Building Capacity to Increase Older Adult Access to Health Essentials Programs

The AARP Foundation's Request for Application (RFA) seeks to build the capacity of local, regional, or national partners to connect adults aged 50 and older to "health essentials programs" that improve access to and affordability of food, healthcare, and medicine. This initiative aligns directly with the AARP Foundation's broader mission to achieve outcomes for older adults with low income by increasing income and decreasing expenditures, primarily through gainful employment, accessing benefits, and securing refunds and credits. The grants are specifically designed for organizational development at a structural level, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in serving older adults, rather than funding direct services. The target beneficiaries of these capacity building grants are organizations that work with or for older adults. The ultimate impact goal is to better connect eligible older adults to health essentials programs, ensuring that the expanded capacity is sustainable both financially and operationally beyond the grant cycle. The AARP Foundation prioritizes applications that serve populations disproportionately affected by systemic barriers, racial and ethnic disparities, and other harmful biases that perpetuate economic instability. While organizations from anywhere in the U.S. are eligible, there is a particular interest in projects serving older adults in 22 U.S. states and territories with high levels of senior poverty, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, and others. The program focuses on several key areas for capacity building. Eligible projects fall into categories such as planning activities or building evaluation capacity (e.g., strategic planning, enhancing evaluation methods), partnership/relationship development (e.g., creating referral networks, developing collaborative services), operations (e.g., opening a new call center, improving infrastructure), and technology (e.g., new client platforms, enhancing data tracking). This multi-faceted approach reflects the foundation's strategic priority to address systemic barriers and foster equitable strategies and services. The expected outcomes are that recipient organizations will work more efficiently and effectively, optimizing resources, processes, or programs to better connect older adults to health essentials programs during and beyond the grant cycle. Measurable results would include enhanced evaluation methods, improved infrastructure, more robust referral networks, or more effective data tracking, all contributing to the ultimate goal of increasing access and affordability of health essentials for older adults with low income. The project period is up to 13 months, with a potential award range of up to $50,000, while the overall grant duration for the RFA is 2 years with a size ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.