Author: Grant Barringer

Ability Central Releases 2023 Impact Report

California Nonprofit Showcases Free Disability and Accessibility Resources, Critical Support for Nonprofits, and $1 Million in Grants

Oakland, California – March 22, 2024 – California nonprofit Ability Central announced their annual Impact Report for 2023, sharing statistics and successes from another year of grantmaking, digital access, and nonprofit support. Ability Central offers funding and support for people with communication disabilities, their families and caregivers, and the organizations that serve them.

In 2023, the nonprofit’s 12 grantees reached 33,851 people with disabilities in California and around the world. More than $1,000,000 in funding from Ability Central enabled these organizations to create …

Watch our short film “Everyone Can Communicate”

One in six Americans has or will have a communication disability in their lifetime. So why don’t we know more about these disabilities and hear more about them?

Everyone Can Communicate, a short film from Ability Central Philanthropy, is a conversation with people with communication disabilities. As the only funder working exclusively to address all communications disabilities, Ability Central highlights the fundamental rights to access that are often violated, and the work being done to create awareness and action.

Everyone Can Communicate premiered at Exponent Philanthropy’s Outsized Impact Film Festival in October of 2022.…

Access:Ability January 2024 Newsletter

The January 2024 edition of the Ability Central monthly e-newsletter, Access:Ability.

Ability Central Philanthropy

Dark blue and green graphic with white text that reads: "Announcing: 2024 Ability Central Grantees. $1 million awarded for healthcare training, leadership and career development, and digital access initiatives."

Ability Central Awards Grants to 12 Organizations Working with Disability Communities

$1 million awarded for healthcare training, leadership and career development, and digital access initiatives.

Oakland, California – January 9, 2024 – Ability Central has awarded more than $1 million to 12 nonprofit organizations in California working to expand communication access for Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent communities. Recipient organizations offer a diverse array of support and services to these communities. The funding priorities for this grant cycle focus on healthcare training, leadership and career development for …

$1 million awarded for healthcare training, leadership and career development, and digital access initiatives.

Eleven of the grants awarded were given to empower organizations to develop or expand their …

Access:Ability December 2023 Newsletter

The December 2023 edition of the Ability Central monthly e-newsletter, Access:Ability.

Community Event

Replay: Ability Central at the Outsized Impact Film Festival

Virtual Event | December 14th, 2023 at 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET

Join Ability Central Program Officer Jessie Galloway at a replay of the short film we created for Exponent Philanthropy’s Outsized Impact Film Festival last year.

Exponent Philanthropy hosts the film festival at their Annual Conference, highlighting the work that foundations do. Join us online on December 14th to replay two short films from a past festival, including our submission Everyone Can Communicate.

In this short film, …

Access:Ability November 2023 Newsletter

The November 2023 edition of the Ability Central monthly e-newsletter, Access:Ability.

Grantee Highlight

Modern, flat illustration of a team of disabled employees working collaborating effectively, colored in bright greens and oranges.

Disability Cultural Competence Training with Painted Brain

Virtual Event | November 29^th and December 6^th, 2023

Join Ability Central grantee Painted Brain for a free cultural competency training. The new training promotes understanding and skills for creating welcoming environments for people with disabilities and is open to all behavioral and mental health service providers in California.

It covers:

The definition of disability cultural competency.
How to recognize different disabilities and their unique requirements.
How to appreciate the role of culture in the disability

…

Access:Ability October 2023 Newsletter

The October 2023 edition of the Ability Central monthly e-newsletter, Access:Ability.

Grantee Highlight

The letters E.A.A.T. are outlined in blue aside from the second A, representing Access, which is filled in with a bold blue. Under the acronym are the words Experiments in Art, Access & Technology. This text is underlined by sound waves of varying amplitude. Tinged in blue and orange, the waves reverberate and fade into the black background.

Experience Experiments in Art, Access & Technology from Leonardo

New exhibition from Ability Central grantee showcases artistic innovations in accessible technology.

Leonardo is excited to share a groundbreaking exhibition, Experiments in Art, Access, and Technology (E.A.A.T.), showcasing the work of the CripTech Incubator, funded in part by Ability Central. Leonardo’s CripTech Incubator is an art and technology fellowship for disability innovation to engage and remake creative technologies through the lens of accessibility.

The E.A.A.T. exhibition features work by Meesh Fradkin, Carmen Papalia, Josephine Sales, Andy …

Access:Ability September 2023 Newsletter

The September 2023 edition of the Ability Central monthly e-newsletter, Access:Ability.

Grantee Highlight: Upcoming Event

Young man with Down syndrome working in industrial factory, social integration concept.

Thursday October 26th, 2023 | 10:00AM – 12:00PM

Mental Health Services and the I/DD Population

Join Ability Central grantee Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area (DSCBA) for a free online symposium from their Mental Health Alliance program. This event features trainings from two experts and will provide clinicians with:

An overview of the challenges that individuals who experience I/DDs (Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities) continue to have in accessing needed mental health care/treatment,
The therapeutic process for people with I/DD and mental health conditions, with

…

Access:Ability August 2023 Newsletter

The August 2023 edition of the Ability Central monthly e-newsletter, Access:Ability.

Feature in Focus

Learn More About the Mobile Device Finder on the Ability Central Portal

Latino senior married couple sit on couch and smile at tablet device

Struggling to make a smart device accessible or easily usable? Finding it hard to know what accessibility features your mobile phone or tablet has? We have a free tool that can help!

One of the key features of the Ability Central Portal is the Device Finder, a comprehensive database that provides accessibility information for every mobile smart device available to buy. Developed and regularly updated using data from the Global Access Reporting Initiative …

Access:Ability July 2023 Newsletter

The July 2023 edition of the Ability Central monthly e-newsletter, Access:Ability.

Disability Pride Month 2023

Celebrating Disability Pride Month 2023

This July, Ability Central celebrates Disability Pride Month, in recognition of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. This landmark legislation prohibits discrimination and guarantees full and equitable participation in all aspects of society for people with disabilities.

2023 marks the 33rd anniversary of the ADA being signed into law, and while many advancements in inclusion have been made, people with disabilities continue to face exclusion and disadvantage in the United States and around the world. …