Q. What type of financial consulting and education does the Foundation offer?
A. To promote personal financial responsibility, The Foundation provides free financial consulting and financial education classes. More information on financial consulting and education classes is available on this Web site or by calling toll free at (800) 972-3859.

Q. How serious does my financial situation have to be to receive monetary assistance?
A. Assistance is based on financial hardship and is provided for basic needs as a last resource. The Clara Abbott Foundation’s definition of financial hardship is any situation that threatens the family’s ability to provide basic living needs. For example, The Foundation may provide financial assistance for expenses due to natural disaster, major health problems of a family member, special needs children and cases of abuse.

Q. I’m having financial troubles, but I’m worried about talking to someone at The Foundation. How do I know that someone at work won’t find out?
A. Information provided to The Foundation is kept confidential except as required by law. Foundation cases are not shared with your manager and they are not part of Abbott's records or personnel files.

Q. After the application has been completed, how long does it take to get a decision?
A. You will be offered an appointment to meet with a financial consultant within five business days. It takes two to four weeks to receive a decision, if all requested information is brought to the first interview. In an emergency (abuse, funeral and natural disaster), help can usually be provided within one business day.

Q. I applied to The Clara Abbott Foundation for assistance with my credit card debt. Rather than pay off my bills, The Foundation would only agree to pay legal fees to an attorney for me to consider bankruptcy. I do not feel that bankruptcy will help me. Why didn’t The Foundation help me?
A. The Clara Abbott Foundation may provide financial assistance for credit card debt if the applicant demonstrates that the debt was caused by an event and is for basic living needs. However, if an applicant has a high debt-to-income ratio and cannot achieve a positive cash flow, the Foundation may provide a referral to an appropriate resource. Some examples are an attorney who can explain options regarding bankruptcy, an external debt elimination resource or The Foundation's financial education classes. The Clara Abbott Foundation will only provide legal fees for a bankruptcy attorney once per family, per lifetime.

Q. Will The Foundation assist with paying for child care costs?
A. If paying for basic child care inhibits the employee’s ability to continue to provide essential basic living needs (food, clothing, shelter), then The Foundation may be able to assist with short-term child care assistance.

Q. Will The Foundation support my child's school fund raiser?
A. No, this question is best suited for the Abbott Fund. The Clara Abbott Foundation and the Abbott Fund are different in many ways:

The Abbott Fund (The Fund) is a philanthropic corporation by Abbott and provides support through cash grants to recipients outside of Abbott who operate in the areas of health and welfare, education, culture, art, civic and public policy. The Fund's contributions are directed to areas in which Abbott has an immediate or long-range interest and relevant expertise. The Fund's guidelines preclude making grants to individuals. Abbott provides the primary financial support of the Abbott Fund. More information on The Fund is available online or you can call (847) 937-7075.

The Clara Abbott Foundation (The Foundation) provides resources exclusively to help Abbott families in times of need through financial consulting and education, need-based college-level scholarships and need-based grants. While The Foundation shares a close connection to Abbott and exists solely for Abbott employees and retirees, it is a not-for-profit organization that is managed and funded separately from Abbott.