Assistance 1st partners with affiliates to make cash grants to individuals facing unexpected emergencies that require financial assistance.
Assistance 1st partners with affiliates to make cash grants to individuals facing unexpected emergencies that require financial assistance.
Assistance 1st cares
Assistance 1st works with generous people and businesses to make small grants to those who are suffering from emergencies, either personal or caused by disasters. People and companies establish an assistance program with us, and we manage it on their behalf.
For questions about the application process, please contact Devon Pannia at dpannia@employees1st.org
Who we are...
Assistance 1st is a charitable service managed by the Employee Assistance Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. The benefit of partnering with the foundation is that contributions to the charitable fund are tax-deductible and, typically, people receiving the grants don't have to pay taxes on the gift. The Employee Assistance Foundation is a supporting organization created by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
What we do...
Assistance 1st partners with people and businesses to provide financial assistance to individuals who are faced with unexpected emergencies that require financial assistance.
Philanthropists—both businesses and people—open charitable funds with Assistance 1st and we manage the funds, accept and verify applications and need, and send grants to deserving individuals.
How it works...
Once a charitable fund is established, Assistance 1st manages it by:
• Verifying need of the applicant
• Reporting balance and usage
• Reporting year-end tax donations
• Creating an easy application and donor portal
• Providing online access for fundraising and contributions
June will be ok. So will her parents.
June, she beamed. Some kids pout or throw tantrums in airplanes, grocery stores, restaurants. Not June, she was the happy kid. Wherever she went, her smile went with her, and even sour-faced strangers couldn’t help but be happy for a while.
But June woke up tired one morning. She wouldn’t eat her favorite cereal; she nodded throughout the day; she cast aside her favorite blanket. Her mother Andrea—having that sense mothers only have—took June to the emergency room.
Doctors gave Andrea and her husband, James, good news. June’s heart, not pumping enough blood, could be treated by doctors at a specialty hospital in Boston. Andrea and James both wanted to be by June’s side during the two-week surgery and recovery. They knew that their happy kid could be scared, too, and the best way to show June that all would be well was to be with her.
Thankfully, they didn’t have to drain their savings to travel and stay with June. They turned to a program called Assistance 1st, which provided tax-fee grants to cover uninsurable costs.
Assistance 1st makes tax-free cash awards on behalf of people and corporations that provide relief to help people recover from emergencies and tragedies.