The Access Fund:
The Access Fund offers loans to individuals with disabilities and their families. The following general guidelines should answer most of your questions about our loans. We also welcome your calls and emails. Contact Frances E. Pennell, Executive Director, at (206) 826-1038 or 1 (800) 214-8731 V/TTY or via email at fpennell@seanet.com. Once you have reviewed the guidelines, click here to obtain a copy of the loan application packet, (as a MS Word document). Please download, (save a copy on your computer or computer diskette to fill out application in MS Word, remember to save changes when done), and print out the application packet. Send the completed application to: Washington Assistive Technology Foundation, 3670 Stone Way North, Seattle, Washington 98103.

Access Fund Loans - Guidelines:

What Can Access Fund Loans be Used For? Access Fund loans can be used to purchase any device that maintains or improves functional capabilities of an individual with a disability. Examples include: hearing aids, wheel chairs, computers with adaptive hardware and software, Closed Circuit TV's, medical devices with specialized output (e.g., large print or speech output), patient lifts and vehicle adaptations. Loans also can be used for home accessibility modifications and to purchase AT related services such as evaluations, training, extended warranties and equipment set-up, maintenance and repair.

Who can apply for Access Fund Loans? Individuals with disabilities or their families for the benefit of such individuals.

How Much Can I Borrow? As little as $250 and as much as $5000.

What is the Interest Rate? 6 percent per year.

Are there other costs ? WATF charges a 1% loan fee (minimum of $25.00) to help defray a small part of the cost of administering the Access Fund. Borrowers also pay for the cost of a credit check and filing fees.

How Do I Apply for A Loan? Download an application packet or email (fpennell@seanet.com). Complete the loan application and financial information form and submit it by mail, email or fax. You will need to provide an invoice or invoices detailing the AT you want to buy and copies of your most recent tax return or other verification of income.

What Happens After I submit My Application? Your application will be reviewed by staff to see if it is complete and/or if we have any questions. We may want to talk to you about how you decided this AT would work for you and whether you have any service needs - such as training, installation, extended warranties. We also will request a credit report. As soon as the application is complete, we will forward it to the Board which will make its decision within 30 days of receipt of a completed application. The Board meets on the third Friday of every month. Please try to have your loan application to us by the first Friday of every month.

What Criteria will be Used to Decide if I get a Loan? Both program eligibility and ability to repay must be established. Program eligibility is established by showing that (a) you have a disability and (b) the item you wish to purchase qualifies as "assistive technology." Ability to repay is evaluated on the basis of your income, expenses, current debt levels, availability of other resources and your credit history. No matter what your income, we will do our best to help you qualify (e.g., by using flexible repayment terms and/or co-signors). Loan funds can be combined with other resources so we will also try to help you identify other sources of funding.

What Other Services does the Foundation offer? We provide tips on what to think about when purchasing AT to make sure it is what you need and can use. We also help callers to identify other sources of funding for AT and to locate knowledgeable AT vendors and service professionals. As needed, we will help consumers with financial management counseling. We provide some of these services directly. In other cases, we may refer you to another resource.

Click Here To Obtain the Loan Application Packet

(MS Word document format)