Who Can Apply For Financial Assistance?
Grim Oak Shield is a charitable foundation assisting authors and freelance artists who have accrued medical debt from illness, injury or mishap to recover financially even as they recover physically.
Unfortunately, Grim Oak Shield cannot help every applicant. We also do not award scholarships or fellowships of any kind for study, schooling or travel. We do not give writing grants.
Applications from commercial artists, bloggers, crafters, hobbyists, or medical writers as well as any author or artist whose work did not constitute the primary source of their income for several years will not be accepted. Although the need is real and often urgent, Grim Oak Shield is not authorized for such funding and we will not respond to such requests.
If you think you qualify, here’s what you need to send us:
Established Freelance Fine Artists Should Submit The Following With The Application:
- Signed copies of household’s past 3 years IRS tax return(s).
- Copies of medical expenses (doctors and hospital bills), if applicable.
- A letter detailing the reasons for the need of financial assistance.
- CD or slides of current work, resume, exhibition brochures, gallery affiliation, publisher(s), musical demonstration.
If you need the material returned, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
How Applicants Are Selected For Assistance:
The Grim Oak Shield secretary will carefully review all applications. The secretary may find the applicant does not meet the award criteria. The decision of the secretary is binding. The secretary findings are reported to the Grim Oak Shield Board for consideration during the quarterly grant award meeting. All information is confidential. The decision to grant an award and the amount granted by the Grim Oak Shield Board is final.
Can I Reapply?
Recipients of awards from Grim Oak Shield are permitted to reapply for financial assistance if their circumstances are still critical, but only after the term of aid expires, typically one year from the date of the initial award. Any applicants who have been denied may reapply. In either case, all required forms must be updated and resubmitted.
How do I obtain an application for Grim Oak Shield?
The application for financial assistance form will be made available in 2018 once Grim Oak Shield has begun its mission.
How do I know when the grants will be given?
Each grant period has a closing date after which applications will automatically be held for the next award grant. The closing date is published on the website: http://www.grimoakshield.org.