GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT

The Gillette Company

For the 15th year in a row the Gillette Company has funded Adaptive Environments. This is the single most consistent corporate supporter in its 22-year history.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC)

The Organizational Support Program, designed and implemented by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, is a three year funding program, set up to strengthen Massachusetts based non profit organizations, referred to by the council as our 'cultural infrastructure.' The Program supports a broad range of initiatives in the arts, humanities and sciences, focusing on prior actual accomplishments. Adaptive Environments is one of the recipients of a three year grant and recently received second year funding that will assist Adaptive Environments to continue to serve as a resource to Massachusetts' cultural organizations ability to serve the widest possible spectrum of users regardless of ability or age.

A NEIGHBORHOOD FIT FOR PEOPLE

The Boston Foundation

With the award of $65,000 at its December meeting, the Boston Foundation provided support for the third year to Adaptive Environments for the Boston initiative, A Neighborhood Fit for People, Universal Design in the South Boston Waterfront. The grant comes from the income of the Edith M. Ashley Fund, one of the funds managed by the foundation dedicated to issues of disability. The Boston Foundation's commitment to a Neighborhood Fit for All People is invaluable to the success and progress of this initiative.

The American Architectural Foundation

Through its 'Accents on Architecture Program' the American Architectural Foundation awarded Adaptive Environments $3000 toward the youth program that is part of A Neighborhood Fit for All People, Universal Design in the South Boston Waterfront initiative. The American Architectural Foundation's Access grants are sponsored by CAN Insurance Companies and Victor O. Schinnerer & Company, Inc.

Starting in Spring of 2001, young people in two city neighborhoods, South Boston and Roxbury, will come together for six one and half-hour sessions for middle school youth. Partners in the program include Learning By Design in Massachusetts, a project of the Boston Society of Architects. The goal is to introduce young people to the process of planning and design at the urban scale that works well for everyone regardless of ability or age.

ACCESS TO THE DESIGN PROFESSIONS

The NEC Foundation of America

The NEC Foundation recently funded Adaptive Environments for $32,000, to support Access to the Design Professions-Phase II. The grant will be used for the development and dissemination of marketing and promotional materials. Access to the Design professions is a multi faceted effort to find ways that people with disabilities can enter and sustain themselves in the design professions. Components of the program include a mentor program, materials for marketing and promotion, an international network of designers with disabilities, and documentation of career opportunities.

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts recently announced its second round of financial support for Access to the Design Professions. This year's award specifically focuses on support for expansion of the international network of disabled designers, and the development and evaluation of Pilot Mentoring Programs.

The Pilot Mentorship Program has included ideas generated by a group of international designers with disabilities at a Mentoring Workshop as part of Designing for the 21st Century II: An International Conference on Universal Design. One of the pilots, a virtual mentoring program, will include an outreach and recruitment effort to practitioners, students and new graduates. An online secure database, based on the results of this outreach, will make it possible for students to find a match with mentor-practitioners based on their mutual interests.

NEW ENGLAND DISABILITY AND BUSINESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology has subcontracted with the 10 regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTAC) to provide technical assistance and training on Sections 255 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Their new Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC) will provide annual training updates and support to the DBTAC staff.

The New England DBTAC information specialists will as a result provide technical assistance and training to consumers, disability-related organizations, state procurement officials and businesses for information technology and telecommunications equipment. ITTATC will develop literature in English and Spanish, create training materials that will include actual case studies, and set up a referral procedure for more in depth technical assistance. This is a five-year initiative.

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