DENVER, Colo. – Next50, a national foundation based in Denver focused on creating a world that values aging, announced today over $5 million in grants through its Changing Aging grant program. Organizations from Colorado and across the country are receiving funding to catalyze Next50’s mission-aligned ideas that support older adults in historically marginalized or geographically underserved communities.
Out of 600 applicants reflecting over $100 million in requests, 35 grantees were carefully selected to change the experience of aging through the services they offer older adults. From digital literacy training classes and anti-ageism campaigns to workforce development and hospice telehealth, the funds offered through this grant will help nonprofits create economic opportunities for older adults and support systems change.
“It’s expensive to age in this country,” said Peter Kaldes President and CEO of Next50. “That is why we’re honored to partner with these grantees who demonstrate thoughtful innovation, engage in real collaboration, and commit to equitably changing aging.”
The organizations that received funding include:
Almost Home, Inc. (CO) ($400,000 over two years): Almost Home offers homeless prevention and emergency shelter services in Adams, Broomfield, and Weld counties in Colorado. Funding will enable this organization to catalyze its Stabilizing Housing for Aging Adults program, which provides guaranteed income to low-income older adults. This will change aging for people receiving this money as it will help to alleviate financial struggles related to housing. This work also aims to influence public policy surrounding guaranteed income, including working with county governments. As the only housing navigation service for older adults in the area, Almost Home’s work will positively impact the economic well-being and housing stability of its clients.
Arizona Health Care Association (AZ) ($69,991): Arizona Health Care Association is working in partnership with Arizona State University, Arizona Leading Age, and Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program on a program that will train refugees to become certified caregivers for older adults. This innovative plan will positively impact the economic well-being of both the participants and the older adults by offering both jobs and more access to necessary care. By putting more experienced and certified employees into the caregiving field, this grant could change home health care in aging for older adults and their caregivers in Arizona.
Bell Policy Center (CO) ($312,600 over two years): By working with partners such as the Savings Collaborative and the Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities, the Bell Policy Center will gather more robust data on the state of economic well-being for older adults in Colorado. Next50 funding will enable the Bell Policy Center to work collaboratively with these local organizations to build a refreshed aging policy agenda. This work seeks to understand the economic impact of aging on marginalized populations to advocate for the needs of older adults and their caregivers. The culmination of this work is intended to change the economic landscape of aging for Coloradans across the state.
Chaldean Community Foundation (MI) ($27,500): Next50 funding will support a program that delivers culturally and linguistically appropriate education to increase the digital skills and financial literacy of an immigrant, largely Arabic-speaking population of older adults with little or no English-speaking abilities. Chaldean Community Foundation is working in partnership with Comerica to provide financial literacy classes, and with Comcast to provide low-cost internet to participants. These classes aim to change aging for the local community by offering relevant financial courses to lower the economic burden of aging.
Ciudad Nueva Community Outreach (TX) ($30,000): This El Paso-based organization will use the funding to start their Peer-to-Peer Empowerment Program aimed at empowering older adults to help each other access services and benefits in the areas of community resources, job referrals, mental health care, and food security. This innovative program will be designed through a partnership with Emergence Health Network and the University of Texas School of Social Work. Through this culturally relevant programming, Ciudad Nueva will change aging for the Spanish-speaking community in their area by connecting them to peers and resources that will make it more affordable to age.
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CO) ($125,000): This organization will expand its Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) to Southwest Colorado, which provides medical financial literacy and helps people navigate insurance claims issues, all to address the financial toxicity of medical debt. They are partnering with numerous organizations in the area – such as the San Juan Basin Area Agency on Aging, Axis Health System, and Cancer Coalition of Southwest Colorado – to change the medical burden of aging. In its six years of existence, CAP has already exceeded $10 million in client savings, promising to continue to lower the cost of aging for the older adults in the program.
Colorado Gerontological Society (CO) ($149,600): Funding will be used for the Colorado Gerontological Society to start a project that will increase the access and usage of statewide housing laws passed in 2024. They will partner with the Colorado Changemakers Campaign, which uses a community promotora model, to serve the Hispanic and Latino populations in the state. This work will change aging through its education and support for the target population that helps them access benefits of up to $2,000 per person. Due to a lack of information, tax benefits and rebates are underutilized by older adults of color; the promotoras in this project will help them access the benefits they deserve.
