AARP Takes on Giving

Helping others has been part of AARP’s DNA from its very beginnings 65 years ago. Founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus’ motto, “To serve, not to be served,” is woven into the organization’s fabric. AARP’s giving takes many forms. There are cash grants to communities to help with local projects. AARP Foundation provides free legal services for those fighting age discrimination; it also runs the nation’s largest free tax preparation program. AARP has donated millions of dollars through the years to victims of natural disasters in the U.S. and overseas. Those are just a few examples.

Here are some details on AARP and AARP Foundation’s commitment to giving this year.

• The AARP Community Challenge provides dozens of cash grants to fund projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. In Cleveland, the Union Miles Development Corporation used its 2022 Community Challenge grant to repair homes owned by older adults in one of Cleveland’s most economically challenged neighborhoods.
• Wish of a Lifetime from AARP (WOL) helps older Americans like June, whose story WOL shared with her hometown Albemarle Symphony Orchestra in Virginia. That enabled her to fulfill her lifelong dream of playing piano in concert.
• When older Washington, D.C., residents with low to moderate incomes need legal assistance, AARP’s Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) champions their rights. When Mabel Henson, age 103, faced a 400 percent rent increase and eviction, LCE was able to convince the landlord to make major repairs, dismiss the rent hike and withdraw the eviction.
• Through the annual AARP Purpose Prize award, each of five extraordinary people over 50 who are using their life experience to make a difference receive $50,000 to help them broaden the impact of the nonprofit organizations they’ve founded.

AARP’s members embrace this same giving ethos. In fact, when it comes to charitable donations, older Americans give a larger share of their incomes than any other age group.

It’s not surprising, then, that nearly 2 million AARP members gave more than $46.1 million in 2022 to support AARP Foundation’s efforts to end senior poverty. This generosity enabled us to help older adults gain the skills and confidence they needed to reenter the workforce, provide services that made it easier for them to navigate complex government bureaucracies to secure the tax refunds and benefits they earned, and vigorously defend their rights in the nation’s courts.

We’re proud of our legacy of giving. But we never forget that it’s our donors who make it possible.