The TSA Support Fund can help you if the financial impact of TSC is stopping you from purchasing an essential item or something that would make a major difference to you or your family’s lives.

You can apply for the TSA Support Fund if you:

• Have TSC
• Live with a loved one with TSC, or if the condition directly affects you because of a loved one’s diagnosis of the condition
• Live in the UK
• Are in financial hardship and other wise wouldn’t be able to fund the thing you’re applying for 

The TSA Support Fund is not limited to a specific area. This is deliberate because we want people who apply to decide what will or won’t be a big help them.

Some of the things that we’ve helped fund in the past include:

• Adaptions to a home, such as wheelchair accessibility
• Medical devices, such as an epilepsy monitor
• Household items, such as a washing machine
• Respite relief, such as a short holiday, a meal, or day out

There’s some things that we don’t pay for through the TSA Support Fund:

• Travel costs to attend a TSA event – for this, get in touch as we might be able to offer you a travel bursary
• Where a statutory authority has a responsibility to pay for the item needed
• Something you’ve already paid for, booked or ordered
• Costs associated with debt

You can apply for up to £400 through the TSA Support Fund. Depending on what you apply for, we might give you a voucher to pay for the item (such as a washing machine). If you’re successful, you’ll be responsible for any ongoing or additional costs from the thing we’ve helped you fund (such as repairs to a washing machine we fund).

If your application is successful, you must wait at least 24 months before submitting another application. This makes sure we can help as many people as possible.

If your application is successful, we’ll ask you to show proof of purchase of the item you requested support with. If you don’t provide this, it might impact on your ability to apply again in future years.

To apply for the TSA Support Fund:

• Complete the application form
• Please provide us with as much details as possible about your situation and the difference that us funding the thing you want will make. This is really important in us deciding what we can and can’t fund
• You also need to show proof of either your TSC diagnosis or the diagnosis of a loved one
• Make sure that you have given us a quote for the item(s) you want the grant to go towards

The TSA will contact you within three weeks of receipt of your application. As part of the review of your application, the TSA might request a reference from someone within health/social care or education. We aim to notify you of the outcome of your application within six weeks of receipt.

The TSA holds the right to choose to not fund any application we receive. However, if your application isn’t successful we’ll let you know why. You can then re-apply at any time.

There’s no application deadlines and the TSA Support Fund is available all year around. However, if we spend the pot that we’ve budgeted for to pay for support fund payments early we might need to temporarily close for future applications until the following year.

Our small and friendly team of TSA Support Line Advisers will be happy to talk you through the TSA Support Fund. Contact the TSA Support Line (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm) through telephone (0808 801 0700), email (support@tuberous-sclerosis.org) or webchat.