Financial Aid and Fundraising

Financial Aid

APPLY ONLINE

We know that cancer treatment for your pet is costly and can create financial hardship. If your household income is below $50,000 per year and you are struggling and need help, you may apply online for financial assistance.

We offer two types of Funding:

Financial Aid

• Based on your resources and the projected cost of care, RCF may elect to offer you financial aid to cover a portion of your pet’s cancer treatment. This is outright financial aid, not a loan, and does not have to be repaid. All financial aid money MUST be sent directly to the veterinarians or holistic/ homeopathic specialist(s) treating your pet. All veterinarians and specialists to whom we will send financial aid money on your behalf MUST be identified in your financial aid application. As part of the financial aid award process, RCF will prequalify them to receive money on your behalf.

Matching Funds

• RCF may offer you matching funds. RCF will match the money you raise on your own on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to an agreed upon maximum amount. Matching funds are outright financial aid, not a loan, and do not have to be repaid. All funds you raise privately that you wish to include as part of our offer to match funds must be paid directly to The Riedel and Cody Fund, Inc. and sent to directly to us at: The Riedel & Cody Fund / PO Box 320027 / Fairfield, CT 06825. This will insure your donor gets proper tax credit and you do not have to report the donation as income.
• Your Donor should specify the donation is for your pet. All matching fund donations, including the portion you have raised on your own through the RiedelCody.org website, will be sent directly to the veterinarians or holistic/homeopathic specialists identified in your approved financial aid application. As part of the financial aid award process, RCF will prequalify them to receive money on your behalf. We cannot issue checks directly to you, the pet's owner.
• Only those funds donated and sent to directly to RCF are tax-deductible charitable contributions under our 501c3 status.
• All donations become the property of RCF and must be used for the pet's cancer care. Please review the terms of your financial aid carefully so that you understand what the funding can be used for and what it cannot be used for.
• While RCF will, to the extent possible, honor requests to help a particular pet, if the donations received by RCF for a particular pet exceed the treatment costs, or if the pet has passed away, or for other reasons it is deemed prudent by the Board of Directors, the funds will become part of the general fund of RCF and then become available for financial aid for other pets with cancer. Any remaining funds following completion of treatment are not refundable to the pet owner or to the donor(s).

To apply for assistance follow these steps:

1. Determine how much you can reasonably afford to spend for your pet’s treatment from your existing resources, via loans or Care Credit.  If you decide to proceed to ask for financial aid, RCF will complete a confidential review of your resources including a credit check. We will then advise you if we can provide financial aid.  It is important to note that even if you receive aid, you should be able to provide post treatment medical care, as appropriate, without our help.
2. Submit a Completed Application — Apply via the link above.  All additional documentation MUST be uploaded for your application to be considered complete. You and your vet will need to work together to complete this application.  Please contact your vet and ask them to submit their part of the application via the "Veterinarian" section.
3. RCF Board Review — Once the application is complete, we will confirm all veterinary/oncology information with the vet/oncologist and complete a financial review. At this point the application will be reviewed by RCF’s Board of Directors.
4. Notice of Decision — Our funds are limited and unfortunately it is impossible to help all applicants. A completed application does not guarantee that we will be able to donate funds, nor does a denied application indicate a lack of compassion or desire to help — it simply means that we cannot help at this time. Financial assistance will be awarded at the sole discretion of RCF’s Board of Directors. 
5. Funding — If an application is approved, we will contact your vet and request that invoices are sent directly to RCF to be paid by our organization. All payments go directly to the veterinarian based on newly submitted invoices which are dated AFTER approval of the application.  Invoices are paid monthly, on the last Friday of the month.
6. Weekly Updates to your Pet Profile Page — We require all approved applicants to post weekly updates and/or blog about their pet's progress.  Failure to comply will result in the termination of funding.
7. Questions? For help please email info@riedelcody.org.

We do not offer financial aid to animals other than a cat or dog with cancer.

Please note the following policies:

• Confirmed Cancer Diagnosis Needed — You MUST have a confirmed cancer diagnosis from a board certified veterinary oncologist to have your application reviewed.
• Payments to Vets Only — Financial assistance, if awarded, will be paid directly to the Veterinarian, Clinic or Hospital providing services and will not be paid to the applicant. 
• Only Future Bills Considered — We can only consider charges that are incurred once an application is APPROVED. Any charges that are incurred before this date cannot be considered. We do not reimburse any payments to Care Credit, personal credit cards or your veterinary hospital.

What does RCF expect from you?

If you qualify and receive financial aid from RCF, we ask that you:

• Provide weekly progress updates via your pet's profile and/or blog
• "Like" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and share updates with your friends
• Promote The Riedel & Cody Fund as much as possible.  It is through donations to our organization that we are able to continue helping other pets.

RCF reserves the right to revoke financial funding due to non-compliance of the terms of the application agreement.

Fundraising

One of RCF's primary services is providing fundraising tools needed to close the gap between how much you can afford, the financial aid you may qualify for, and how much it will cost to treat your pet's cancer.

You will quickly learn that members who were successful raising money did not depend solely on web-based appeals. They were faced with a big goal and decided to include out of the box ideas in the mix of things they would do. They sought donations ranging from money to goods and services. We do not become involved in any aspect of what you do off of this site on your own, and donations of cash, goods or services made directly to you are not protected by our status as a 501c3.  

For further insight into how to use off the web ideas to support your effort we suggest you read about a success achieved by one of our very first member’s. (Read about Angel Sullens, or view the full 10-minute video about Angel, Kristie and Johnny Sullens). Angel needed a bone marrow transplant costing $16,000. Learn how Angel’s mom and dad, Kristie and Johnny, who live in New Orleans, raised quite a bit in cash as well as donated goods and services. In the end, the many creative "out of the box" fund ideas they tried allowed them to reach their goal and save the life of their beloved Angel!

While RCF cannot get directly involved in your local fundraising event, we can provide you with access to case histories like Angel’s where members were successful with off-line ideas to raise money. You will also learn how they used social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to reach and engage thousands of new potential donors. The more ways you can involve a potential donor in the sincerity and urgency of your need, the more successful you will be.

The Tried and True… Bake Sales, Car Washes, Walk Your Dog Charity Walks and More…

Some of the best off-the-web fund raising ideas are the tried and true local events.

As we continue to grow and expand our content, we will provide case histories with advice on whom you should contact to help (involvement of local organizations such as the Scouts, student or Church groups are essential to your success), how to publicize your fund raising event, things-to-do checklists, and much more to help you make your version of these old favorites a big success. These ideas work and could help you raise thousands of dollars towards cancer care for your pet.

As mentioned earlier, RCF is not directly involved in these types of fundraising activities, so we cannot be involved in collecting the donations, credit card processing or reporting tax deductibility.

Apply Online