ACT’s Bursary Program

How Do I Qualify for ACT’s Bursary Program?

At ACT, we want to ensure that registration costs are not a barrier. Priority is given to low-income registrants, in particular, autistic adults and family members of autistic individuals. We rely on your honest appraisal of your situation; you are not required to provide documentation to support your request. The earlier you apply, the more likely you are to receive a bursary as ACT has limited bursary resources.

  • We cannot grant a bursary request AFTER you have already registered and paid for a workshop.
  • Bursaries are provided as reduced workshop registration fees. We cannot provide bursaries for travel costs.
  • Please check for the bursary application deadline for the event you are interested in. 
  • We will honour the event rate based on your bursary application date. So if you apply before the early bird rate expires, the bursary will be applied against that rate.
  • Bursaries cannot be applied to rate reductions (i.e. group discounts or special offers).
  • Indigenous families and employees of Indigenous organizations are eligible for free registration. See below for details.

How do I apply for a bursary?

Please fill out the Bursary Request Form below by the application deadline noted. You must send in your request prior to registering for the event. We will reply to your request within 5 working days. If you have issues accessing this form, please email [email protected] or call ACT at 604-205-5467 (Toll Free: 1-866-939-5188).

Application Deadlines:

  • “ACT’s 2024 Focus on Research Conference: Mental Health, Suicide, and Autism.” Conference dates: April 4 & 5, 2024.

Application Deadline: March 25, 2024


Bursary Program for the Indigenous Community

If you self-identify as an Indigenous person, or are a staff member of an Indigenous organization, please use the Bursary Request Form to apply through our Bursary Program for Indigenous Communities by the deadline noted.

Application Deadlines:

  • “ACT’s 2024 Focus on Research Conference: Mental Health, Suicide, and Autism.” Conference dates: April 4 & 5, 2024.

Application Deadline: March 25, 2024


Who bursaries help

  • “A special ‘thank you’ for granting the bursary. Otherwise as a student I cannot afford it and would miss great, useful and educational workshops!” – Student
  • “I work in a small school with limited funds for workshops and salary. As an SEA, I support three high school kids with ASD. I believe that using this proven curriculum (PEERS) could empower them to be successful and help them with their transition to adult life and form healthy relationships.” – Para-professional
  • “I live in a remote community on the Sunshine Coast, and there are few resources available to my son. I bring in his consultant to our community to work with us, which has used up our autism funds.” – Parent
  • “I have a support worker to help with this training at school, but I need to receive training and knowledge to support him at home.” – Parent
  • “I don’t have any ProD funds, but if I can get a bursary, I will bring the info back to my workplace and spread the word.” – Para-professional
  • “As parents, we are eager to support our son’s goals and help him accomplish more age appropriate tasks, but often lack the skills to do so. We often give up on teaching because it is so frustrating for him and for us. We would very much like to learn how we can better support and help our son, but cannot afford the cost of this event, as our sons funding doesn’t even cover costs for the SLP and Behaviour Consultant.” – Parent

Where does the money come from?

ACT provides bursary funds from our own resources and through support from private donors. See our donations page for a list of ACT’s donors.


How can I donate to the bursary fund?

ACT welcomes and gratefully accepts donations to our bursary fund. ACT is a registered Canadian charitable organization. We can provide tax receipts for donations over $10. If you’d like to help, see the donations page on our website. You can contact ACT directly by phone at 604-205-5467 (toll free at 1-866-939-5188); or send an email to [email protected]. Donate and learn more about supporting ACT’s bursary fund.


Past Bursaries Awarded

In 2023, ACT awarded $57,000 in bursaries.

In 2022, ACT awarded $20,000 in bursaries.

In 2021, ACT awarded $35,000 in bursaries.

While most of ACTs events in 2020 were free, we provided over $8,000 in bursaries to registrants for a single event

In 2019, ACT awarded $11,000 in bursaries.

In 2018, ACT awarded $23,000 in bursaries.