ACCESS AWARD
Apply for an Access Award
A reduced certification fee for coaches serving communities with limited access to grief support. Awards are granted by application, on published criteria, with a fixed number available each quarter.
Applications are accepted during quarterly windows and reviewed together after each window closes. Applying early confers no advantage.
The Access Award reduces the certification fee. It does not reduce the standard. Every recipient completes the same eligibility review, the same education review against the six topic areas, submits the same verified practice hours, and sits the same Board Examination as every other candidate.
Current window
Q4 2026 applications open October 1
The window closes October 31. Decisions are issued November 15. Up to five awards are available: one at $1,875, two at $1,250, and two at $750.
Add your name below and the board will notify you when the window opens.
Before you apply
Confirm you are eligible
The Access Award reduces cost and waives nothing. An application from a candidate who is not yet eligible is held rather than declined, and Program Administration will identify what is outstanding so you can apply in a later window.
- Documented grief-specific education covering the six topic areas, from any qualified provider
- A minimum of 25 verified practice hours with clients, documented through your signed attestation plus one supporting record
- A practice serving people with limited access to grief support
- Cost is a genuine barrier, including with payment plans and employer funding considered
See the full Access Award criteria and the published eligibility requirements. Not certain where you stand? The certification readiness quiz takes a few minutes.
What you are applying for
Award amounts
Awards are granted at three amounts against the $3,750 certification fee, matched to your circumstances rather than ranked by merit. Every recipient pays part of their own certification, and the remaining balance may be placed on an INBGC payment plan.
Remaining balance of $1,875.
Remaining balance of $2,500.
Remaining balance of $3,000.
Awards apply to the certification fee only. They do not cover a specialty endorsement, Board Examination retakes, additional Practice Exam attempts, or annual renewal.
The application
Apply
Most applicants finish in under thirty minutes. There is no essay and no financial disclosure. Write plainly. Nobody is scoring your prose.
Add your name and the board will email you when the next window opens. Nothing else is sent to this list.
Questions about the award or your eligibility for it: [email protected]. Program Administration will answer before you apply, at no cost.
After you submit
What happens next
An email confirming your application was received, with a copy of what you submitted.
Applications are held until the window closes, then reviewed together. Nothing happens before that date, and nothing is decided on a first-come basis.
Applications are evaluated on mission first and need second. The Advisory Board sets the certification standard and does not review individual candidate files, including award applications.
Decisions are issued to everyone who applied, whether or not an award was granted. Applicants who are not selected may apply again in any future window with no disadvantage.
Award recipients receive an enrollment link reflecting their reduced certification fee. From that point the process is identical to every other candidate's.
Award status is confidential. It does not appear on your credential, in any verification INBGC provides, or anywhere else. Sharing it is entirely your choice.