Community Empowerment Fund (NC) ($75,000): Community Empowerment Fund provides innovative services in economic empowerment and housing resources. They serve low-income people of color – including those who are experiencing homelessness – in starting savings accounts, obtaining housing navigation services, and accessing services from other nonprofits in-house. These in-house partners include Legal Aid and the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service. By providing opportunities for economic advancement and saving, the Community Empowerment Fund is changing aging for marginalized populations in their city.
DayBreak Adult Care (CA) ($54,175): DayBreak will develop community-based Micro-Respite & Memory Cafés, which will serve marginalized older adults with memory loss and their caregivers. Through their partnership with local churches, such as the Beth Eden Baptist Church, this program will offer socialization for older adults alongside support and training for their caregivers. This work aims to address the economic cost of caregiving by providing opportunities for training and respite for unpaid, often family, caregivers.
EarthLinks (CO) ($50,000): Through a partnership with Zing Financial, this Denver-based organization provides housing and financial literacy opportunities to folks experiencing homelessness. Not only do case managers connect their older adult clients with housing and housing vouchers, but they also provide the chance to work in a garden in exchange for a small stipend. Through their housing-focused work, EarthLinks is impacting the economic cost of aging for older adults who are newly or chronically unhoused. With a housing stability rate of 90%, they are changing aging for their clients by providing economic and shelter security.
Easter Seals Greater Houston (TX) ($75,000): Next50 funding will support a BridgingApps Program, which will expand the availability and accessibility of financial technology training for older adults with disabilities by delivering small, in-person group sessions in English and Spanish. Through this financial literacy program, Easter Seals aims to make aging more affordable and in line with an individual’s budget. This will change aging for many older adults in the Houston area, including those on more restricted incomes, by providing access and training to necessary financial resources.
Franklin Regional Council on Governments (MA) ($40,749): FRCOG serves a rural part of Massachusetts that needs to update its emergency preparedness for older adults. Their work focuses on two initiatives: 1) creating a regional tool kit to support older residents with access and functional needs during emergencies, and 2) supporting a medical advocate program that provides trained volunteers to assist older adults with implementing their care plans. This program will be done in partnership with LifePath and the local Area Agency on Aging to ensure that this work will change aging for the community in emergency situations and their regular healthcare needs.
Fund for a Healthier Colorado (CO) ($150,000): The proposed project will educate older adults about what an HVAC-efficient home is and how it impacts utility bills to empower them to age in place. Through their partnership with Open Answer, the Fund for a Healthier Colorado will administer thousands of face-to-face conversations and surveys with low-income aging adults to effect policy change surrounding housing and rebates. This long-term project seeks to impact the cost of aging in place by learning about and then advocating for HVAC efficiency and affordability.
Gay Elders of Metro Detroit, aka MiGen (MI) ($300,000 over two years): Funding will help this organization address the lack of culturally sensitive services for LGTBQ+ older adults in Michigan. MiGen will work in partnership with Corktown Health Clinic and the State’s LGBTQ+ Commission to develop a Michigan Statewide Resource Hub that will equip community providers and healthcare centers with toolkits, consultations, and online educational resources to best serve this community. The project aims to transform how LGBTQ+ older adults receive care by providing organizations with the necessary resources and expertise to create inclusive programming statewide.
InterFaith Works of Central New York, Inc (NY) ($244,759 over two years): The Age Well Project hosts small pop-up benefits enrollment events in trusted spaces within marginalized communities, focusing on economic justice and income-stretching for the older adults they serve. These pop-up events will be produced in partnership with the Greater Syracuse Aging Services Coalition to connect older adults with multiple resources to enhance their economic well-being. Along with presentations on financial literacy and budget-friendly cooking, this work will change aging by reducing social isolation and promoting aging in place.
ITNAmerica (ME) ($300,000 over two years): ITNAmerica will use this grant to support the creation of additional functionality in their ITNRides transportation software, which will allow nonprofits to access modules for scheduling group rides and managing volunteers. Through their partnership with Faith in Action and the Village-to-Village Network, this work will change aging for older adults who are unable to access affordable transportation programs that will truly meet their needs. Providing this resource to nonprofits will allow their aging clients on limited incomes to access the services they need in a way that helps them stretch their available financial resources.
Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington, Inc. (DC) ($70,000): The JCA will partner with employers like Adventist Healthcare and FEMA to expand their Career Gateway program, a job search skills training program designed for professionals over the age of 50 who are reentering the workforce or transitioning to new careers. They will implement a robust digital skills program designed to give older adult job seekers critical digital literacy knowledge to boost their competitiveness in the modern job market. Having access to competitive jobs will increase the financial stability of older adults who are seeking to age in place in the Washington area.
Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services (HI) ($33,226): The proposed project will partner with a local health academy, Farrington High School, to create a career pipeline program that introduces teenagers to working in the field of gerontological health care. With an intergenerational focus, this program will help kūpuna (the Hawaiian word for elders) age in place, while lowering the economic burden of doing so. With its future-facing focus, this program also endeavors to change aging in Honolulu for decades to come by empowering young people to work in the field of aging.
La Alianza Hispana (CO) ($200,000 over two years): With a three-pronged approach to serving and empowering Latino older adults, this organization seeks to change the act and perception of aging in the Greater Boston area. They plan to create a media campaign to combat ageism and related stereotypes. Alongside this work, they will directly serve older adults by hosting a variety of intergenerational activities, as well as workshops for clients and their caregivers in partnership with local organizations like Tech Goes Home and Operation ABLE. These programs will also connect clients with providers who can assist them with resources and benefits, which will positively impact their economic well-being.
Ladies of Hope Ministries (NY) ($140,000): Ladies of Hope Ministries helps women coming out of prison to reenter the workforce. Their proposed project is designed to address the unique challenges faced by older returning citizens through a Career Ready Fellowship. This will equip women with industry-recognized digital certificates and provide formal work experience through paid internships, provided in partnership with organizations and businesses like Google and Virgin Hotels. Most of their participants were imprisoned for nonviolent offenses, taking away decades of work, savings, career growth, and retirement planning. This project will change aging for justice-impacted women by giving them another chance at economic stability.
Leading Age (DC) ($250,000 over two years): LeadingAge has partnered with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the University of Maryland’s Erickson School of Aging Studies to create an 18-month fellowship program aimed at advancing individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into leadership roles within aging services. This project aims to change aging by diversifying management and improving service efficiency, thus making the aging field a more culturally competent and responsive environment for folks to age in. By integrating fresh perspectives, this work aspires to bring innovative ideas to the aging field.
Maine Council on Aging (ME) ($60,000 over two years): The proposed project is aimed at reducing and ultimately ending ageism in the workforce, ensuring marginalized older adults can gain access to meaningful work, maintain employment, and work within employment settings that offer a culture of intentional inclusion. The Maine Council on Aging is working with many community partners, including the Governor’s Cabinet on Aging, to create an age-positive employer designation for businesses in Maine. This work hopes to change aging for Maine older adults by creating inclusive work environments, which will thus attract and retain diverse employees.
Milwaukee Christian Center (WI) ($50,000): In partnership with Workwise in Milwaukee, this project will offer a specific skill-building program to help older adults reenter the workforce. The goal of this project is to positively impact the economic well-being of older immigrants by empowering them to learn new skills and leverage these skills to get and retain better-paying jobs. New economic security will also change aging for the older clients being served by providing stability and a chance to age in place.
Montrose Recreation District (CO) ($11,000): Montrose Recreation District serves a rural, underserved community in Colorado. Through a partnership with Senior Planet/OATS by AARP, this organization will be the first in its area to start and maintain digital skills training programming for older adults. This will change aging for the older adults they are serving by offering this necessary, modern training for the first time to this rural community.
Mount Evans Home Health Care and Hospice (CO) ($150,000 over two years): This organization serves patients who live in a rural mountain region, which presents health care and transportation challenges for those in need of care to help them safely age in place. Through a partnership with TRU Community Care, Mount Evans will change aging in their area by developing and implementing a telehealth program to supplement their in-person care for hospice patients. This is intended to lower the cost of aging by helping older adults avoid placement in a skilled nursing home and stay in their communities.
