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 open at all times and reviewed together as a monthly batch. Apply by the fifteenth to be included in the next month's decision, issued on the first. The date you apply within a cycle 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 cycle
Applications are open
Applications submitted by October 15 are under review, with decisions issued November 1.
Applying now joins the next cycle. Apply by November 15 for a decision issued December 1. Five awards are granted each month at three tiers.
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 month.
- Documented grief-specific education covering the six topic areas, from any qualified provider
- A minimum of 50 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
Five awards are made each month at three amounts against the $1,295 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 paid in full or through the INBGC payment plan.
One award each month. Remaining balance of $645.
Two awards each month. Remaining balance of $865.
Two awards each month. Remaining balance of $1,035.
Awards apply to the certification fee only. They do not cover Board Examination retakes, additional Practice Exam attempts, or annual credential renewal.
The application
Apply
The application asks you to describe your practice in three hundred words or fewer and to attest that cost is a barrier. There is no financial disclosure. Write plainly. Nobody is scoring your prose.
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 received by the fifteenth are held until the cutoff, then reviewed together for that month's decision. Nothing is decided on a first-come basis, and applications received after the fifteenth are held for the next month.
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.
Awards are made once a month, in a single decision on the first. Everyone who applied hears back that day, whether or not an award was granted. Applicants who are not selected may apply again in any future month 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.