No. Therapy is not limited to the individual suffering. Our mission statement allows us to help the child (ren) and the immediate family.

No, but all counseling must be approved and agreed upon between Footprints AND the grantee prior to use.

No. All of our counselors and support services programs are licensed consultants or programs and are not paid employees or affiliated with the Foundation. They are a team of specialists that we have worked with over the years or programs attended by prior Footprints’ grantees.

Counseling is offered to those who do not have insurance or if you are not fully covered.

A few samples of what can and cannot be paid for from a family fund are listed below:

Family Funds Can Assist With:
• Medical: health insurance, medical bills, co-pays,equipment, procedures, etc.
• Education: tuition, books, school supplies, etc.
• Sports programs and equipment
• Daycare: after and before school care, babysitters
• Camps: special needs or regular day camp.
• Cleaning/Housekeeping
• Funeral and Burial Expenses

Family Funds Cannot Assist With:
• Mortgage/rent payments
• Car payments/insurance
• Credit card bills
• Utility bills
• Home Repairs

No. Accounts must maintain a minimum of $2,000.

As per our mission statement, any family whose life has been directly affected by cancer can open a family fund.

Footprints will send a letter to each donor thanking them for their donation and providing them with the appropriate tax information. Additionally, each donor will also receive a personal thank-you note from foundation founder William Villafranco.

No. All checks written from family funds are written directly to the vendors with a few variations such as medical reimbursements.

Your family fund will be annually reviewed by an independent accounting firm.

You will receive a monthly statement from Footprints detailing the contact information of each donor and the amount contributed.

You will receive a monthly account statement directly from the financial institution that holds your family fund. This statement will reflect the activity in your account, including all checks written, fees charged and contributions.

Family Funds are held at a nationally chartered FDIC insured financial institution. The monies held in a family fund is non-interest bearing.

Any remaining funds in your account must be donated to either the Footprints in the Sand general grant pool or another public 501(c) 3 organization. For further information, please contact a Footprints board member at (201) 505-9710.

There is a one-time set up fee of $500 and an annual fee of $500 which will be charged to your fund on the fund’s annual anniversary. The set up fee will be charged to your account once your fund reaches $2,500. All fees are directly deposited into the Footprints general grant pool to be used to support similar tragedies. Family Funds must maintain a balance of $2,000.

There is no time limit on how long your family fund can exist, but if it is inactive for 12 months you will be asked to make a decision on the future of the fund.

Once your application has been approved for this program, we will bring in a member of our team of professionals for your consultation. During this time, he/she will assess your current situation and make their professional suggestions as to what will be needed. These professionals include attorneys, accountants, insurance consultants, medical benefit professionals, investment advisors, financial planners, etc.

Note: Footprints reserves the right to choose the best program for your family if/when we feel it is most appropriate whether it be financially or administratively.

In addition to our initial grant application that all individuals must sign, this program requires you to read and sign a medical consultant release form.

If you and/or your family do not meet our mission statement as it relates directly to cancer, then you may opt for this program.

Footprints will act as the initial liaison to connect you with another foundation. Our goal is to match you with another organization(s) that can better suit your needs at that time.

This program is open to a child or family who is currently affected by cancer.

A child/family is eligible for one "dream".

A “dream” can be a family trip, a sporting event, a concert, a musical instrument, etc. The list is endless; the limitation will be based on the expenses associated with “A Dream” and the funds in the Footprints general grant pool at that time.

No. Each dream is discussed with the family first. Then, the Board will meet and decide on an appropriate amount and “dream.”