FAQs
APPLYING | DONATING
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The NFI Cares Program is temporarily paused, and the voting committee is not reviewing applications at this time.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR NFI CARES?
All NFI employees in active status or on approved leave are eligible to apply for assistance as of sixty (60) consecutive days after their date of hire are Eligible Employees. An Eligible Employee must have been employed with NFI on the date of the Qualifying Event and must maintain employment with NFI throughout the application review and award process in order for their Family Unit to be eligible for assistance.
An Eligible Employee’s Immediate Family Members are eligible to apply for assistance on their behalf with assistance from NFI’s Human Resources department. All applications by an Immediate Family Member of an Eligible Employee must be approved by the Eligible Employee or, if applicable, their executor or personal representative, to be considered for assistance.
HOW OFTEN CAN I APPLY FOR AN NFI CARES GRANT?
There is no limit on applications; however, a Family Unit is eligible for no more than one award in a calendar year. If an application for a Qualifying Event is denied, an application may be submitted for a different Qualifying Event after thirty (30) days from the date of the previous grant application denial.
WHAT IS THE MAX AMOUNT I CAN RECEIVE?
The one-time maximum grant size for a Qualifying Event is $2,000. The lifetime maximum grant amount, in total for all grants, to a Family Unit over the Eligible Employee’s tenure with NFI (whether or not continuous) is $4,000.
IF MY APPLICATION IS GRANTED, WHAT FORM OF PAYMENT WILL THE GRANT COME IN?
Approved grants will be provided directly to the eligible applicant via EFT or e-check.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET IT?
Within 7-10 business days after America’s Charities has deemed an application complete, applicants will receive a final determination of acceptance or denial from America’s Charities. America’s Charities will make all reasonable efforts to review completed applications in a timeline to benefit applicants impacted by Qualifying Events, especially those applicants impacted by a Qualified Disaster.
IS THE GRANT TAXABLE?
The grant with NFI Cares is not taxable income.
WHERE DO I APPLY?
You can access the form through the America's Charities website.
WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF THINGS I CAN APPLY FOR?
Qualifying Natural or Human-made Disasters:
A Qualifying Natural or Human-made Disaster is an event that results in necessary repairs of the home or a loss of basic needs such as food, clothing, or shelter the need for assistance must stem directly from:
a natural or localized disaster such as a devastating flood, ice storm, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or fire; or
a short-term personal emergency like a house/apartment fire or flood not covered or only partially covered by insurance and not due to any negligence, recklessness or intent of the Eligible Employee or any of their Immediate Family Members.
Other Qualifying Disasters include loss or damage to the primary residence from a natural, localized, or human-made disaster that results in the Eligible Employee’s primary residence being destroyed, rendered unlivable, or otherwise in need of costly repairs in excess of insurance.
Financial Hardship (non-exhaustive):
Financial Hardships are unexpected and unavoidable events that result in financial stress on an Eligible Employee and their Immediate Family Members and are not covered by insurance or due to any negligence, recklessness or intent of the Eligible Employee or their Immediate Family Members. In order to be eligible, the expenses resulting from the Financial Hardship must be the responsibility of the applicant. Below is a list of events and expenses that the Fund classifies as Financial Hardships.
Medical/dental/hearing/vision expenses for the Eligible Employee or their Immediate Family Members due to illness or injury that is not covered by insurance, other non-routine medical expenses, or reasonable expenses related to travel to receive emergency or necessary medical services;
Illness or hospitalization of the Eligible Employee and/or their Immediate Family Member resulting in loss of work or to care for and provide resources for a critically ill Immediate Family Member resulting in loss of work and creating an inability to pay for housing or basic needs;
Death/Funeral expenses for an Eligible Employee or their Immediate Family Member.
Financial hardship for unexpected, unavoidable reasons beyond an individual’s control such as an accident (cannot be an at-fault accident), or non-routine vehicle repair (cannot be deemed typical maintenance of vehicle such as brakes, tires, oil change, etc.) or non-routine home repair that restricts ability of applicant to care for self and household (cannot be routine maintenance of home such as replacement of roof due to normal wear and tear);
Expenses due to military deployment or deployment of applicant or applicant’s spouse/domestic partner;
Expenses incurred due to the applicant experiencing intimate partner violence or physical abuse; and
Expenses arising from the applicant being a victim of violent crime.
WHAT SHOULDN’T I APPLY FOR?
Items such as: college tuition, student loans, personal credit card debt, vacations, mortgages, child support, loss of hours, and court judgments.
CAN CANADIAN EMPLOYEES RECEIVE ASSISTANCE?
Yes, Canadian employees are eligible to receive assistance.
WHO DO I CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS?
Please visit "My Current Requests" or contact the Support Team at 703-222-6457 from 9am to 5pm ET, Monday through Friday or via email at nficares@charities.org.
HOW DO I DONATE?
Simply log onto My-NFI and click the “Giving” tab to make a single or recurring donation.
You can also give via direct debit/ACH for no fee. The NFI Cares Fund name is HHC-NFICares-DAF. Please note: the credit card option charges a three percent transaction fee.
IS MY DONATION TAX DEDUCTIBLE?
United States: Under the current U.S. tax laws, donations made to the NFI Cares program are tax deductible. Payroll donations are taken out post-tax from paychecks, but all donations are tax deductible. Donors contributing $250 or more will receive an acknowledgment of donation each year from Helping Hands, the program administrator.
Canada: For a Canadian resident to get relief for a donation to NFI Cares, a qualifying U.S. organization, the employee must have U.S. -income. U.S. sourced income would include investment income and capital gains from or in respect of U.S. entities, employment income earned while in the U.S. If a Canadian employee has no U.S. sourced income, there will be no tax relief. You should consult your tax advisor if you have US source income to determine the amount of donation you can deduct.
WHO DO I CONTACT WITH PAYROLL DEDUCTION QUESTIONS?
Deductions may be stopped or updated at any time on the “Giving” tab located on My-NFI.
DO I NEED TO RENEW MY REGULAR PAYROLL DEDUCTION EACH YEAR?
No, deductions will continue until the employee terminates them.
HOW CAN I STOP OR CHANGE PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS?
Deductions may be stopped at any time by submitting a request through HR Help. Please use the default Payroll and enter in the comments the change that needs to be made.
WHO DO I CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS?
Questions may be answered at any time by submitting a request through HR Help.
WHAT WILL MY DONATION GO TO?
Donations to NFI Cares will go to supporting employees and immediate family members experiencing financial distress due to a catastrophic event.
HOW DO I KNOW MY MONEY IS GOING TO SOMEONE WHO NEEDS IT?
The committee will review each application on a case-by-case basis for financial need due to a catastrophic event. The program administrator, Helping Hands, will also confirm the validity of the applicants and process requests.
CAN CANADIAN EMPLOYEES DONATE TO NFI CARES?
Yes, if you are paid in Canadian dollars (CAD), your payroll deduction will also be in CAD.
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