Share the Dough’s Emergency Assistance Program was established to help employees offset expenses in cases of an unexpected and catastrophic life events in which they are facing severe financial hardship where all other sources of funding have been exhausted.
Qualifying emergencies do not include rent or mortgage payments, circumstances that involve providing assistance to pay for debt consolidation, poor financial planning, non-essential items (i.e. cable TV, credit card payments, utility bills, etc), bail, garnishments, or other expenses deriving from non-emergency situations. Additionally, we love our pets, but we want to reserve funds for our most important part of our team - our people. For personal vehicles, Share the Dough does not cover wear and tear or normal expenses that come with car ownership (for both employees who drive for the company and those who do not) or car expenses for employee’s who drive for the company and have insurance coverage below the company’s minimum required policy. Extreme financial hardship and emergency situations not included in the Eligibility Requirements may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Eligibility Requirements
All current employees of Manna Development Group (Active or LOA).
Employed at least 90 consecutive days from the time of grant request.
Employee must has exhausted all other appropriate means of assistance.
The hardship
Is unexpected and beyond employee’s control
Is damaging to property or individuals, results in a loss of life, health or property.
Employee must provide relevant documentation prepared by a third party (see below for required documentation).
Share the Dough is now offering to cover the cost of a financial education class through University of Massachusetts Global for all applicants of the Emergency Fund. This class is required for all employees who request funds more than 1 time in 36 months and optional for all first-time requests.
These are general eligibility guidelines. For more detailed information about applying for a Share the Dough grant, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document or contact Share the Dough’s Director. Guidelines are subject to change without notice.
Events Eligible for Assistance
Loss of Home
Eligible Event: (1) Employee’s home is destroyed or deemed unlivable by a governmental agency and alternate housing is not available. (2) Unexpected catastrophic event leaves employee without a home.
Amount of Grant: Up to $1,500 for temporary housing and essential items (food, clothing, personal hygiene items, etc.)
Required Documentation: A copy of official report or notification, photographs, insurance claim, receipts for essential items and/or lodging receipts or summary with estimated cost.
Emergency Travel
Eligible Event: Need for an employee or employee’s spouse to travel: (1) to care for an immediate or extended family member in an emergency medical situation (2) to make final visit to a terminally ill immediate or extended family member or (3) to attend funeral for or to escort a critically ill immediate or extended family member to a remote medical facility or hospice. (4) Unforeseen emergency leaves employee without means of basic transportation.
Amount of Grant: Up to $1,000 for employee needing to travel (transportation and lodging expenses) for an employee’s child; up to $750 for an immediate family member; up to $500 for an extended family member.
Required Documentation: A statement from the attending physician regarding terminal status; death certificate and/or Obituary for funeral. Estimated distance in miles (if traveling by car) and itinerary of trip; receipt or confirmation including estimated cost (if traveling by airplane, bus, or train), and/or lodging receipts or confirmation including estimated cost.
Loss or Purchase of Medically Necessary Equipment
Eligible Event: Employee or employee’s immediate family member requires specific medical equipment per physician’s orders that is either: (1) not covered under the employee’s medical plan; or (2) exceeds the allowed amount under the plan.
Amount of Grant: Up to $1,000 for purchase or replacement of equipment.
Required Documentation:A statement from the attending physician describing need for the equipment, receipt or
estimated cost for replacement or purchase.
Medical Out of Work (short term & long term)
Eligible Event: (1) Employee or employee’s spouse is deemed unable to work per a physician due to an unexpected illness or medical emergency (2) Employee’s immediate family member requires care by a physician for more than three days due to an unexpected illness or medical emergency. (Pregnancy leave and other planned leave does not qualify)
Injuries resulting from a workers compensation claim, illegal activities or activities where the injured is more than 50% at fault are not eligible for funding.
Amount of Grant: 50% of the employee’s or spouse’s gross weekly pay (based on average weekly pay over last 6 months), subject to the following limits:
Employee: up to $750 for short term grants; and up to $1,500 for long term grants. “Short term” is defined as one week to six weeks; “long term” is defined as seven weeks to twelve weeks.
Employee’s spouse: up to $500.
Please note, these amounts are for insured individuals. Uninsured individuals will have different requirements.
Required Documentation: A statement from the attending physician verifying inability to work and/or any restrictions to include when the leave began and the estimated duration. Applications benefiting an employee’s spouse also require a letter from the spouse’s employer detailing their rate of pay and confirming that the spouse has taken a leave of absence due to a medical out of work situation.
Unexpected Medical Expense
Eligible Event: (1) Employee or employee’s dependent (2) Employee’s immediate family member (3) Employee’s extended family member requires unexpected medical attention per physician’s order that is either: not covered under the employee’s medical plan; or exceeds the allowed amount under the plan.
Amount of Grant: (1) Up to $1,500 for employee/dependent expense (2) Up to $750 for immediate family expense (3) Up to $500 extended family expense
Required Documentation: A statement from the attending physician regarding diagnosis and treatment, receipt or bill from insurance company/hospital
Transitional Housing Assistance
Eligible Event: (1) Physical or sexual abuse of employee, employee’s spouse or employee’s dependent(s) resulting in employee’s need to relocate his/her personal residence to avoid continued abuse. (2) Unsafe living conditions resulting in health risks, physical danger or discrimination that force employee to relocate. Employee must be living in the residence to qualify for transitional housing assistance.
Amount of Grant: Up to $1,500 for relocation assistance (temporary housing); up to $250 for a deposit for a new home. Required Documentation: A copy of official report or notification, photographs, insurance claim, receipts for essential items and/or lodging receipts or summary with estimated cost, deposit request from new leasing agency.
Funeral Expense
Eligible Event (1) Funeral for an employee’s child, immediate or extended family member (2) Employee’s family member is directly and primarily financially responsible for paying the funeral expenses in the case of an employee death if: a deceased employee was employed at least 90 days and was employed at the time of death.
Amount of Grant: Up to $1,000 for funeral expenses for an employee’s child; up to $750 for funeral expenses for an immediate family member; up to $500 for funeral expenses for an extended family member; up to $1,500 for the funeral expenses for an employee.
Required Documentation: Receipts/invoice from funeral home or other relevant entity showing total cost of funeral or end of life expenses or a summary of estimated cost of expenses.
Loss of Child Care
Eligible Event: Unexpected emergency resulting in loss of employee’s child care requiring short-term, immediate assistance paying for child care services. Children must be under the age of 5.
Amount of Grant: Up to $750 for temporary assistance with child care.
Required Documentation: Documentation for reason of loss of care and receipts showing cost of child care expenses.
Note:
“Immediate family member” is defined as an employee’s parent, sibling, child, including those in a “step” relationship or spouse
“Extended family member” is defined as an employee’s grandparent/grandchild, mother/father in-law, or brother/sister-in-law, including those in a “step” relationship.
“Dependent” follows the definition set forth in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code. Generally, the following may be classified as dependents, subject to additional criteria (please see Section 152 for more information): children (by birth, marriage, or foster care), siblings (blood, adopted, or by marriage), or other relatives materially supported by the employee.
*In most instances, grants are permitted only under circumstances described above. Share the Dough Review Committee maintains discretion to approve a grant outside of these guidelines based on severe financial need due to an unexpected emergency/catastrophic life event.
* If your request is not eligible, we may be able to supply you with resources outside of financial assistance. Contact share@mannadevelopment for additional resources and check out the “Resources” tab on the Share the Dough website