FAQ

The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand...

Below you will find Frequently Asked Questions for:

Requesters

Requesters (those under the care of a Christian Science nurse) or their Personal Representatives (PR)/Power of Attorneys (POA)​

Find the “Apply for a Grant” page on the IFCSN website. Review the instructions on that page, download the IFCSN Worksheet and then click on the “Register” button. After registering and thus giving your consent to IFCSN’s use of your personal data for granting purposes, you’ll be able to log into the IFCSN secure portal. From there you’ll be able to fill out the grant application form by selecting “Start a Grant Application.”

We will need your contact information, an understanding of your current reliance on Christian Science, an understanding of what Christian Science care you are receiving and the estimated costs you will incur or have already incurred. We will also need a self-disclosure of your annual income, your assets, and any other sources of grant, family or other funding available to you to meet these needs. Check out this worksheet to help you gather the information you need before starting your application. We will let you know if any further information is needed. All information we receive is always kept confidential.

Individuals are eligible who are receiving treatment from a Christian Science practitioner, and need Christian Science nursing care. Because The Principle Foundation (which administers the IFCSN) is a public charity under US law, it is required to make grants based on “need.” Thus, the reason we request some disclosure of your need for assistance.

No, but we would ask that you disclose these assets. And, in line with Mary Baker Eddy’s instructions that Christian Scientists honor the value of the care provided by Christian Science nurses and Christian Science practitioners, you will be asked to cover some portion of the cost of the care.

Yes. If you are approved for a grant, we can give you an  “up-to amount,” and then wait to hear back from you how much funders or insurance will pay. In general, the IFCSN pays after we know the amount these other sources will cover.

Most Christian Science nurses and facilities will only work with an individual who is receiving treatment from a Journal-listed Christian Science practitioner. This is our preference as well.

We ask that you be receiving care from a practicing Christian Science nurse, as defined in the Manual by-law (which includes a requirement that the Christian Science nurse be a member of The Mother Church.) However, the Christian Science nurse does not need to be Journal-listed. If he/she is not listed, the grant will require that there be a Journal-listed supervisory nurse who visits to support and assess the care on a regular (generally monthly) basis. The frequency will be included in the “terms of the grant.”

A listing of all Christian Science nurses worldwide can be found here. If you would like to find a Christian Science nursing facility or visiting nurse service, you can find a link to their website here. If you cannot find a Journal-listed nurse near you, ask a local branch church member if they know anyone in your area who is qualified to assist you.

Once you fill out the application and we follow-up by phone, you will typically be notified of our grant decision within five–ten business days.

Not necessarily. Additional resources or benevolence may be required. And, in line with Mary Baker Eddy’s instructions that Christian Scientists honor the value of the care provided by Christian Science nurses and Christian Science practitioners, you will be asked to cover some portion of the cost of the care.

We are always expecting healing, but if you need further assistance, there is a short renewal form you can fill out after 60 days. You do not need to fill out the original application again.

In general, we prefer that you or a legal power of attorney fill out the form. If someone else needs to act as a personal representative for you, the IFCSN application also allows for the registration of an individual in the role of a personal representative. A personal representative will have to submit as part of his/her registration process an appointment form signed by you as the individual receiving care.  A standard appointment form to download is also made available during the registration process. It is important that IFCSN receive consent and appropriate documentation from both the individual receiving care (and thus requesting financial assistance) and the individual making application on their behalf. If you as the requester cannot find an individual near you who can act as your personal representative to fill out the application, you may be in touch with the International Fund Grant Administrator (IFGA) and receive help directly from the International Fund Grant Administrator to fill out the application form. In that case, the IFGA will need you to sign a consent form that says you have agreed to have the IFGA help you fill out the application form.

The primary purpose of the fund is to support Christian Science nursing. We may consider home-helper assistance in unusual circumstances.

In some cases, “yes.” The terms of each grant are unique. It is possible that a request can be made to cover costs incurred up to three (3) months in arrears. Please note that after a grant is approved, IFCSN’s policy is to pay the provider directly based, however, on invoices the requester/grantee submits to IFCSN.

If you anticipate that you will need to submit an invoice connected with an IFCSN grant for payment, we recommend you do register in advance, as the registration process requires several set-up steps to go through before any invoices can be submitted.

Private-duty Christian Science nurses and other care providers

Private-duty Christian Science nurses and organisations that provide on-site or visiting Christian Science nursing care

This is a requester-centred fund, so in general we would ask that the requester or an authorised personal representative fill out the application. In the event that this is not possible, please contact us to discuss the situation. See the contact us page on this website.

Yes. Providers can be paid by IFCSN only if banking information and a US tax form have been received. The way to submit this information in compliance with data protection laws is to register on our IFCSN secure portal.

After registering, the main dashboard presents two buttons that enable you to submit banking information and the required US tax form. The form you submit depends on your US tax status, and you reach the relevant form based on your answer to this question. Simply follow the instructions on the page.

