Bursaries FAQs

ACT’s Bursary Program

How Do I Qualify?

Anyone attending an ACT workshop is eligible if the cost is a barrier preventing attendance. Priority is given to BC residents and to parents and participants who are low income or who are facing significant travel expenses in addition to the workshop registration fee. We rely on your honest appraisal of your situation. If you cannot otherwise pay for the workshop please contact us. You are not required to provide documentation to support your request.

• We cannot grant a bursary request AFTER you have already registered for a workshop.
• Bursaries cannot not be applied to already reduced rates (i.e. group discounts or coupons).
• All requests must be made at least one week before the workshop date to allow us time to process your application.
• We will honour the event rate based on your bursary application date. So if you apply before the early bird rate, the bursary will be applied against that rate.
• Bursaries are provided as reduced workshop registration fees. We cannot provide bursaries for travel costs.

How do I apply for a bursary?

You must send in your request prior to registering for the event, and at least a week before the event. You can apply in a variety of ways:

1. Call ACT at 604-205-5467 (toll free at 1-866-939-5188) before registering and speak to a staff member, or;
2. Open the Bursary Application Form, and either:
   1. Print and mail it to us at
      ACT-Autism Community Training
      2735 E Hastings St #204
      Vancouver, BC
      V5K 1Z8
   2. Print and fax it to us at 604-205-5345
   3. Save and email it to us at [email protected]

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, profit from book sales, and through support from private donors (see our donations page for a list of our donors).

How can I donate to the bursary fund?

If you’d like to help, see the donating page on our website; contact ACT directly by phone at 604-205-5467 (toll free at 1-866-939-5188); or send an email to [email protected].