Our Funding the Future campaign is focused on building a sustainable financial foundation upon which we can continue – and expand – our community’s important work. We hope you’ll join us in creating the future we all envision!

The CSHA Foundation is a qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Contributions to the foundation may be tax deductible based on current Internal Revenue Service regulations. Donors are encouraged to discuss the deductibility of contributions with their tax advisor.

Due to COVID-19, CSHAF’s finances are critically strained. We’re weathering the storm facing many nonprofits by making cuts, while continuing to serve the profession and the communities we serve. But the need for our Funding the Future campaign is real. And you can make all the difference!

The facts are clear – without significant new support, we will not be able to sustain the exceptional gains we have made on behalf of all Californians and our profession.

Awareness of the negative impacts on human lives of cuts to services in early intervention and schools, as well as medical reimbursement rates, would fade. Without CSHAF’s organizationally empowered vigilance, fewer SLPs and AuDs will enter and stay in the field, negatively impacting those with the least access to services.

The solution rests with CSHAF’s community and the thousands of other professionals in California.

So many in California benefit from CSHAF’s work – young children with autism or language delays, people with hearing loss, stutterers or adults recovering from injuries or strokes. Moreover, thousands of professionals, the schools, hospitals and regional centers where our professionals work, and the universities who train them benefit from a strong CSHAF.

CSHAF is taking bold steps and doing something we’ve never done before: We’re launching a $1 million fundraising initiative to support CSHAF’s important work and bridge the organization to the other side of the pandemic.

Charitable contributions are the answer. Through the 501c3 CSHA Foundation, your tax-deductible gift today will help sustain CSHAF and its important work through these challenging times.

• For students and those just entering the field: give so that CSHAF will be there for you with scholarships, networking and workshops as you complete your degree and enter the job market.
• For mid-career professionals: give so that you can participate in continuing education, advance professionally and continue to grow.
• For seasoned professionals: give so that CSHAF can continue to educate and inform across California on key issues of importance to the profession and those you serve.
• For community members: support CSHAF so that you or your loved one can access needed services, and everyone who needs it will have that access in the future.
• For corporate partners: your contributions to CSHAF will ensure the environment in which you do business continues to be supported and grown by a statewide professional nonprofit organization.

CSHAF is a movement ensuring that all Californians can exercise their fundamental right to engage and connect.

Support our movement by making a gift to CSHAF today!

CSHAF raises public awareness of communication disorders and the services available to address them, delivers a range educational programs and conferences, and offers student scholarships to those pursing an education in communication disorders or similar graduate programs.

California’s 30,000 speech language pathologists (SLPs), audiologists (AuDs) and related professionals provide life-altering support to those with speech, hearing, swallowing and cognitive challenges. From speech challenges and hearing issues, to brain injuries and swallowing conditions, these caring professionals lift lives every day.

Unfortunately, the demand outstrips capacity: Nationally, only 55% of children with voice, speech, language or swallowing disorders receive services each year. At the same time, SLP and audiology services are the No. 1 educational service provided to PK-12 students.

The CSHA Foundation collaborates with other organizations to strengthen and grow the SLP and AuD professions so every child and adult gets the support they need to exercise their basic right to communicate.

CSHAF serves the community with full attention to California’s increasing diversity, including along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, education, training, experience, religious beliefs, political beliefs or other ideologies.

As California’s population has grown and become increasingly diverse, there are simply not enough speech, language and hearing professionals to meet the need. California needs more SLPs and AuDs graduating in our state each year – and there’s work to be done to ensure that those who do graduate reflect California’s population. Meanwhile, thousands of our neighbors go without the professional support they need to communicate.

It’s a complex challenge, but one that’s critically important to all Californians. CSHAF is dedicated to fostering greater understanding and awareness of these challenges, and to building a larger, more diverse and more empowered workforce in our state. An important part of that work is expanding the pipeline for increasingly diverse cohorts of students to enter the field.

CSHAF is building the diverse workforce of the future. We do this by:

• Fostering the recruitment of college students to pursue careers in the field and offering them scholarships, leadership opportunities and more.
• Providing continuing education, networking and career guidance for early-career professionals, especially those from underrepresented groups.
• Educating regarding the need to increase the number of student slots in speech pathology and audiology in California.
• Addressing systemic barriers to entering and staying in the profession.
• Building cultural competency through trainings, publications and conversations led by peers.
• Building community and leadership through our annual conference, workshops and events throughout the year.

CSHAF is supporting the profession in California, making a difference in the lives of all those who need these services.