The Foundation sponsors a number of other programs and projects designed to aid in the intellectual and social development of blind and visually impaired children.
The success of blind and visually impaired children is highly dependent upon the support they receive from adults, especially parents or guardians and the educators who work with these children on a daily basis.
In recognition of that role, the Foundation offers to partner with parents and educators by providing grants to enable them to pursue continuing education, development of skills and understanding of technology. These grants can take the form of tuition reimbursements, payment for the costs of distance education, continuing education or conferences, or payment for the costs of technology training or education.
The Foundation is always open to suggestions of other ways that it can assist parents or educators in obtaining the skills necessary to help their blind or visually impaired students. The Foundation has no specific application process for parent and educator grants. If you are interested in pursuing a parent or educator grant, please contact us and we will be happy to pursue it with you.
We provide Janice Anderson Memorial Scholarship grants annually to blind or visually impaired high school seniors who want to pursue post-secondary education. Scholarship grant amounts are typically $1000-$2000, depending on the number of applicants and available funding. If you wish to apply for a Janice Anderson Memorial Scholarship, please download a copy of the scholarship application guidelines, complete a scholarship application letter and submit it to the Foundation by mail or e-mail.
The 2024 Janice Anderson Memorial scholarship winners were Grace Lepin, Halle Christenson, Aidan Dunlap and Damian EBY. Congratulations! The 2025 scholarship application deadline is May 31, 2024.
Beginning in 2023, the Foundation has presented the annual Dr. Benton and Harriet Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award to a deserving Nebraska vision teacher. The award includes a grant to the recipient of $10,000, as well as a commemorative plaque presented to the recipient at a school-based ceremony.
The award is given in May of each year to a Nebraska vision teacher of selected by the Foundation’s Board of Directors from vision teachers nominated in the spring of that year. The award recognizes outstanding contributions as a teacher of and mentor to the teacher’s students.
Vision teachers may be nominated by students, colleagues or parents or guardians of visually impaired children. Nominations for a year’s award can be made by a letter submitted to the Foundation’s Board of Directors by April 15 of that year. Letters should include contact information for the writer, and describe the writer’s relationship to the TVI, personal experiences with or anecdotes about the vision teacher and the vision teacher’s strengths in working with those who are visually impaired. Letters should be submitted to NFVIC by e-mail or by US Mail as described at contact us. The Foundation will acknowledge your letter upon receipt.
The Dr. Benton and Harriet Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award has been established in memory of Dr. Benton Kutler and Harriet Kutler by their son, Howard Kutler, who is a Foundation board member. Dr. Kutler was a long-time member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, and he and Harriet were staunch supporters of the Foundation’s mission and other initiatives designed to benefit blind and visually impaired children.
The 2024 winner of the Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award was Cynthia Barr-McNair, a vision teacher with the Millard Public Schools.
If you have questions regarding the Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award and the nomination process, please contact us .
We regularly provide financial and other support to other organizations engaged in activities that benefit blind or visually impaired Nebraska children. For example, we co-sponsor a number of projects with the Lied Learning and Technology Center for Childhood Deafness and Vision Disorders at the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, including the annual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt and CampAbilities. We also have provided financial support of the annual Braille Challenge sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired. And we regularly help parent advocacy groups sponsor events that benefit blind or visually impaired children. If you have an event that might benefit from our support, please contact us to discuss how me might help you.