What is The CLEAN Cause Foundation?

The CLEAN Cause Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization formed with the founding purpose to act as a trustee for giveback funds generated by CLEAN Cause, Inc. Our mission is to bridge the critical gap between addiction and early recovery, by funding recovery housing initiatives that promote best practices, further research, and impact systems change.

What is the scholarship program?

The CLEAN Cause Foundation recovery housing scholarship program supports selected people who are in early recovery with a one-time stipend for their recovery housing (sometimes called “sober living”) costs, which is an identified gap for many people. To be considered for a scholarship, applicants must first respond to a series of questions in an application form.

Why does this scholarship program exist?

This initiative is intended to bridge the critical gap between residential treatment, homelessness, incarceration, and/or a behavioral health facility and reintegration. A person who doesn’t have their basic needs met can’t reasonably put their full energy or attention towards the recovery process. We believe the scholarship program supports those who are in the first stages of their recovery journeys through increasing access to safe, supportive and structured environments.

Who is eligible for the scholarship?

The CLEAN Cause Foundation scholarship is intended for people in early recovery who have confirmed plans to move into a specific recovery home or have already moved in. People exiting residential treatment, homelessness, incarceration or a behavioral health facility are encouraged to apply. Individuals who have previously received a scholarship are eligible to reapply after one year. 

Submission of an application does not guarantee that a scholarship will be provided. We receive hundreds of applications each month and are not able to provide funding to everyone who applies.

Recovery homes or other organizations are not eligible to apply for funds at this time. Scholarships towards treatment costs or to support student education are not covered in our funding scope.

How much is the scholarship?

CLEAN provides single $500 scholarships to recovery homes on behalf of a selected individual applicant.

How are decisions about scholarship applications made?

CCF knows that recovery looks different for everyone.. Scholarships are awarded to eligible applicants based on available funds and through an established scoring system that has been determined by the CLEAN scholarship team and informed by experts in the substance use and recovery community. Demographic information (age, sexual orientation, gender identity, racial or ethnic identities) does not factor into the application score.

Do I need to provide my recovery home contact information?

Yes, CCF must have direct contact with your recovery home in order to consider you for a scholarship and to be able to follow up with them if you are awarded. Within the application, applicants are asked to identify the recovery home that they are moving into (or are already living in), including a name, phone number, and email address of a staff member (or elected officer if at an Oxford House). Applicants must provide a professional email address for the recovery home contact person in their application. If the applicant includes their own email address (or another personal email address), in place of a staff member/elected officer contact person, they will not be eligible to receive a scholarship. If a person does not know the correct email address for a staff person/elected officer at their recovery home, they should not proceed with their application until they do. CCF is not able to seek out the correct email address for applicants or reach out to RHs for the required information via phone.

When will I find out if I have been selected to receive a CLEAN scholarship?

If your application has been successfully completed, you will receive an immediate response indicating that it has been received. After successful application submission, you will be notified via email within 10 business days regarding whether CLEAN Cause Foundation intends to fund a scholarship for you. Please do not reach out to scholarships@cleancause.org with questions about whether your application has been received, or what the status of your application is, as we may not be able to respond to these requests.

If you have not seen any notification regarding your scholarship application’s status, and 10 days or more have passed since you submitted your application, please take a look in your spam folder as we have received reports that for some people, the CLEAN Cause Foundation scholarship notification emails end up there instead of in their main inbox.

What happens after I am notified that I may potentially be receiving a scholarship?

As part of the application process, applicants provide consent for the CLEAN Scholarship team to reach out to the recovery home that they are in or will be moving into. If an application is selected for a scholarship, the CLEAN Scholarship team will be in touch with the identified recovery home contact (provided by applicant,) to notify them of the requirements for a completed W9 form (for the business, not the individual scholarship applicant) and a response to a short questionnaire. The recovery home must respond to the questionnaire and provide the current W9 (unless one is already on file with CCF) within one week in order for the scholarship funds to be dispersed. CCF requires a new W9 for each recovery home each calendar year. CCF scholarships will not be provided to homes that do not submit a current W9 form each year.

