Organization
Team Gleason: what they fund and how to apply
Team Gleason is a US nonprofit in New Orleans, founded in September 2011 by former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason and his wife Michel Varisco, months after his own ALS diagnosis. It gives you technology and equipment, not cash. Its site says it has provided over $65 million in adventure, technology, equipment, and care services since 2011.
In practice that means help with the copay on a speech device, or a loaner device if insurance will not cover one. A loaned portable power wheelchair. A grant toward the seat elevator on a power chair you have not ordered yet. Funding for voice and message banking. Home automation for the rooms you use most. Funded adventures. It all starts with one online application.
How to use this page
Everything below comes from Team Gleason’s own pages, read on July 27, 2026. They publish no phone number, so every route here is a form or an email. Two things are worth reading before anything else, because both are timing traps you cannot undo: apply for voice banking money before you pay, and apply for a seat elevator grant before the power chair is ordered.
What they provide
Team Gleason lists its program services as Adventures, Communication Device Copays and Loaners, Support Services, Seat Elevator Grants, and Voice Preservation. Home automation and portable power wheelchairs sit under its technology and equipment work. Each one below is a separate ask on the same application form.
Communication device copays and loaner devices
A communication device, or speech generating device, is the computer that speaks for you once talking gets hard. Team Gleason helps two ways, and which one applies to you depends on your insurance.
If you can get a device through insurance, Team Gleason says it “can assist in covering the copay for communication devices as funds are available.” That is copay help, not the whole device.
If you cannot go through insurance, they can provide a loaner device instead. You still need a speech device evaluation first, so they know which device fits you. They say they have a limited supply and will try to provide the device your speech-language pathologist recommended, but “we may not be able to provide the exact device requested.”
There is no time limit on a loaner. Their words: “The device can be used as long as it is needed.” If the person with ALS becomes unable to use it, it goes back to Team Gleason.
They also point out that Medicare, the federal health insurance program, will typically fund only one speech device every five years, which is why they push people to trial several before choosing. Our communication resources page covers what to ask for at that evaluation.
Voice and message banking (voice preservation)
Voice banking records your speech to build a synthetic version of your own voice. Message banking stores real phrases in your natural voice. Team Gleason funds both, and this is the program with the clearest published eligibility rule.
Their stated eligibility for Acapela funding is “Anyone living in the USA that has been diagnosed with ALS.” Acapela is one of the voice banking services they name.
What the money can cover: the cost of voice banking or message banking, buying a completed voice file, and loaner equipment for the recording process. If you have already lost your voice, they may fund proxy banking, where a family member or friend records the phrases instead.
They name Acapela, Apple Personal Voice, SpeakUnique, and ElevenLabs as popular options, and say plainly that they do not endorse one provider. ElevenLabs, an AI voice company, runs an Impact Program offering free Professional Voice Clones to people living with ALS, applied for directly at elevenlabs.io rather than through Team Gleason.
Recording load varies by service. Team Gleason says it “can range from 50 and 3500 phrases.” You need a computer, an internet connection, and a quiet carpeted room. A clinician is helpful but not required, and their staff will walk you through it if you have no speech-language pathologist. See our guide on how to start voice banking.
Veterans: Team Gleason directs veterans seeking Acapela funding to apply through the Department of Veterans Affairs at mov.acapela-group.com/start-now, selecting “Medical” for purpose of usage and “Department of Veteran Affairs” for the funding organization.
Seat elevator grants for power wheelchairs
A seat elevator raises the whole seat of a power chair. It makes transfers easier, lets you reach things, and lets you look people in the eye. Medicare does not pay for it. Team Gleason says CMS, the federal agency running Medicare, deems the feature “not medically necessary” and used for “convenience.”
Team Gleason has partnerships with the wheelchair manufacturers Invacare, Permobil, Quantum, and Sunrise to issue grants toward that feature. The grant goes through the manufacturer and your equipment supplier, so no money passes through your hands.
The rule that catches people: grants are only for chairs that have not yet been ordered and are still in quote form. Their site states that if the order has already been placed, “Team Gleason will be unable to assist with grants.”
They also say a limited number of grants are available each month, and that every applicant must schedule and complete a phone call to be considered. Requests are reviewed by their Technology and Equipment team.
