What Is The Violet Bridge Foundation? Programs and Impact
Five programs, three board members, and the small honest numbers of a nonprofit that started in 2026. Here is what we do and what we deliberately do not.
The Violet Bridge Foundation is a Colorado nonprofit that keeps children and adults with disabilities connected to care when the systems paying for that care break down. We pay providers directly when coverage lapses, we sit with families to work out what to do next, we build free apps that explain Medicaid and waivers and IEPs in plain language, and we go into elementary schools so kids understand classmates who talk using a device. We are small, we are new, and we are specific about what we can and cannot do.
Why we started
In 2026, Marshall Fielding watched his own child lose access to speech therapy while the family waited for coverage to be reinstated.
“At one point, she had been out of speech therapy for a while while we waited for coverage to be reinstated.”
Nothing about Ellie had changed. Her need had not changed. What changed was a piece of paper.
“I could not accept that a piece of paperwork or a backlog in a system would be the thing that stopped a child’s progress.”
That is the whole origin of this organization. Not a business plan, not a market gap. A parent who had already watched the thing happen and did not want it happening to the next family.
The part that still drives the work:
“I know children’s development does not pause while systems catch up.”
A Medicaid redetermination can take three to nine months to resolve. A four year old does not pause for three to nine months. That mismatch is the problem we exist to sit inside.
The five programs
1. Bridge Grant Program
What it is: Direct financial help when a child’s therapy or support coverage lapses. Who it’s for: Families of children with autism or other disabilities who have a gap in coverage. What it covers: ABA therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, equine therapy, and medically necessary devices. Where: Nationwide, with Colorado roots. Running since: May 2026.
Here is why this program exists in numbers. ABA runs $120 to $250 an hour. Speech and occupational therapy run about $100 to $250 a session. For a family facing the full cost, therapy can run between $5,200 and over $21,000 a month. Almost nobody absorbs that for three to nine months while an agency sorts out paperwork, so care stops.
What it is not: Grants are a last resort, not a first stop. We cannot give legal advice, and in most cases we cannot fund devices that are not medically necessary.
Start a nomination or, if you are not sure whether a denial even qualifies, run it through the Denial Decoder first.
2. Family Navigation
What it is: A free person who helps you work out where you’re stuck and what to do next. Who it’s for: Families navigating Medicaid, waivers, insurance, and IEPs or school supports. Where: Nationwide. Running since: April 2026.
You fill out an application, someone reaches out within two to three days to set up an intake conversation, and then we work with you for as long and as often as it takes. We’ll also refer you on when a specialist organization is a better fit than we are, which happens often and is not a failure.
What it is not: We are not attorneys and we do not give legal advice. We do not determine your eligibility, coverage, benefits, or services, and we cannot promise an outcome. Those decisions stay with the agencies, and your care decisions stay with you.
3. Adult Navigation
What it is: The same thing, built for adults sorting out their own services rather than a parent sorting out a child’s. Who it’s for: Adults with disabilities and the people who care for them. Where: Nationwide.
This exists as its own program for a plain reason. An adult working out their own Medicaid, housing, and benefits is in a different position from a parent advocating for a seven year old, and a page written for parents makes adults assume they are in the wrong place.
4. Guiding Pathways
What it is: Free apps that explain disability systems in plain language. Who it’s for: Anyone navigating autism care, disability services, or adult transition. Where: Nationwide, at guidingpathways.help.
Four tools: Autism Pathways (live), Disability Pathways (beta), Adult Pathways (beta), and Surgical Pathways. They cover Medicaid, waivers, denials, IEPs, housing, school, work, and finding providers.
This is our widest-reaching program by a long way. 445 families are using the apps, and the program has helped around 500 families in total. They are free, and they stay free.
5. Every Voice
What it is: AAC awareness in elementary schools. AAC means augmentative and alternative communication, the devices some people use to speak. Who it’s for: Elementary and primary students, so they understand classmates who communicate with a device. Where: Colorado. Pilot program. Running since: June 2026.
