monday of each Month*

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