Historical Funding
At the inception of the "loose consortium," funding was limited to in-kind contributions from our corporate participants, particularly funding the Annual Meetings that began in 2000. However, as the Meetings grew into larger Conferences, funding began to be received from a number of sponsors represented by corporate, U. S. Government agency and foundation entities.
In August 2001, the U. S. Department of Labor's Office of Employment and Disability Policy (ODEP) granted funding for a four-year period, ending June 30, 2005. This grant was used to formalize the structure of COSD with a full-time Executive Director, as the primary strategic leader of all activities of the organization, promoting the creation of new and innovative programs to pilot around the country and recruiting additional participants from all three sectors of disability services, career services and employers. The Executive Director also is the primary communication point for interactions with other national associations related to this field, such as the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN). Many other organizations have been contacted and invited to join with COSD as issues arose.
Subsequent to the Federal grant funding through ODEP, COSD transitioned to corporate partnerships and foundation relationships only to support programs and growth of the organization. Notable among these funding opportunities was COSD's increased outreach and direct student service made possible by support from the Johnson Scholarship Foundation and the AT&T Foundation. Other major historical and current corporate sponsors include Cisco, Walmart, Lockheed Martin, Merck and Verizon.