About us

Built by a family, for families in a hard season

HopeBridge AI is an independent, U.S.-based project that helps households find the scholarships, hardship grants, bereavement aid, medical co-pay assistance, and local relief programs they already qualify for — but almost never find on their own.

Our mission

When a family is grieving, sick, or between jobs, they should not have to become a full-time researcher to find help. We built HopeBridge to do that research automatically — quickly, privately, and without a paywall — so families can spend their energy on what matters.

Who runs HopeBridge

HopeBridge was started after our own family spent months trying to navigate scholarship and hardship-aid websites during a medical crisis. It is a small, self-funded team of engineers and researchers based in the United States. We are not affiliated with any government agency, university, or aid organization, and we are not paid by any program to feature it. If that ever changes, we will say so plainly on this page.

How we verify programs

Every program that shows up in a scan has been reviewed by our team against a fixed checklist:

  • The program is run by a federal agency, state office, or an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a working website and public contact information.
  • The eligibility rules, award amount, and deadline are documented on the program's own site — we link out to the source.
  • The program never charges an application fee, asks for gift cards, or requires a credit card to apply.
  • The listing is re-checked at least once a month; expired or closed programs are removed.

We are not the awarding organization for any program. HopeBridge helps you find and prepare — the actual application is submitted directly to the funder.

How we handle your data

The only required information is your email address. Everything you tell us about your household is encrypted at rest, used only to match you to programs, and never sold or shared with advertisers. You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from your profile. Read the full privacy policy.

How we're funded

HopeBridge is free to families and will stay that way. The project is currently supported by its founders and small donations. If we ever add sponsors or grants, they will be listed on this page and will have no influence on which programs we surface or how we rank them.

Family-first

Built alongside families navigating loss, illness, and tuition stress.

Independent

Never paid to feature a program. Rankings reflect fit, not sponsorship.

Transparent

Every match links to the awarding organization's own page.

See what your family qualifies for

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Questions or corrections? Email support@hopebridgeai.org.