The invoice should include the basics of the fees and appropriate direct costs (e.g. nursing supplies, equipment, travel if approved) and any mandated taxes. It’s important that fees and expenses are clearly separated. We will review invoices the grantee uploads to the IFCSN secure portal to ensure everything is in order. Any direct cost must have a corresponding receipt.

Any invoices you send to the individual you’re caring for should have an invoice number. This will vastly simplify and speed up the process for IFCSN and for you.

Invoices should be made out and sent to grantees directly. If the individual receiving care isn’t able to upload invoices to the IFCSN secure portal, we will discuss this with you (the care provider). We may ask you to submit the invoice on the IFCSN secure portal and fill out the details on an electronic form that digitises some key information on the invoice.

Invoices meeting the IFCSN granting criteria are paid in the amounts stated in the terms of the specific grant. Invoices must have been reviewed and approved by the grantee or the personal representative/power of attorney prior to submission by a provider.

We can set you up to receive Convera (formerly Western Union) payments directly to your bank account or we can discuss other options. After you register on our IFCSN secure portal, you will be able to submit your banking information and the necessary US Tax form. This set up will only be needed the first time (and if you need to make changes to your banking information). For subsequent payments you’ll receive the payment directly for any invoices submitted by the grantee.

Christian Science practitioners

Yes, but only if those Christian Science practitioner fees are for his/her support directly related to Christian Science nursing care.

Yes. Christian Science practitioners (referenced as care providers on the IFCSN portal) can be paid by IFCSN only if banking information and a US tax form have been received. The way to submit this information in compliance with data protection laws is to register on our IFCSN secure portal.

After registering, the main dashboard presents two buttons that enable you to submit banking information and the required US tax form. The form you submit depends on your US tax status, and you reach the relevant form based on your answer to this question. Simply follow the instructions on the page.

Please include your daily or per prayerful session fee and a total sum for the amount of work you did for the individual that month.

Please, make sure to issue invoices with an invoice number for the IFCSN to insert into the payment request form. This will vastly simplify and speed up the payment process for us and for you.

Invoices should be made out and sent to grantees directly. If the individual receiving care isn’t able to upload invoices to the IFCSN secure portal, we will discuss this with you (the care provider). We may ask you to submit the invoice on the IFCSN secure portal and fill out the details on an electronic form that digitises some key information on the invoice.

Invoices meeting the IFCSN granting criteria are paid in the amounts stated in the terms of the specific grant. Invoices must have been reviewed and approved by the grantee or the personal representative/power of attorney prior to submission by a provider.

We can set you up to receive Convera (formerly Western Union) payments directly to your bank account or we can discuss other options. After you register on our IFCSN secure portal, you will be able to submit your banking information and the necessary US Tax form. This set up will only be needed the first time (and if you need to make changes to your banking information). For subsequent payments you’ll receive the payment directly for any invoices submitted by the grantee.

Additional questions

Registering with the IFCSN portal is only necessary if you wish to apply (if you are a requester, a personal representative or act as Power of Attorney on behalf of the requester) or to request a payment (if you are a service provider). If you only wish to receive informational emails from IFCSN, you can fill out the form that enables you to consent to emails from IFCSN.

Feel free to contact us. Please note: the International Fund Grant Administrator is most likely to answer calls during business hours from 10 am to 12pm CEST and from 1pm to 3pm CEST Monday through Friday.

The Invoice Information form simply standardises the information in your invoice to make it easier for the IFCSN to apply payments under the terms of the grant to someone in your care. Once you have done this a couple of times, it should become easy for you – though it will always take a little time. You might wish to modify your invoices to conform to this standard form – making it even faster and easier for you.

Yes. A separate invoice information form needs to be submitted for each uploaded invoice, whether you’re submitting it as a requester/personal representative or a care provider.

IFCSN can, depending on the terms of your grant, reimburse you for paid invoices dating three months back. After that, IFCSN prefers that you upload unpaid invoices as they come to you from the care providers and allow IFCSN to pay the providers directly. If you prefer to submit verified paid invoices and request a reimbursement, IFCSN can do that on an exceptional basis.

Other long-time funders from other regions of the world are mentioned on the IFCSN home page. The IFCSN was designed as a top-up fund. If a requester is eligible for one of the existing local funds, they should apply to those funds first or at the same time as making a request to IFCSN. They will be asked to disclose if they are receiving (or will receive) funds from other sources to cover their Christian Science nursing (including Christian Science practitioner) costs.

IFCSN adopted specific practices and continues to improve them in order to comply with the various countries’ data protection laws. If something in the process is not as straight forward as expected, this is most likely due to the need to adhere to strict data protection procedures.

Asking users to upload documents through the IFCSN secure portal is one important practice IFCSN has adopted to ensure compliance with data protection legal requirements. Transmitting documents via email in connection with grants should only be done as a last resort, when access to the IFCSN secure portal is not possible.