National Braille Literacy Month is a Time to Help and Guide Others

January is the month we observe National Braille Literacy. If you stop to think about it, sight is something most of us take for granted. But for those who have limited or no vision, it is vital that funding is available. In addition, tools, education, and awareness must be in place to allow progress to be made in the way of valuable assistance to those who are visually impaired. The team at GrantWatch is doing our part to observe National Braille Literacy Month by providing a list of close to 500 grants listed in our Literacy and Libraries grants category.

Improve Your Braille Literacy

• Braille is named after a person. It was created by a blind French man by the name of Louis Braille in 1824.
• Braille isn’t a language. It’s a system or code that can be used with any language. It consists of a series of raised dots that represent letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Braille writing is typically done with a stylus and a slate.
• While recent technological advances mean not all blind people use braille, it remains the most widely used communication system. In fact, the system has remained relatively unchanged since its invention.
• There is more than one kind of Braille. There are two levels of Braille when reading and writing. Level one translates every printed character, while level two contains contractions and letter combinations. In addition, there is even a system for reading music.

Below, you will find some grants available for braille-related literacy and/or funding assistance for visually impaired individuals.

Braille Literacy and Other Vision Impairment-Related Grants and Awards

1. To begin, grants to nonprofits for human services programs and activities that benefit physically disadvantaged individuals, including the blind community.
2. Award to an individual or institution in recognition of contributions to library-related activities or services that benefit people with physical disabilities. The award can honor a specific library program, general activities for the blind, library administrative, circulation, technical, or other services for the physically disabled, or other such efforts.
3. There are awards to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding efforts to improve the lives of blind people.(sic) Nominees have a positive impact on the lives of blind individuals through programs, services, and individual work to break down barriers and change perceptions of blindness and blind people.
4. Also grants of up to $15,000 to eligible nonprofits and government entities to implement or expand humanities programs to benefit residents. Priority will be for programs servicing traditionally underserved populations. The Foundation designs meaningful projects for specific audiences. Audience groups identified as being in need of these programs include people with physical disabilities, such as wheelchair users or the blind.
5. Grants to eligible nonprofits to advance eye healthcare and education and strengthen communities. Funding supports programs to improve the quality of eye care services and patient access to care. Funding also supports programs to promote the advancement of eye health education, training, and skills-transfer.

Additional Braille Literacy or Other Vision Impairment-Related Grants

1. There are grants to nonprofits to support programs for the blind/visually impaired. Funding is for activities in the following focus areas: medical eye care, vision rehabilitation and resources, and education. Funding will be for organizations in the New York City metropolitan area or New York State, but also supports programs benefiting other parts of the U.S. and the developing world.
2. Awards to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding efforts to improve the lives of blind people. Nominees are considered based on the impact they have on the lives of blind individuals.
3. In addition, grants to nonprofits to enhance the lives of residents. Moreover, funding is for programs to build organizational capacity, improve direct services, or promote changes in systems or policy. Focus areas include thriving communities, promising futures, and healthy lives. The Trust supports providers to deliver efficient, patient-focused, equitable, and cost-effective health and human services. The Trust also supports projects that develop skills and independence of four groups, including the blind and visually impaired.
4. Grants of up to $25,000 to eligible nonprofits working to improve the lives of blind and visually-impaired individuals.
5. Lastly, grants of up to $15,000 to eligible nonprofits, government entities, libraries, religious groups, community organizations, and educational institutions for the development of humanities projects. Funding supports programs addressing new endeavors or re-imagined existing programs. Priority will be for projects that serve under-resourced and marginalized populations, as well as those that lack representation in the humanities, including people with physical disabilities, such as wheelchair users or the blind.

I hope this information will help honor the observance of National Braille Literacy Month and provide some new awareness of the needs of the visual impaired community.

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