THE DENVER ACTORS FUND’S PAWS FUND DISTRIBUTION POLICY

A separate fund for medical expenses related to domesticated animals administered by The Denver Actors Fund

Adopted by the DAF Board of Directors: January 23, 2023 (Amended April 29, 2024)

• Financial Aid Distributions:
  The DAF PAWS Fund may provide limited financial-aid distributions to Qualified Distribution Recipients only under the following circumstances:
  • Veterinary Medical Expenses:
    • When a Qualified Distribution Recipient requests assistance with unpaid veterinary expenses incurred as the result of a medical condition or injury to a common domesticated household pet provably owned by the Qualified Distribution Recipient; Within six months of the issuance of an original bill for such expenses; and upon provision of written documentation of such expenses by the Qualified Distribution Recipient.
    • The Denver Actors Domestic Animals Fund will consider compensation for medical veterinary expenses that the Qualified Distribution Recipient already has paid within six months of the date of the application.
  • End of Life Veterinary Expenses:
    • To provide financial assistance following the death of a common domesticated household pet provably owned by Qualified Distribution Recipient. Such financial assistance may include payment of any or all of the following:
      • Unpaid and verifiable medical expenses for the deceased common domesticated household pet owed and registered under the name of the Qualified Distribution Recipient or above;
      • Verifiable euthanasia, cremation and/or burial expenses (including costs associated with obtaining the cremains).
• Qualifying Veterinary Expenses:
  • Definition of Common Domesticated Household Pet:
    • For the purposes of the DAF PAWS Fund, animals that qualify for medical- expense reimbursement is limited to domesticated dogs, cats and birds. It does not apply to equestrian, swine, goats, livestock, farm animals, pocket pets, fish, reptiles, pet poultry or any other creature not specified here.
  • Definition of Qualifying Veterinary Expenses
    • Submitted expenses must only be for services issued through a licensed veterinarian or animal hospital, and are intended to include both urgent or non-urgent office visits, emergency care, emergency surgeries, supplies and prescriptions (medicine, not prescriptive food).
  • Note on Emergency Services
    • DAF PAWS Fund pre-approval of any emergency animal-care services is not guaranteed and should not be assumed until the expense has been submitted and voted upon by the Board of Directors for approval.
  • Note on Legal Actions
    • The DAF PAWS Fund may not be used for reimbursement of any legal fees or legal penalties in cases regarding a pet involved in a criminal or civil proceeding, including actions regarding the pet brought by or against the applicant for aid.
• Non-Qualifying expenses (including but not limited to):
  • Animal Adoption
    • The DAF PAWS Fund may not be used as reimbursement for any expenses, medical or otherwise, associated with adopting or welcoming a new pet into an applicant’s home. This includes the spaying or neutering of a new pet at the time of adoption, or at any time afterward.
• Qualified Distribution Recipients:
  • Individuals seeking Financial Aid Distributions from the DAF PAWS Fund shall:
    • Have lived in Colorado for at least six months prior to submitting the application for distribution. Those six months do not have to have been continuous, nor must they have immediately preceded the request for aid. But they must have taken place within one year of submitting the application for aid, and so long as the applicant meets all other eligibility qualifications.
    • Have worked as a performer, designer, crew member, or in any other position actively involved in the artistic creation of a show, for a credible theater company operating in Colorado within the five-year period preceding the application for distribution.
    • The DAF PAWS Fund may waive the five-year eligibility requirement when a previously Qualified Distribution Recipient no longer participates in the making of live theatre due to retirement (minimum age 65) or has not participated in the making of live theatre in the previous five years because of a documented medical issue or issues (at any age).
  • The following classes of individuals shall not be eligible to receive a distribution from the DAF PAWS Fund:
    • Current directors or officers of The Denver Actors Fund.
    • Qualified former directors or officers of The Denver Actors Fund within two years of the end of their service in such capacity.
• Annual Benefit Limits:
  • DAF PAWS Fund distributions to any individual Qualified Distribution Recipient are not guaranteed and shall not exceed $500 to any single Qualified Distribution Recipient in any consecutive 12-month period, and shall not exceed $500 in any consecutive 12- month period to any single familial household that includes one or more Qualified Distribution Recipients (including spouses/partners, children, and other blood relatives in one shared residence). An applicant’s consecutive 12-month period shall be calculated from the date a Qualified Distribution Recipient completes and submits their initial application for aid.
  • The Board of Directors may approve additional distributions in excess of $500 on a case- by-case basis, under demonstrated special circumstances, by a unanimous vote of the board of directors.
  • The PAWS Fund is an independent initiative that is be administered separately from the primary Denver Actors Fund General Fund. As such, we can only pay out from it as long as there are funds remaining in it at the time of any given application.
• Funding:
  • The DAF PAWS Fund will be initially seeded by $25,000 from the reserves of the Denver Actors Fund, and will then be primarily replenished by donations specifically targeted toward the DAF PAWS Fund.
  • The Board of Directors may at any time, by unanimous vote, further allocate funds from the Denver Actors Fund’s reserve to additionally replenish the DAF PAWS Fund.
• Role of Executive Director:
  • The Executive Director shall review all applications for the DAF PAWS Fund Financial Aid Distributions and determine whether each applicant is eligible to receive such a distribution.
  • The Executive Director may make a DAF PAWS Fund Financial Aid Distribution of up to $500 to any Qualified Distribution Recipient without obtaining prior approval from the Board of Directors.
• Discretion of the Board of Directors:
  Upon request from the Executive Director, the Board of Directors may, by unanimous vote, authorize any DAF PAWS Fund Financial Aid Distribution that it deems to be consistent with the mission of the DAF PAWS Fund, regardless of whether such distribution is otherwise authorized by this Distribution Policy.
• Applying for DAF Domestic Animals Fund Financial Distributions:
  • Individuals seeking DAF PAWS Fund financial distributions from the Denver Actors Fund shall submit a written online application at DenverActorsFund.org.
  • The Executive Director shall have the sole authority to determine the content and form of the aid application.

For any questions related to the Denver Actors Domestic Animals Fund, please email denveractorsfund@gmail.com.