The Care Partner Fund
Provides grants to Patient Advocates who wish to help clients who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid
Criteria for funding Patient Advocate services to under-resourced patients:
- A potential client has complex needs
- Professional advocacy can resolve those needs in 5 hours or less
- The client is truly needy: uninsured/Medicaid, no cash, credit, nor spousal or family support
- The client can pay advocate (not the Care Partner Project) a nominal fee up to $25.00/hr. (set by Advocate)
- Advocate forgoes normal fee to accept grant funding of $75.00/hr., 6 hours maximum, from the Care Partner Project for each client.
Note:
Parameters for grant funding are further explained in the grant application below.
Be familiar with the FAQs and The Care Partner Project Terms and Conditions before applying.
Applicants will receive a response within 24 hours. For urgent requests or questions, contact Karen Curtiss.
Apply for Funding
Receive Payment
FAQs
Come back frequently as these will be updated.
Is client payment mandatory?
Client payment is not necessary, but recomnended. The patient advocates we consulted in forming the Care Partner Project Fund emphasized that success is likeliest when clients are invested in the process. They also recommended $25.00/hour, but the actual amount is up to each patient advocate .
May I direct the client fee as a donation to the Care Partner Project?
We prefer that you don’t ask clients for fees as donations to the Care Partner Project: though well-intentioned, it would muddy understanding of our role.
What about times when clients could benefit from more time with my help?
In such cases, we suggest focusing on the client’s needs in order of priority, based on urgency or the greatest impact you can make in the time frame funded. In such cases, it is very important to manage client expectations.
Please note: at this point, The Care Partner Project cannot provide funding for additional hours for the same client, even if an additional application is made. Perhaps in the future!
How is the Care Partner Project funded? How long will the project run?
The Care Partner Project received a donation during Fall 2020 that requested use in a way that yields a measurable impact. We received additional donations during the holiday season and combined all to create a pool of $5000 to try this program, one that had been percolating as a goal for a number of years. Once the $5000 fund is depleted, The Care Partner Project will take stock, analyze the results and decide next steps for the Fund with input from all advocate participants. We estimate that approximately 20-25 patients will be served in this test
How will funds be allocated among advocates who apply for funding?
Funding will be granted on a first-come first-served basis until the pool of $5000 is depleted. The Care Partner Project will share periodic updates on the balance available.
How do I explain to clients who may compare my fees that one may be paying a greatly reduced rate?
We encourage transparency. You may want to explain that you applied for funding to pay a portion of your normal patient advocate fees from a non-profit that covers such expenses for certain kinds of situations.
What will happen to the Care Partner Project once all funding is used?
We will pause to assess all we’ve learned to refine the program. We wil also use all the information collected about the outcomes from this Project to solicit additional funding. Our goal is to build out The Care Partner Project in a mindful, measured way to eventually support many more patients and families who could benefit from working with a professional patient advocate.
What if my client qualifies but has family or friends who can pay for services at my normal rates?
The Care Partner Project is designeed to provide patient advocate support to those who truly lack resources of any kind. If your prospective client has resources such as friends and family Care Partners, a credit card in good standing, home equity, or household income above the Medicaid threshold, please encourage use of those resources to pay for your patient advocate services. If your prospective client has none of these resources, please consider applying to the Fund on thier behalf.
Can we help with fundraising?
Absolutely! If you have contacts with grant-giving organizations, donor advised funds, philanthropic friends or family, corporate giving programs, or contributors of any kind, we would greatly appreciate an introduction from you. Your reputation as a patient advocate will go a long way in building rapport with funders. They know you are “in the trenches” and can best describe the need and solutions that patient advocates achieve for patients.
Our promise to you:
Transparency about funding resources
We will provide regular updates of the Care Partner Project funding resources as they are consumed from an original grant of $5,000.
A listing on the Care Partner Project page
Your listing as a Patient Advocate includes your photo, name, credentials, company name and links to your website and email address.
Post-engagement participant feedback
We will share reviews and testimonials provided by every client served by a Patient Advocate. Feedback will be collected in the Care Partner Project satisfaction survey after each funded engagement is completed. Please note that we are mindful of the fact that many of the clients served by our Patient Advocate Fund are homeless or home-insecure, so reaching them for a follow-up survey may not be possible.
Your promise to us:
Quality of service
The Care Partner Project reserves the right to disqualify any member Patient Advocate if warranted by poor customer satisfaction surveys. Such disqualification would not occur, however, without sharing survey results with the Patient Advocate for a balanced discussion.
Professionalism
The Care Partner Project may immediately revoke a Patient Advocate’s participation for any breach of this agreement or any breach of legal, moral, ethical or professional standards.
Voluntary commitment
Any Patient Advocate may drop out of the Care Partner Project for any reason at any time and still remain part of the Care Partner Project Community Education Speaker team. There is no obligation for any Patient Advocate team members to participate in the Patient Advocate Fund program.
Care Partner Project Participants agree:
TO RECOGNIZE
that until the initial funding pool of $5000 is depleted, the Care Partner Project is a pilot program. Due to the potential for the volume of requests to exceed funding resources, the Care Partner Project may not be publicized or offered to clients unless their inability to pay is known.
TO PROVIDE
client contact information as requested in order for the Care Partner Project to conduct a follow-up survey, strictly to collect demographic and impact information required for donor reports and to document community impact as a non-profit.
TO NOT SOLICIT
business on the basis of the Care Partner Project. Nominations for funding must come through the regular course of business and be offered as an option only after determining significant limitations on the client’s financial resources.
TO RECAP
results from funded client engagements with the Care Partner Project.
TO VET
potential clients based on need to the best of their ability.
TO SHARE
any ideas for improvement and growth as time permits.
There are no fees associated with this program for professional Patient Advoctes. Participants must be members in good standing of the Care Partner Project Community Education Speaker Network.