Prior Grant Requests
| Organization Name | Grant Year | Cycle | Request Amount | Grant Awarded | Awarded Amount | Matching Funds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel Flight Southeast | 2026 |
2026-1 |
$5,000.00 |
Organization Name: Angel Flight Southeast
Organization Website: https://angelflightse.org/
Year Established: 1983Â
Mission Statement:
AFSE’s mission is to provide access for all people in need seeking free air transportation to specialized health care facilities or distant destinations due to family, community, or national crisis. AFSE coordinates aviation services which match individuals facing medical hardships due to required long distance travel for their health care appointments, with volunteer pilots willing to donate their time and aircraft. We are comprised of over 900 pilots with only two full-time employees running the ground support operations, 24 hours a day-7 days a week. For the past 30 years, pilots have donated their time, aircraft, and fuel which has allowed us to expand and meet the increase in patient demand.
Contact Name: Nicole Hazelgren Years in Position: 7
Contact Email: grants@mercymail.org
Contact Phone: (352) 326-0761
Address: 8864 Airport Blvd
Leesburg, Florida 34788
Have you previously received a grant? No If yes, please indicate the year(s): Â
How did you hear about our organization?
Grantstation.com lead us to your organization.
What do you believe we can provide your organization?
The organization’s administrative costs are funded entirely by donations from individuals, companies, and philanthropic organizations. We receive no funding from any government entities. Donations have allowed us to perform meaningful work that has made a difference in the health of our communities. We believe our organization has created a lasting, positive impact in the lives of our patients. Investing in our nonprofit will help strengthen and sustain our agency’s mission of eliminating geographic distances to healthcare providers for our patients. From arranging a free flight for a child’s lifesaving medical treatment to arranging a short-notice mission or an organ transplant, our goal of alleviating the financial burdens of medical travel will be achieved with the help of others such as the The Lake Club Women’s Giving Circle. Together we can truly accomplish great things and meet the challenges of access to healthcare in our communities.
What will the grant be used for?
AFSE strategic plan is to increase operations by 10 percent to meet the geographic demand of all underserved populations. Operating strictly on charitable donations and pilots’ contributions, AFSE has been able to provide exceptional service and continue to meet our patients’ demand. Outside financial assistance is essential to fund these critical expenses:
-Dedicated toll-free hotline for patients, physicians, and social services to contact us to arrange medically necessary air travel
-Updating pilot database and communication software systems used for coordinating missions
-Implementation of new pilot recruitment program
-Community outreach to make our presence felt throughout the region
-Promotional and educational materials for the public
Meeting these costs will increase the capacity of AFSE and we will continue to be recognized as the first choice in distant specialty care especially among the marginalized populations who are often uninsured and classified as low-income.
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Provide the grant amount you are seeking: $5,000.00
Do you provide services to Sarasota and/or Manatee County? Yes
What is the financial impact per individual/program this grant will provide?
Transportation barriers significantly impact whether people have access to healthcare in the United States. Long-distance travel to healthcare providers and clinics can be a major deterrent for patient access and prevent patients from seeing their clinicians. People diagnosed with chronic and rare diseases, serious physical injuries, and organ transplantation require ongoing treatment and therapies necessitating reliable sources of travel. According to the CDC, more than 1 in 5 patients miss or delay medical treatment due to transportation hurdles. Failure to attend necessary appointments result in a cancer patient missing chemotherapy or a kidney disease patient skipping dialysis. Effective management of health problems comes with a host of logistical demands that need to be met to improve patient outcomes. We seek to alleviate the financial and medical burdens such conditions can place on patients and their families by arranging to fly children to long-distance appointments. For every dollar that is donated AFSC return five dollars in services.
Please provide the estimated number of women, children and families impacted.
To date, AFSE coordinated 498 mission legs in the Manatee and Sarasota County, flying 120 unique passengers- a total of 1,443 nautical miles and hours. Together we can truly accomplish great things, fulfill our 2026 anticipated outcomes, and meet the challenges of overcoming obstacles that prevent access to healthcare in our communities.
Is there a matching grant? No If yes, indicate donation source:
May we tour your facility? Yes
What reciprocal benefit can you provide our organization:
We provide personalized thank you cards with stories of a passenger we’ve flown, and a thank you on our social media/newsletter that goes out to our volunteers.
Proof of Non-Profit Status https://tlcwcf.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/15/501-c-3-Determination-letter.pdf
Organization’s Logo https://tlcwcf.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/15/Angel-Flight-Logo-150×150.jpg [110 show_image=1]
Project/Program-specific budget: https://tlcwcf.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/15/Angel-Flight-Southeast-Budget-2026.pdf
Guide Star Profile/Rating (if applicable):
Anything else you would like to share with us?