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Apr 23, 2015
AARP Foundation Announces Local Grant Award to Help Women 50 and Older Train For and Obtain Jobs
Five colleges were selected to receive funds through the Social Innovation Fund

WASHINGTON, DCAARP Foundation, a grantee of the Social Innovation Fund, has awarded five community colleges generous grants over three years to implement the BACK TO WORK 50+: Women’s Economic Stability Initiative, which will help women age 50 and older find local jobs and build the financial capability to make sound decisions that reduce debt, rebuild savings and pave the way to greater financial stability.

The BACK TO WORK 50+: Woman’s Economic Stability Initiative is a subset of the broader BACK TO WORK 50+ pilot that was launched by AARP Foundation in 2013. BACK TO WORK 50+ has expanded to 20 markets across 14 states and has provided over 5,000 unemployed workers information and resources to help them find work.  AARP Foundation is working in close partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges to implement the BACK TO WORK 50+ model in select communities around the country. The program underscores AARP Foundation’s commitment to helping workers age 50 and over win back opportunity.

“AARP Foundation is very pleased to work together with community colleges to help older women who face disproportionately higher rates of long-term unemployment find the good jobs they need to avoid slipping into poverty,” said Emily Allen, AARP Foundation, vice president Income Impact Area.  “These colleges were selected because of their strong community ties to employers; because of their demonstrated capacity to implement similar projects; and because of their commitment to both help 50+ women and build institutional support for helping older workers find employment.” 

In September 2014, AARP Foundation received $3 million from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), to grow the impact of innovative, community-based solutions that have compelling evidence of improving the lives of people in low-income communities throughout the United States.

AARP Foundation held an open competition in November 2014 for promising community colleges with evidence of results to receive subgrants of at least $100,000 per year for three years. The selected organizations will expand their reach to impact more people and will participate in evaluations to continue learning what works in the area of economic opportunity for low-income older adult women.

“The BACK TO WORK 50+: Woman’s Economic Stability Initiative is an innovative program offering compelling solutions to the persistent challenges facing their communities,” said Lois Nembhard, Acting Director of the Social Innovation Fund. “The competition process was highly selective, and we are eager to have the opportunity to work with AARP Foundation to expand their high-impact work to serve more people in need.”

The Social Innovation Fund requires that each federal dollar granted be matched dollar for dollar by intermediary grantees and again by the organizations they select to receive grants. Therefore, AARP Foundation’s federal grant will leverage approximately $4.8 million in private funds.

Community Colleges who received the award:

  • Austin Community College in Austin, TX
  • Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque, NM
  • Eastern Florida State College in Cocoa, FL
  • Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL
  • Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, NM

To learn more about this program, please visit: www.aarpfoundation.org/sif

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About AARP Foundation

AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal advocacy, the Foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, strengthen communities, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is AARP’s affiliated charity. Learn more at www.aarpfoundation.org.

About the Social Innovation Fund

The Social Innovation Fund, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), positions the federal government to be a catalyst for impact—using public and private resources to find and grow community-based nonprofits with evidence of strong results.  It focuses on overcoming challenges confronting low-income Americans in three areas of priority need: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. To learn more, visit www.nationalservice.gov/sif

About the Corporation for National and Community Service

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation