DAN AED Matching Grant Program

More than 250,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest in the United States. Most sudden cardiac arrest is caused by ventricular fibrillation (VF). For every minute a heart experiences VF, the chance of survival drops by 7 to 10 percent, even with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Divers are not more susceptible to this problem, but neither are they immune, especially as they get older. However, divers are frequently more than 10 minutes away from emergency medical services, either at the local quarry or out on a dive boat.

The only way to reset a heart in VF is with defibrillation — the application of an electric shock across the heart. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) allow first aid providers to provide the much-needed emergency care. DAN has a training program to teach divers how to use AEDs in a dive setting.

Recognizing the life-saving potential of AEDs, DAN has established a program to provide matching money to dive operations, dive destinations and dive groups who wish to purchase an AED and make it available to divers.

The AED unit for the grant program is the Philips HeartStart FRx. It comes in a Pelican case with accompanying first aid pouch, SMART defibrillation pads and oronasal resuscitation mask. The unit also includes a set of training pads and an external or internal manikin adapter. The complete package cost is approximately $1,500 to $1,600; grant recipients will be responsible for half, and the AED Matching Grant Program will match the other half.

Policies and Procedures

Purpose: The purpose of the DAN AED Matching Grant Program is to assist those individuals, businesses or organizations in the United States that have a connection to diving (see definition in criteria) or aquatics and can demonstrate a genuine need of an AED in the course of their normal operations

Goal: The goal of the AED Matching Grant Program is to place one AED unit every four months (January, May and September). Note: DAN reserves the right to award more units than stated.

Funding: This program is funded entirely by donations.

Program process: Grant cycles close the final business day in December, April and August. Grant requests must be received before 5 p.m. Eastern time on these days to be considered for the respective grant cycle. Grant requests will be reviewed for adherence to the AED Matching Grant submission guidelines. Only those applications meeting these guidelines will be considered. All others will be returned to the originator referring to submission requirements and inviting a resubmission for a future grant cycle once all guidelines have been completed.

Copies of applications meeting all guidelines will be forwarded to members of the AED Matching Grant Selection Committee after the close of each grant cycle for review and consideration. Discussions to determine recipients of an AED will occur at subsequently scheduled AED Matching Grant Selection Committee meetings.

Although AED Matching Grant Selection Committee meetings are held as scheduled, special meetings may be called in the event of special circumstances.

Notifications, both approvals and denials, will be sent once the committee determines an outcome and no later than three weeks after the grant cycle closes.

Criteria for AED Matching Grant Program selection:

Must have a connection to diving (recreational, public service, commercial dive entities not dealing with recreational diving)

Must have a demonstrable financial and use need as determined by the grant committee.

Must have at least two people on staff who are currently certified in the DAN Basic Life Support: CPR and First Aid, CPR Health-Care Providers with First Aid, Diving Emergency Management Provider or Diving First Aid for Professional Divers courses, or at least one DAN Instructor or DAN Instructor Trainer certified to teach one of these programs.

Must be able to provide or raise the funds for the matching monies.

Must be able to provide or pay for the medical oversight and sign a statement verifying that oversight will be available.

Must be able to provide a central, safe, but accessible location to store the AED unit where it will do the most good. If the AED itself can't be immediately accessible, signs must be displayed to show that it is available and where. Photographs showing the placement of the unit as well as a copy of the protocol for use must be provided to DAN within 30 days of delivery of unit.

Must be based in the United States.

Cannot be a federal government organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

What AED unit is provided?

The AED Matching Grant Program provides a Philips Heartstart FRx AED.

Can we apply for grant money for spare pads and batteries?

The recipient of the grant is responsible for maintaining the units and replacing used or expired items.

What does it mean that medical direction is needed?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers AEDs as medical devices. To acquire and use an AED, one must have medical direction, which means that an FDA-authorized person (e.g., physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner) is approved for purchasing the AED and is responsible for the general operation of it.

We don't have a physician who will give us this permission. Is this available through DAN?

The DAN Medicine staff does not supply medical direction for applicants to the AED Matching Grant Program. There are companies that have physicians who will supply and maintain medical direction. We can assist you with contacting one. However, the grant will not pay for this service.

We want to get an AED, but we live outside the United States. Can't you make an exception?

No. Because of manufacturer and governmental restrictions on AEDs, we cannot ship the devices outside the United States.

We can't afford the match for the AED Matching Grant. Will you give us more?

To maximize the number of grants we can award and to maintain the integrity of the program, we provide a 50/50 match.

Donate to the DAN AED Matching Grant Program.

Download the AED Matching Grant application (PDF: 87 KB).

Read the DAN Grant Program Frequently Asked Questions.