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 people in early recovery with recovery housing (sometimes called “sober living”) stipends, which is an identified gap for many people. The recovery housing stipend(s) will be referred to as “scholarship(s)” in this FAQ. 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 recovery. 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 that 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. 

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.

Within the application, applicants are asked to identify the recovery home that they will be 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 a personal email address (or their own email address,) in place of a staff member/elected officer contact person, they may 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 the application until they have one to include in their application. CCF is not able to seek out the correct email address for applicants or reach out to RHs for the required information via phone.

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.

If an applicant is selected, how will recovery homes receive the funds?

We offer two options for receiving recovery housing scholarship funds. Recovery homes may choose to receive the funds either via: direct deposit or a paper check sent through the USPS. Funds are only sent once the recovery home has completed the required recovery home questionnaire including the submission of a W9 from the current year. Submission of a W9 from the recovery home of each scholarship recipient is required. As a reminder, scholarship payments are made to the recovery home, not the individual awardee. Scholarship payments are processed every Monday. Arrival date for hard copy checks are dependent on U.S.P.S. processing and delivery schedules, and can experience significant delays. Recovery homes are encouraged to choose direct deposit to minimize the risks of checks getting lost or stolen. Additionally, processing times for paper checks can be significantly longer than direct deposit. 

What are the expectations of the recovery home regarding the scholarship?

CCF takes an applicant’s privacy seriously and does not share identifying information with third parties. Applicants provide consent for the CLEAN Scholarship team to reach out to the recovery home (RH) directly as part of their scholarship application submission. If an applicant is notified that they may be receiving a scholarship, the identified recovery home contact (provided by applicant) will also receive an email notification (on the same day as the applicant). This email to the recovery home outlines the next steps and includes the response deadline, requirements for a completed W9 form (for the business, not the individual scholarship applicant) and a mandatory response to a short questionnaire. The recovery home must respond to the questionnaire and provide a current W9 within one week in order for the scholarship funds to be dispersed. CCF scholarships will not be provided to homes that do not submit a current W9 form for every recipient each time. 

If the required items are received from the recovery home by the deadline, the scholarship funds intended for the named applicant will be paid via:

• a check mailed to the mailing address provided by the recovery home 

• OR through a direct deposit to the recovery home’s bank account

The payment will be made to the recovery home and will include the name of the recipient for reference. If the intended scholarship recipient moves before the payment arrives at the recovery home identified in the application, we may not be able to send out another scholarship payment to an alternate recovery home. Funds should always be utilized towards the named applicant’s rent costs unless that applicant is no longer in the home, in which case the recovery home should notify scholarships@cleancause.org within 48 hours for next steps.  

If one of your residents has received a notification that they have been moved to the second stage of consideration, and you have not seen a separate direct email to you, 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. If an applicant provides an inaccurate email address for their recovery home in their application, CCF is not responsible for seeking out the correct contact person at the RH.  

Recovery homes that receive scholarship funds from CCF are expected to respond to two short follow up surveys per recipient 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. Your participation in each of the follow up surveys is very important and much appreciated!

How much is the scholarship?

CLEAN provides a one-time $500 scholarship to recovery homes, on behalf of individual recipients, to be used towards rent costs.

If approved, how long will it take for the scholarship check from CCF to arrive?

Once an applicant has been notified of moving to the second stage in the scholarship process via email, the recovery home (RH) contact person is also sent an email (using the email address provided by the applicant in their application). This email outlines that the RH has one week from the notification date to provide a response to the required questionnaire (including submission of a current W9 for the house). If the RH responds with all of the required materials within the week, the payment will be sent the following week. If a recovery home selects to have the payment made via direct deposit, the payment should arrive by the end of the following week. If a recovery home opted for a hard copy check to be mailed, the scholarship check should arrive within 10 business days following the payment date. If a payment has not arrived as expected, please reach out to scholarships@cleancause.org with the awardee’s name included in the subject line 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.)  

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! Donations to CLEAN Cause Foundation are much appreciated. Purchasing CLEAN Cause products also benefits the cause, so shop now.

Recovery homes that receive scholarship funds from CCF are expected to respond to two short follow up surveys regarding the awarded resident 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. Returning completed follow up surveys is a key support to the work and may be taken into consideration for future funding decisions.

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.