AARP Hearing Center
AARP Awards Over $8 Million to Turn Local Ideas Into Community Improvements
The 10th annual Community Challenge grants will support 750 projects that help residents connect, gather and age in place
Using an AARP Community Challenge grant, a nonprofit in Treynor, Iowa, will create a more inviting gathering space for residents that includes new murals and lighting for trees.
AARP (From left: Courtesy Treynor’s Tomorrow, Getty Images 2, courtesy Treynor’s Tomorrow)
Key takeaways
- AARP Community Challenge grants fund projects that make cities and towns more livable for adults 50 and older.
- The small-scale projects make immediate, tangible improvements in communities.
- In 2026 more than $8 million will fund 750 projects.
When Judy Guttau learned in May that the nonprofit she helps lead in Treynor, Iowa, had won an AARP Community Challenge grant for $6,120 to paint murals and add lighting and signage to the green space in the city center, she and her fellow committee members popped sparkling grape juice to celebrate. Then they got to work.
They prepped the mural design to present to the town council, finalized the list of commercial-grade LED lights needed and planned a late-summer party to celebrate what they hope will be the near-completion of the project.
Guttau believes the improvements, funded by the AARP grant, will lead to more gatherings in the grassy area, located at the northeast corner of Treynor’s only four-way intersection. By late autumn, two new murals depicting scenes from the city’s history will grace buildings surrounding the space. After sunset, eight of the old-growth trees will be illuminated, creating a place for Treynor’s 1,100 residents to gather for evening concerts, farmers markets, town celebrations or just a neighborly conversation.
Projects like this, though small in scale, can have an immediate impact on a community and create personal connections leading to long-term change. That’s what the Community Challenge grant program, part of AARP’s Livable Communities initiative, is all about.
Since 2017 the initiative has doled out more than $32 million in grants, funding over 55,000 tangible improvements in all 50 states and two U.S. territories. Cities and towns have created safer crosswalks, easier access to transportation, energy-efficient and age-friendly home modifications and community garden plots, all in the name of making communities more livable for adults 50 and over, and to benefit the entire community.
This year, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the award, AARP doubled the grant money distributed, from $4 million to over $8 million; 750 projects received awards ranging from $1,420 to $25,000. By December, when the projects are required to be completed, residents in nearly 600 communities will be able to see, touch and experience the tangible improvements made in their environments.
“Where we live has a profound impact on how well we live as we age,” says Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, AARP’s CEO. “Every day, organizations and local leaders across the country are finding innovative ways to strengthen their communities and improve the quality of life for residents of all ages. Supporting that work is central to AARP’s mission.”
In Treynor, creating a sense of place is important, since many residents commute to work in nearby Omaha, Nebraska, or to the county seat of Council Bluffs, Guttau says.
“It’s really easy to work in the city, come home, stay in your house,” says Guttau, who heads the beautification and signage committee at Treynor’s Tomorrow, a nonprofit dedicated to making Treynor a great place to live. “We want people to gather and be more social.”
New AARP grants for 2026
This year judges sorted through more than 5,100 applications, submitted in March, to select the 750 projects chosen for grants. Minnesota, for example, more than doubled the number of projects that received funding this year, says Cathy McLeer, state director for AARP Minnesota. Eighteen organizations across the state will receive funds totaling $173,290, up from six grants totaling $66,000 last year.
“These projects support practical, community-driven improvements, including safer streets and sidewalks, more accessible public spaces, transportation options, housing upgrades and programs that help people stay connected and engaged as they age,” says McLeer.
Nonprofits and local governments use the money to take on short-term, small-scale projects that must be completed within the year of the award. The quick turnaround requirement is by design, so that a community sees a swift change in its surroundings, providing inspiration for residents.
“We frequently hear from past grantees, who share how their projects have sparked ongoing improvements and strengthened local partnerships,” says Mike Watson, director of AARP Livable Communities, which manages the Community Challenge.
Join Our Fight to Make Aging Easier
Here’s what you can do to help:
- Sign up to become an AARP activist on health care, financial security and other issues.
- Find out more about how we’re fighting for you every day in Congress and across the country.
- AARP is your fierce defender on the issues that matter to people 50-plus. Become a member or renew your membership today.
Plus, once a community receives an investment from AARP, it often makes it easier for local governments and nonprofits to access additional grants and continue building up their neighborhoods. “About half of grantees report leveraging additional funding from public and private sources,” Watson says.
Here is a sampling of this year’s winners:
- Charlotte, North Carolina: Workshops to help older adults learn to use the city’s public transportation system will address the issue of social isolation. Volunteer guides will accompany new users as they practice riding the city’s routes.
- Ortonville, Michigan: A project will expand the range of public Wi-Fi, for access by older adults.
- Reno, Nevada: A pilot program will match older adults who own homes and space to rent with renters seeking affordable housing.
- Shawnee, Oklahoma: Older members of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe will be offered disaster preparedness classes, with information on transportation support available in a crisis as well as the type of emergency readiness tools, such as dedicated weather radios, to have on hand.
See the full list of winners here.
AARP (Getty Images,4)
Improving the lives of older adults
Towns and cities that have received Community Challenge grants in the past have been able to build on the small projects they completed that were funded by AARP.
In Orlando, Florida, a 2021 grant funded the installation of “tables of connection” that provide seating, solar-powered charging for devices and free Wi-Fi hotspots in an area where nearly 60 percent of residents lack broadband service. The Orlando City Council plans to build up to a dozen more of these free Wi-Fi spots.
After suffering floods in 2023 that devastated 140 downtown businesses, Montpelier, Vermont, wanted to beautify the city and draw people to the neighborhood by lighting the railroad, vehicle and pedestrian bridges in that area. With a $15,000 Community Challenge grant, the city was able to illuminate the pedestrian bridge in 2025 as part of the project.
In Culpepper, Virginia, officials found a way to give older residents with disabilities trustworthy transportation by creating a “gold seal” program with Community Challenge funds in 2021. The seal indicated that a volunteer driver had been vetted and approved by the organization. Since that grant, more than 150,000 miles of rides have been provided to older residents.
As the Community Challenge heads into the next decade, Watson sees the grants continuing to support innovative solutions to make aging easier. “Our goal is to empower even more communities to test new ideas, build partnerships and create lasting change that benefits residents of all ages,” he says.
In Treynor, Guttau says the new project is creating a sense of energy among her group’s volunteers that will spread. “Once you start engaging people, they like their community better,” she says. “They like where they’re living.”
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
Memorial Day Sale — AARP Membership Offer
Join AARP for only $11 per year with a 5-year membership. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of benefits, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine. Expires 6/4.
More From AARP
ADUs Reshape Multigenerational Living
AARP fights for laws that permit accessory dwelling units
Insider Secrets From a Top Happiness Expert
Sonja Lyubomirsky’s findings from studying the science behind joy and contentment
Great — and Affordable — Places to Live in 2026
These 10 communities have culture, quality health care and a reasonable cost of living