We work with a school on a plan, then come in for an assembly or a specials block. Local speech-language pathologists facilitate. Speaking students actually pick up an AAC device and build their own messages with it, which turns out to be the part that lands, because it is slower and harder than anyone expects.
What it is not: We do not provide speech therapy or medical advice, and we do not leave devices at the school. Every device goes home with the team. Schools can book through everyvoicecolorado.org.
What we have actually done
We launched in 2026. These are the real numbers, as of August 2026:
| Families helped through Guiding Pathways | 500 |
| Families using the free apps | 445 |
| Families funded through Bridge Grants | 3 |
| Children kept in therapy | 3 |
| Median review turnaround | 48 hours |
| Provider partners | 3 |
Three funded families is a small number and we would rather print it than round it into something vague. We opened the grant program in May 2026. Every one of those three is a specific child who did not lose their therapy slot, and the 48 hour median is the number we are proudest of, because the entire point is to move faster than the system that stalled.
The apps reach far more people than the grants do, which is what you would expect. Information scales. Money does not.
Who runs it
Three board officers, all serving since 2026:
- Marshall Fielding, co-founder, Director of the Bridge Grant Program and Family Navigation. The parent whose experience started this.
- Jessie Fielding, co-founder, Director of Guiding Pathways. Background in marketing, taught herself to code, which is why the apps exist at all.
- Doyle Rabe, retired CPA and CEO of Austin Radiological Association in Austin, Texas.
Worth saying plainly: there is a retired CPA on our board, and the fiscal year ends December 31. For a young nonprofit asking people for money, who is watching the money is a fair question and the answer should be easy to find.
Governance details
- Legal name: The Violet Bridge Foundation
- EIN: 42-2004976
- Incorporated in: Colorado
- Status: 501(c)(3) public charity
- Fiscal year end: December 31
When you email us, one of those three people reads it. That is not a tagline, it is just the size of the organization right now.
What we don’t do
Knowing where an organization stops is usually more useful than hearing what it hopes to be.
- We don’t give legal advice. Nobody here is an attorney. When you need one, we’ll say so.
- We don’t decide your eligibility. We can’t approve your Medicaid, authorize your waiver, or overturn a denial. We can help you understand what you’re looking at and what to do next.
- We don’t replace insurance or Medicaid. Grants are a bridge across a temporary gap, not a substitute for coverage.
- We don’t give medical advice, and we will never tell you to change or stop a treatment.
- We don’t charge families. Not for grants, not for navigation, not for the apps.
How to get help, and how to help
If you’re stuck, the fastest route is /help/. Four options, no need to know our program names.
If a child’s coverage lapsed, go straight to a nomination.
If you want to support this, every program runs on donations. No government funding, no membership fees. You can donate, and providers can become a partner practice so grant money reaches your billing department directly rather than going through a family.
Frequently asked questions
Is The Violet Bridge Foundation a registered charity?
Yes. We're a 501(c)(3) public charity incorporated in Colorado, EIN 42-2004976. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows.
Do you only help families in Colorado?
No. Bridge Grants, Family Navigation, Adult Navigation and the Guiding Pathways apps are nationwide. Every Voice is a Colorado pilot, because it involves physically visiting schools.
Does it cost anything?
No. There is no fee to apply for a grant, no cost for navigation, and the apps are free.
Do you ONLY help children with autism?
No. The Bridge Grant Program is built around children with autism and other disabilities, and Adult Navigation and the Guiding Pathways apps serve adults with disabilities too.
How fast do you respond?
Our median review turnaround is 48 hours. Family Navigation reaches out within two to three business days of an application.
Do grants go to the family or the provider?
Our provider partner model is built so approved funds reach a practice's billing department directly, rather than a family paying up front and waiting to be reimbursed.
How do I know you're legitimate?
Check the EIN, 42-2004976, against the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Our board is named above with real roles. Our impact numbers are published with the month they were counted, including the small ones.