Portable power wheelchairs, on long-term loan
Team Gleason loans portable power wheelchairs to qualifying people on a long-term basis, at no cost. These weigh between 45 and 60 pounds, fold down for transport, and are designed for airline travel.
They are honest about the limits. These are “Group 2” chairs. They are not meant for full-day use and do not give the postural support or the alternative controls of a larger “Group 3” chair. They are for covering distance and saving energy, alongside your main chair.
Team Gleason states it “does not provide portable power wheelchairs to people who already have a Group 3 power chair.” The reason they can give these away at all is that Group 2 chairs are not covered by insurance.
They accept portable power wheelchairs back when you are done. They cannot accept Group 3 chairs, and refer those to your local ALS chapter or the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a US nonprofit serving people with neuromuscular diseases.
Home automation packages
Equipment so you can control the house without your hands. Team Gleason says it currently provides light switches, thermostats, garage door openers, deadbolts, and outlet control, running through Axial Control and working with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
Packages are built around the individual. They state clearly that they cannot equip a whole house, and will generally cover “the room(s) or area(s) the end user occupies the most.”
Two practical things their FAQ spells out. You need to hire an electrician yourself to install the switches and thermostat. And because Axial Control is a Windows program, a speech generating device has to be unlocked for Windows access first, which manufacturers usually charge between $25 and $49 to do.
Once installed, the Z-Wave Plus equipment works without an internet connection, though the phone apps do need one. Axial Control offers its own technical support by email Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm Central.
Adventures
Team Gleason funds and documents trips for people living with ALS. Grand Canyon, a Broadway show, a private zoo tour, Alaska, Yellowstone. Adventures are within the United States and start from what you want to do.
Eligibility here is wider than their other programs: “Any individual living with ALS or muscular diseases or injuries.”
They pay vendors, agencies, and companies directly. They do not hand over money and do not reimburse. They generally cover the person with ALS, a caregiver, and direct family members, decided case by case, and they say outright that fully paid all-inclusive trips are “generally unattainable” on their budget.
Timeline, and it is a long one. After the initial application and a call, they send a second Adventure Application, and those “are due at least three full months before the planned adventure.” You are told two full months before the adventure whether they can help. You do most of the research and planning up front.
Support services: respite and virtual gatherings
Virtual community gatherings are open to people diagnosed with ALS, their families, and caregivers. They are for sharing what works day to day and for referrals. You request information by email.
Respite care gives a caregiver a few hours a week or several days a month off. Team Gleason’s respite grants are not national. Their site directs you to two partner organizations: ALS of Michigan for Michigan, and ALS in the Heartland for Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. Both are US nonprofits, and you apply with them directly, not with Team Gleason.
If you live anywhere else, respite has to come from somewhere else. Our caregiver burnout and respite page covers the other routes.
Who is eligible
Team Gleason publishes three conditions it asks of anyone applying for a grant. These are the general gate. Individual programs then add their own rules.
- The application is completed by the person with ALS, by a family member with their knowledge or consent, or by an associate of the family with their consent.
- A valid email address is provided. Everything after the form runs by email.
- Other avenues have been tried. Their example: the equipment is not covered by insurance and is not available through a local loan closet.
Then the program-specific rules that decide most applications:
- Voice banking funding: anyone living in the USA with an ALS diagnosis. This is the only program with a published country rule.
- Seat elevator grant: the chair must not be ordered yet, must still be a quote, and must be from Invacare, Permobil, Quantum, or Sunrise.
- Portable power wheelchair: not available if you already have a Group 3 power chair.
- Home automation: not available if you live in a nursing home or care facility.
- Loaner speech device: you need a device evaluation first, and supply is limited.
- Respite grant: Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota only, through partner organizations.
Team Gleason does not publish an income limit, an asset test, or a dollar cap on any program. It also does not publish how long a decision takes, apart from the adventure timeline. Ask on your call.
How to apply
There is one application for everything. You pick the services you want inside the form, and you can ask for more than one.
- Read the pALS FAQ first. It is long, but it is where the exclusions live.
- Go to teamgleason.org/need-assistance and open the application.
- Create the secure portal login. It has to belong to the person with ALS or their designated care partner. Others can help fill it in, but the account is not theirs.
