Kansas National Guard Foundation Relief Fund SOP
Purpose
The Kansas National Guard (KSNG) Foundation Relief Fund provides emergency assistance to qualified members and their dependents. The fund is established to make grants to individual members and families of the Kansas Army and Air National Guard to provide assistance to those eligible experiencing financial emergencies.
Responsibilities
The Military Support committee will review requests and make a recommendation to the board for approval/disapproval.
Eligible Recipients
The following individuals are eligible to apply for financial assistance
a. Any member of the Kansas National Guard.
b. Members of the immediate family and/or dependents of those personnel identified in paragraph (a) of this section. For purposes of this paragraph, "immediate family" means spouse and each child of the military member, and "dependent" means the parents, grandparents, siblings, stepchildren and adult children of the military member provided they have been determined to be "dependents" by the military, i.e., are enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) with the service member as the sponsor. A custodial parent or guardian, or person named under a valid family care plan to care for an eligible service member's dependent, may apply for assistance on behalf of that dependent.
c. If member is currently eligible for a Kansas Military Emergency Relief Fund (KSMERF) grant, then they are not eligible for a KSNG Foundation Relief Fund grant.
Grants
a. Foundation funds of $20,000 annually, equally divided into four quarters, will be available for assistance. If the quarterly amounts are not fully used then the remaining amount will be rolled over to the next quarter and that amount, along with the quarterly allocation, will be available for that quarter.
b. Payments to a Kansas National Guard member, and their dependents, combined, shall not exceed a cumulative total of $500 during any State of Kansas fiscal year (1 July – 30 June).
c. Payments will be made directly to the creditor/landlord. If payments can’t be made directly, a paid receipt must be turned into the Soldier and Family Readiness Specialists/Airman and Family Readiness Program Manager (SFRS/AFRPM) assisting the guardsman within 30 days of receipt of funds.
d. Payment is subject to availability of funds. In the absence of available funds, requests will be returned to the initiator.
Criteria for Assistance
a. The KSNG Foundation Relief Fund objective is to provide those eligible with emergency financial assistance to offset financial hardships.
b. Grants may be made for purposes such as or not limited to: food, rent, utilities, emergency transportation, vehicle repair, funeral expenses, emergency travel, medical/dental expenses, short term personal needs when pay is delayed or stolen, child care, emergency home repair, as well as other emergency needs at the discretion of the KSNG Foundation Board.
c. Funds shall not be used to: help pay for goods or items of convenience or luxury, finance ordinary leave or vacation, pay fines or legal expenses, help liquidate or consolidate debt, assist with house purchase or home improvements, cover bad checks or pay credit card bills.
d. All applications are individual reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Evaluation Criteria
The criteria that will be considered in determining whether to approve applications for financial assistance include:
a. Nature of assistance requested;
b. Degree of financial hardship;
1. Current family income;
2. Current debt and obligations;
3. Number of dependents.
c. Link and causation between financial hardship and military member’s active duty status;
1. Change in income (based on military active duty)
2. Changes in employment and income status of dependents related to military status;
3. Increased expenses due to military member’s active duty;
4. Military pay problems;
5. Other issues of financial hardship related to military member’s active duty;
6. Bankruptcy filed or pending;
7. Length of Military duty;
8. Other aid available and/or received
9. Amounts and date of any funds previously awarded to the applicant from this fund.
Application Process
a. Eligible recipients requesting assistance must contact and be interviewed by a KS SFRS/AFRPM Counselor and may apply for funds by submitting a completed application packet containing the following:
1. A completed application for a KSNG Foundation Relief Fund, (signed by the applicant and dated within 15 days of receipt to the KS SFRS/AFRPM Counselor);
2. Proof that the member or family member has incurred or is about to incur a specific monetary expense, i.e., current (within 30 days) copy of bill, invoice, rental agreement, repair estimate, cancellation notice, etc. If requesting emergency financial assistance for food, clothing, gas, etc., where bills or estimates are not.