The Virginia State Employee Assistance Fund (VSEAF) was created exclusively for Virginia State employees who are actively employed and in experiencing financial hardship as a result of a recent, unforeseen emergency of a short-term nature.
Funds are made available through one-time grants of up to $500, payable to companies, not individuals. Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis and grant approval is not guaranteed.
Once applications are received, a committee of state employees reviews the request in a confidential manner.
All applicants are notified within seven business days of the status of their application except when an excessive number of applications are received as they are reviewed one at a time in the order in which they are received and complete.
Please ensure you are in touch with your landlord/property owner, utility provider, or local food banks for immediate assistance – VSEAF cannot guarantee a specific turnaround time when granting financial assistance.
Active Virginia State Employees, both full-time and part-time, who have been with the state workforce for a minimum of one year can apply for assistance.
Employees who are considered contractors or employees who have an existing employee assistance fund program in their agency such as the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) or the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health Systems are not eligible to apply.
Employees can only submit one application per year.
VSEAF can only consider applications and provide grants to the state employee who is applying.
If the applicant is experiencing financial hardship caused to the applicant by an unforeseen emergency of an immediate family member such as a spouse, child, or parent they must reside in the same household as the applying state employee demonstrated through proof of residency.
When applying, the applicant must provide a bill or invoice that is addressed to the applicant. VSEAF cannot consider bills addressed to applicant’s spouse or partner.
An unforeseen emergency results from an extraordinary and unexpected event that's beyond the control of an employee.
Unforeseeable emergencies are different from foreseeable emergencies, like falling behind on bills, routine or normal maintenance for home or vehicle, or routine or preventative medical care.
The VSEAF grant is also unable to consider loss of income or employment as an unforeseen emergency.
The VSEAF is not intended to support extensive, long-term financial hardship.
Short-term hardship is defined by VSEAF as a temporary and recent emergency that has occurred in the last 90 days, that has resulted in immediate financial burden as either outstanding debt or debt associated with the declared unforeseen emergency.
An applicant with longer-standing financial problems, though clearly in need of financial assistance, would not meet the ”short-term in nature” requirement and, therefore, would not be eligible.
Financial hardship means that the applicant is unable to provide themselves, or their immediate family, necessities such as food, accommodation and clothing due to recovery from an unforeseen emergency.
The VSEAF is expected to be a last dollar help, after all other possible resources available to the applicant have been utilized, such as insurance, payment plans, personal savings, or other financial assistance.
The VSEAF keeps all information submitted confidential.
Those reviewing the applications for approval will not be given the employee’s name or any other personally identifiable information of parties included from the application.