- Fill in personal and contact details, then answer “Yes” at Requested Services to reveal the list.
- Choose your service. For voice work, pick “Voice and Message Banking,” then “Funding & Support” if you want guidance too, or “Funding” if you only need the money.
- Submit, then watch your email. A staff member contacts you to explain the process and book a call.
- Take the call. For seat elevator grants it is mandatory: every applicant must schedule an appointment to be considered.
- Track status, past applications, and appointments in the portal.
Have this ready before you start a seat elevator grant. Team Gleason lists these as required alongside the application.
- Contact details for the durable medical equipment company supplying the chair.
- The quote number from Invacare, Permobil, Quantum, or Sunrise.
- Proof or a copy of the denial for the seat elevator feature. If your policy lists it as non-covered, a copy of that policy will do.
- A written rationale for why the equipment is needed. Team Gleason says this is used to decide who gets the limited monthly grants, so put real detail in it.
For an adventure, expect a second longer application after the call, plus a diagnosis letter and detail on the trip you have researched yourself.
What they do not cover
This is the part worth reading twice, because several of these are permanent once you trip them.
- Power wheelchair copays. Their FAQ answer is one word long: no. Medicare covers 80% of a covered power chair and you owe the other 20%. Team Gleason will not help with that share.
- Anything already paid for. On voice banking they state they “are unable to reimburse expenses made prior to approval.” Apply first, pay second.
- A power chair that is already ordered. Once the order is placed, the seat elevator grant is gone. There is no retroactive version.
- Other wheelchair parts. They say they cannot help with other wheelchair items. The grant is for the seat elevator feature, not cushions, headrests, or drive controls.
- Group 3 power chairs. They do not supply them, and they cannot take them back as donations.
- Home automation in a facility. Not available to people with ALS living in a nursing home or care facility.
- Whole-house automation, and installation. You get the rooms you use most, and you hire the electrician.
- Cash, in any program. Adventure money goes straight to vendors. They state plainly that they do not issue reimbursements, and if a trip falls through you cannot keep the budget.
- Travel you booked yourself. Previously planned travel and already incurred expenses cannot be folded into a Team Gleason adventure.
- Respite outside four states. Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota, through partners. Nothing published for anywhere else.
- Rent, utilities, medical bills, home modifications, medication. Team Gleason publishes no program for general living costs. Our financial resources page lists organizations that do.
They also state that granting is at their sole discretion and an adventure may be denied for any reason. Funding is limited and program terms change, so treat everything here as the starting point for your call, not a promise.
Three deadlines that decide whether you get anything
Voice banking: apply before you pay. Money spent before approval is not refunded, no matter how strong your case is.
Seat elevator: apply while the chair is still a quote. Your supplier cannot place the order without your authorization, so say “not yet” until the grant is settled.
Adventures: the second application is due at least three full months before the trip, and you hear back two months before. Nothing works on short notice.
One more that is easy to miss: Medicare pays for one power wheelchair and one speech device every five years. Trial several before you commit, because a wrong choice locks you in for years.
Contact
Team Gleason publishes no phone number. We checked their home page, assistance pages, program pages, and FAQ on July 27, 2026 and found none. If you have seen a phone number for them elsewhere, treat it as unverified. Everything runs through forms and email.
- Apply for any program: teamgleason.org/need-assistance
- Stuck on the application, or any other question: their General Inquiry form. Choose “Application Assistance” and a staff member will contact you.
- Questions about the login portal: teamgleason.org/portal-faqs
- Virtual community gatherings: email kelly@teamgleason.org
- Returning a loaner device or portable wheelchair: email returns@teamgleason.org
- Program details before you apply: the pALS Resource page and the pALS FAQ
- Respite, if you are in one of the four states: ALS of Michigan or ALS in the Heartland
Team Gleason Foundation is a registered US charity, EIN 45-3689316, and publishes its Form 990s and audited financial statements on its financials page going back to 2012. Main site: teamgleason.org.
Related pages
We are not affiliated with Team Gleason in any way. We describe them here as a resource for families living with ALS, nothing more, and they have not reviewed or endorsed this page. Everything above was read on their own site on July 27, 2026. Program terms, eligibility, and funding change, so confirm current details with Team Gleason directly before you make any decision or spend any money.