Scholarship Fund
Since 1995, the Council has used its Scholarship Fund to assist Tennesseans with disabilities and their families to attend disability-related meetings, conferences and trainings held in Tennessee and across the United States. The fund also provides stipends to support conferences in Tennessee, and the mission and priorities of the Council.
Who Can Apply?
- A Tennessean with a disability.
- A parent, sibling, family member, or guardian of a Tennessean with a disability.
- An agency or organization seeking an Organizational Scholarship Fund.
What is the Scholarship Fund?
Individual and Family Scholarship Fund
The Scholarship Fund helps Tennesseans with disabilities and their families, especially people from diverse cultural backgrounds, to attend leadership coalition meetings, disability conferences, and disability trainings held in Tennessee and across the U.S.
Funds reimburse you for the cost of registration, attendant care, hotel/lodging, transportation, child care or respite care, meals and other related travel expenses. All scholarship awards are subject to the availability of funds.
- Click here to apply for the Individual and Family Scholarship Fund electronically; please apply at least 30 days in advance of the event or conference.
You can also download the application and send it via email to Cathlyn.K.Smith@tn.gov. Call 615.532.6556 with questions or if you need help filling out the form.
In order to serve as many Tennesseans with disabilities as possible, we can only process one application per fiscal year per household.
Organizational Scholarship Fund
- Help an organization to support Tennesseans with a disability and family members to attend disability conferences
- Assists an organization to fund conference speakers presenting on disability topics
- Provides stipends to Tennessee disability conferences
- Provides stipends to organizations to support a Council priority:
- Leadership development
- Impacting policy and practice
- Informing the public
Click here to apply for the Organizational Scholarship Fund electronically; please apply at least 30 days in advance of the event or conference.
You can also download an application and send it via email to Cathlyn.K.Smith@tn.gov. Call 615.532.6556 with questions or if you need help filling out the form.
National Disability Conferences to Consider Attending
- The Arc U.S. National Convention - A conference about a variety of disability issues for all disability community members (self-advocates, families and professionals); Nov. 6-8, 2023, New Orleans, LA
- Association of University Centers on Disabilities conference (AUCD) - A conference for those interested in emerging research and best practices in the disability field. Nov. 5-8, 2023, Washington D.C.
- TASH conference - A conference about a variety of disability issues for all disability community members (self-advocates, families and professionals) - Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2023, Baltimore, MD
- Disability Policy Seminar - A national gathering of disability community members to learn about public policy issues and meet with elected leaders
- American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) conference - A conference for those interested in emerging research and best practices in the disability field; June 5-8, 2023, Pittsburgh, PA