After the required items are received from the recovery home, the scholarship funds intended for the named applicant will be sent to the recovery home. If the intended scholarship recipient moves before the payment arrives at the recovery home identified in the application, we will not be able to send out another scholarship payment to an alternate recovery home. Funds should always be utilized towards the named applicant unless that applicant is no longer in the home, in which case the recovery home should reach out to scholarships@cleancause.org  within 48 hours for determination of next steps. 

Individuals that receive scholarship funds from CCF (and their recovery homes) are each expected to respond to two short follow up surveys at 30 and 60 days post award. The survey data is used to examine the impact of the scholarship program and to inform other CCF programming, and participation is very important.

CCF is not able to seek out the correct email address(es) or reach out to RHs for the required information via phone.

How will my scholarship be paid?

We offer two options for payment of scholarship funds. Recovery homes may choose to receive the funds via direct deposit or through a paper check sent through the USPS. Processing times for paper checks can be as long as two weeks.  As a reminder, the payments are made to the recovery home, not the individual awardee. 

If I’m approved, how long will it take for the scholarship check to arrive to my recovery home?

Once an applicant has been notified of moving to the second stage in the scholarship process via email, the recovery home contact person is also sent an email (using the email address provided by the applicant in their application.) This email outlines that they have one week from notification date to provide a response to the required questionnaire (including submission of a W9 for the house). If they respond with all of the required materials within the week, the payment will be sent by the following week. From there, the scholarship payment should arrive within approximately 10 business days. If it has not, please reach out to scholarship@cleancause.org to let us know. 

For those who are selected to receive a scholarship, the entire process (from successful application submission to payment distribution to the recovery home) typically takes about one month (as long as all response deadlines are met.)  

Can I reapply?

• Eligible applicants who have not been awarded a scholarship previously are allowed to reapply in sub. 

• People who have been awarded a scholarship are able to apply again after one year. CLEAN prioritizes people in early recovery.

What other resources exist?

https://www.findhelp.org/

https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline; 

https://www.nami.org/help

https://988lifeline.org/

Does CLEAN Cause Foundation offer partial scholarships?

No, we do not offer partial scholarships at this time.

What are the privacy policies related to the scholarship program?

Information that you include in your application will never be sold. It will only be accessible to the CLEAN scholarship team and our data/research partners. CCF takes applicant’s privacy seriously and does not share your identifying information with third parties. However, we will reach out to you and also to your recovery home using the provided email address(es) and phone number(s,) as part of the scholarship review, allocation and follow up processes.

The software system that we use for the application process (called REDCap) is highly secure and access to the applications in the system is protected by encrypted passwords and only available to select CCF staff members and partners.

Any data that is used for research will be deidentified, which means that anything that could personally identify you will be removed (this includes your name, your email address, address of your recovery home, and any provided phone numbers.) Your participation in the scholarship application process is voluntary and you are free to leave the application incomplete, without giving a reason and without cost. If you have any questions about privacy, please email scholarships@cleancause.org.

How can I help support the recovery cause?

Clean Cause Foundation envisions a world where everyone with a substance use disorder has what they need to support their recovery journey. Your direct support can help us achieve this important mission!

Individuals that receive scholarship funds from CCF (and their recovery homes) are each expected to respond to two short follow up surveys at 30 and 60 days post award. The survey data is used to examine the impact of the scholarship program and to inform other CCF programming, and your participation is very important.

Donations to CLEAN Cause Foundation are much appreciated. Purchasing CLEAN Cause beverages also benefits the cause, so shop now, and follow us on social media (Facebook or Instagram)!

Have other ?s about CLEAN?

The CCF scholarship program can not be reached by phone. Please reach out to us at scholarships@cleancause.org for scholarship related questions or to hello@cleancause.org for anything else.