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Bit-By-Bit Scholarships are given on a very limited and competitive basis. Bit-By-Bit offers financial scholarships to qualifying families on a quarterly basis. Students and their families are expected to exhaust all other options of financial support information as provided below in the Tuition Funding Options. Scholarship applications received after the scholarship application deadline will not be considered.
Tuition Funding Options
- Use your flexible spending account. With a written prescription from your doctor, hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding may be considered an out-of-pocket medical expense. If you have and use a flexible medical spending account, you will enjoy the benefits of saving’s account using pre-taxed dollars. We will provide you with documentation that includes the date's of service and payment made.
- Housing vouchers or rental subsidies. Again, a doctor’s prescription along with our cost estimate may lower your rent as therapeutic horseback riding and hippotherapy are an “out-of-pocket disability-related expense.” We are happy to provide your housing authority with documentation that includes our fees and medical reasons for the service.
- Service organizations such as the local Elks Club, Lions Club. Exchange Club, and Knights of Columbus or disability organizations such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association may be willing to help you fund hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding.
- Florida Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Grants for up to $250 per year may be given for therapeutic horseback riding or hippotherapy. You can download an application for this program by going to the Florida Chapter’s website or can receive one by calling 1-800-FIGHTMS.
- If you can establish that hippotherapy can help your child’s education in PET process your school district may be a funding source. If we have provided hippotherapy for your child we can provide you with documentation of the educational relevancy of this service.
- Veteran’s Administration, Worker’s Compensation or Vocational Rehab. If you are a veteran with a service-connected disability, the VA may be an option for you. The Miami VA currently brings out groups to our Pompano facility to participate in equine assisted therapies monthly. You may also apply for our “Horses For Heroes” program which provides recreational riding free of charge to veterans. If you have a work related injury and can have either hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding prescribed by your physician, worker’s compensation may consider funding it. Lastly, if you are a vocational rehab client and therapeutic horseback riding or hippotherapy enhances skills needed for employment (i.e. motor vehicle operation), consider writing your therapeutic horseback riding/hippotherapy needs into your Individualized Work to cancel. Students Related Plan (IWRP). We are also TriCare Providers and this may cover the costs of hippotherapy.
- If you feel that you require further help finding resources for you or your family please call 211. The 2-1-1 Hotline for Children with Special Needs is Broward’s single source for information and referrals for children birth to 22 years of age with a developmental and/or physical disability. This specialized hotline focuses on helping parents, grandparents, caregivers, agencies, teachers, coaches, therapists, nurses and doctors who serve the needs of children with disabilities find support, answers and hope. Highly skilled and specially trained counselors who are knowledgeable about special needs issues and services listen to the concerns of callers, provide them with information about services and present referrals to the most appropriate community resources available to best meet the unique needs of each child. They may also refer you to certain local agencies that may specialize in the type of help you may need & many of these agencies have funding to cover our services.
Where do I start?
Your first outreach for funding should be to family members; local businesses; other nonprofit organizations; and organizations that specialize in the diagnosis that your family shares (MS Foundation, Autism Foundations, etc.); your local church; the VFW; the ELKS; or even a friend who may be in a better financial position to sponsor your child as a tax-deductible donation to our organization. We have many children who are sponsored by local businesses like their local pizzeria, carpet cleaning company, moms group, etc.
Bit-By-Bit should be your final resort for funding needs. Each year we do our best to raise the funds necessary to assist all of our applicants but there is an ever growing need. Scholarship funds are derived from a portion of our fundraisers and the kindness and generosity of individuals and businesses. If you are a scholarship applicant, you have a vested interest in helping with ongoing Bit-By-Bit Fundraisers (Annual Golf Tournament; Derby Day Horse Show; Halloween Horse Show; raffles; drives; etc ) because this is how we raise $ for the fund. Please speak to us about volunteering for our fundraising efforts!
What You Need to Know….
The Bit-By-Bit Scholarship Fund was formed to help out our families financially so that riders can benefit from the therapeutic benefits of the horse regardless of ability to pay.
- You must complete an application and have it submitted by the deadline. The application is reviewed by the Scholarship Committee and then presented to the Board of Directors anonymously (applicant’s name withheld).
- There is an income limitation of $55,000 per year, however we do review for extenuating circumstances also.
- A rider may only be granted one scholarship per year so that others may have the opportunity.
- Students may not receive more than one semester of scholarship assistance per calendar year and if a student receiving a scholarship misses more than 30% of their lessons, they will not be eligible to re-apply for another scholarship.
- Please click on the tab to download the scholarship application. Please send back the complete package to our main office located at 515 NE 12 Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 before the end of each quarter.
We look forward to seeing all of you soon!
CLICK HERE for Scholarship Application
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Volunteers needed to sidewalk, lead a horse, and help with general horse care. No experience is needed, as we provide training. We offer a free lesson program incentive in exchange for volunteering with us (certain rules and restrictions apply). You can earn points toward free riding lessons as you volunteer! This is a great way to improve your horse knowledge and skills! We also offer service hours for high schools.We need volunteers on weekdays and weekends at each of our 3 facilities.Please call Susan March at 954-802-8874 for Parkland and Pompano locations or Debra Larue at 954-612-1389 for the Davie location to schedule a volunteer orientation.
