Funding An Assistance Dog

 Having an assistance dog is a life-changing experience. The freedom and independence that our clients achieve with one of our skilled dogs is invaluable. NEADS has 35 years of experience and we train every dog to meet the very specific needs of each client. Our personalized attention to detail ensures that every client is matched with a dog that fits not only their physical needs, but their lifestyle as well.

It takes more than $25,000 and approximately two years for us to acquire, train and match each of our unique and highly trained dogs. We know that most of our clients can't afford to pay this sum. Therefore, NEADS secures funds to underwrite the raising and training of each assistance dog. We write grants to foundations and corporations; we contact service organizations that fundraise on our behalf;  and we reach out to individuals and businesses interested in helping people live more independently with the support of a canine assistant. But we still need the help of our clients.

NEADS asks our clients to help by fundraising $9500 of the training costs in their community. We make it easy by supporting our clients at every step of the way. We provide a fundraising kit that has effective and efficient fundraising methods. NEADS assists in developing a realistic fundraising strategy that helps each client achieve their goals. We encourage clients to seek out friends or relatives who work at local companies that are looking for a cause to support. There may be members of a local service organization that would love to champion on behalf of a client.  Sometimes clients know state or federal employees who would like to support them through a workplace employee fundraising campaign. Depending on the success of our joint fundraising campaign,  a client's out-of-pocket expenses may be zero!

For more information on fundraising, please contact our Development Department.