New York City Department for the Aging (NY) ($389,761 over three years): In partnership with the New York Academy of Medicine and New York City Public Schools, the New York City Department for the Aging will bring an anti-ageist curriculum into the city’s public schools. They have created a guide that allows teachers to integrate anti-ageism into their current lesson plans, ranging from elementary to high school. This work has the goal of changing aging in the long term by encouraging children to reconsider their perceptions of age while they are young, with the intent of creating age-positive teenagers and adults.
Peninsula Agency on Aging, Inc. (VA) ($100,000): Located on the Virginia peninsula, this agency will establish six centers in donated community spaces to make services and activities more accessible to marginalized older adults. This project will change aging by widening the outreach of necessary resources by engaging multiple partners, such as the Hispanic Resource Center, local vaccine clinics, and the LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce.
Rocky Mountain Public Media (PBS) (CO) ($300,000 over three years): Rocky Mountain PBS is looking to change aging by kickstarting a three-year, anti-ageism media campaign that will tell empowering stories of marginalized older adults. They will partner with Benefits in Action and A Little Help to both source these stories and to inform older adults of two organizations that are available for resources and assistance. In tandem with the impact on the perception of aging, this will impact economic well-being by informing older adults of what cost-saving resources and benefits are available to them.
Second Chance Center, Inc. (CO) ($228,900): Funding will help this organization’s care coordinators who serve formerly incarcerated clients in navigating a range of services and support, with a particular emphasis on housing and health. This work will be done in partnership with the Denver Department of Housing and the Denver Health Corrections Transitions Clinic to change aging for people during post-incarceration reentry. Formerly incarcerated older adults face a slew of economic burdens, from not being well enough to work to not amassing sufficient Social Security, from losing touch with relatives to facing hiring discrimination. The support of Second Chance Center will bolster their clients’ economic standing and basic security.
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (DC) ($150,000 over two years): SEARAC proposes a two-year project to assess the landscape of Southeast Asian American elder health and wellness to provide recommendations that will improve and change aging for this demographic. They are partnering with over thirty advocates, healthcare providers, service providers, and policymakers who are prepared to champion these recommendations at the local, state, and national levels. This work has a long-term vision of utilizing cultural understanding to change the economic burden of aging for an underserved population.
Sunshine Home Share Colorado (CO) ($382,434 over three years): Through a partnership with Home Share Oregon, this organization plans to use the online platform silvernest.com to create a user-friendly, educational tool to form safe and thoughtful home share matching for older adults. This new platform aims to change aging by lowering the economic burden of owning a home, and helping older adults save as much as 40% of their monthly income.
TEENSWHOCARE (WA) ($25,000): This organization will continue its unique digital training program for older adults that utilizes high school volunteers to teach older adults practical technology skills. While many nonprofits struggle to get youth to volunteer, this one was created by a high schooler who continues to recruit other interested participants. This work hopes to change aging by creating meaningful intergenerational connections that will build confidence in our always-changing digital sphere.
Universidad del Sagrado Corazon (PR) ($116,042): This grant will support the work of a university in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to advance digital equity for older adults in the area. They will create a dedicated computer lab where they will teach digital literacy programs to local low-income older adults. Through a partnership with AARP Puerto Rico, this program seeks to change aging and impact economic well-being by creating confidence in participants who are reentering an increasingly digital workforce.
USAging (DC) ($272,023 over two years): USAging will partner with the National Alliance to End Homelessness to undergo a research project to create system changes that prevent and reduce homelessness among older adults. This will change aging by increasing partnerships between Area Agencies on Aging and Continuums of Care so that older adults at risk of or experiencing homelessness can obtain effective, timely, age-appropriate, and streamlined assistance with housing and supportive services. Unhoused older adults already face disproportionate economic injustice, and this project seeks to lessen this burden.
Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness (ME) ($100,000): This Maine-based organization is partnering with five tribal communities through a program that seeks to counter the historical damages done to the health of indigenous communities by providing healthy, culturally relevant foods to local elders. This will alter the economic well-being of participants not only through the provision of free foods and healthy recipes but also by improving their health and thus lowering their healthcare costs. This innovative, equity-focused work reaches back into cultural history to respond to present-day health issues, which will change aging for the elders in the communities served.
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