Cancer Community Support Programs

NNECOS’ Cancer Community Support Program helps organizations bring financial relief to patients with cancer and hematologic malignancies in active treatment.

Cancer Community Support

NNECOS supports patients with cancer and hematologic malignancies in Northern New England by funding the organizations and clinics that serve them directly. Through two complementary programs, we provide emergency financial relief and grocery/gas card distributions to patients in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont facing financial toxicity or food insecurity during active treatment. Both programs are designed to reach as many patients as possible, and awards are made with that goal in mind.

2026 funding is available now. Awards are made on a rolling monthly basis while funds remain.

Who Can Apply?

Eligibility depends on your organization type. Both pathways share the same application cycle and the same $3,000 annual cap per site. Organizations may participate in one program at a time.

Eligible for:
Grocery/Gas Card Program

Annual award:
up to 120 cards at $25 each ($3,000 maximum)

Requirements:

  • Recipients must have a diagnosis of a solid tumor or hematologic malignancy and be receiving active treatment or palliative care as they approach hospice. This program is not intended for patients with benign hematologic conditions or long-term survivors not in active treatment.
  • A champion at your site must take responsibility for card distribution and accountability reporting.
  • Documented accountability procedures/protocols required.

Eligible for:
Grocery/Gas Card Program or Emergency Need Grant (one per cycle)

Annual award:
up to $3,000 per year, one program at a time

Requirements:

  • Organizations choose one program per cycle; the $3,000 annual cap applies across both programs.
  • Must have infrastructure in place to provide emergency assistance to patients.
  • Grant funds are directed to the organization, not to individuals.
  • Same patient eligibility criteria apply.

All sites may apply once per calendar year. To be eligible, your previous award must be fully expended and all required reporting submitted and accepted by NNECOS. Awards are intended to be used fully and purposefully; a site may not return for additional funding until both conditions are met.

Program Details

The Grocery/Gas Card Program supports patients with solid tumor or hematologic malignancies in Northern New England who are facing food insecurity or transportation burdens during active treatment. Cards are provided directly to participating sites in branded NNECOS envelopes for distribution to eligible patients. The program is designed to reach as many patients as possible, and cards should be distributed meaningfully and steadily over the award period. A named site champion is responsible for distribution, tracking, and regular reporting to NNECOS.

Annual award

  • 120 cards per site per year ($25 per card; $3,000 maximum)
  • Cards distributed until the annual budget is expended

Process

  • NNECOS purchases cards directly and provides them to your clinic.
  • Site champion tracks distribution and is accountable to NNECOS via reporting.

What makes a strong application

Strong applications describe an existing, functioning patient assistance infrastructure, not a plan to build one. Reviewers look for a named champion with a defined role, a clear process for identifying eligible patients, realistic estimates of how many patients will be served and at what individual amounts, and evidence that your site has the capacity to distribute cards steadily and purposefully over the award period. Applications that cannot describe how individual patients will be identified and how distribution will be tracked are unlikely to be funded.

Application and timing

  • Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
  • Applications are evaluated against a program rubric.

Reporting

Your site champion provides reporting at regular intervals in accordance with the terms and conditions signed prior to award.

Apply for the Grocery/gas card program

The Emergency Need Grant supports patients with solid tumor or hematologic malignancies in Northern New England facing financial toxicity or food insecurity, such as costs for non-covered medical supplies. Funds are awarded to the organization, not to individual patients, and are intended to help as many patients as possible: the average award target is $375, with a minimum of six patients helped per grant.

Eligibility

  • Submitting organization must be a 501(c)3 with existing infrastructure to identify eligible patients, disburse funds, and report on utilization. Infrastructure means staff, screening processes, and tracking systems already in place, not planned.
  • Grant funds are directed to the organization, not to individuals.
  • Recipients must have a diagnosis of a solid tumor or hematologic malignancy and be receiving active treatment or palliative care as they approach hospice. This program is not intended for patients with benign hematologic conditions or long-term survivors not in active treatment.
  • Funds shall not apply to any per-patient annual assistance cap.

Annual award

  • Up to $3,000 per site per year across both programs, while funds are available.
  • Efforts are made to distribute grant funds across Northern New England.
  • Organizations are eligible to apply once annually. If funds remain in the fourth quarter, past recipients will be invited to reapply.

What makes a strong application

This program is designed to reach many patients at modest individual amounts, with an average award target of $375 and a minimum of six patients helped per grant. Strong applications describe a specific patient population with realistic volume, name the staff responsible for patient identification and fund disbursement, and provide a per-patient award estimate consistent with that model. Applications describing per-patient awards substantially above that target, or whose primary activity is redistributing funds to other organizations, are outside the scope of this program. Reviewers also look for geographic alignment with Northern New England and evidence that NNECOS funds will complement, not substitute for, other assistance resources already in use.

Application and timing

  • Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
  • Applications are evaluated against a program rubric.

Reporting

Reporting is required at regular intervals in accordance with the terms and conditions signed prior to award. Vignettes and stories that can be shared with the NNECOS community are strongly encouraged.

Apply for the Emergency Need grant program

Questions? Contact us at info@nnecos.org!