About the AARP Community Challenge

The AARP Community Challenge grant program is part of the nationwide AARP Livable Communities initiative that helps communities become great places to live for residents of all ages. The program is intended to help communities make immediate improvements and jump-start long-term progress in support of residents of all ages.

Since the program's debut in 2017, AARP has awarded $9.3 million through more than 800 grants. The projects have been completed across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

• In 2017, for the first-ever AARP Community Challenge, AARP received nearly 1,200 applications and distributed nearly $780,000 among 88 winning grantees.

• In 2018, for the second challenge, AARP received almost 1,600 applications and distributed $1.3 million to fund 129 projects.

• In 2019, the grant program received nearly 1,700 applications and distributed nearly $1.6 million among 159 grant winners developing “quick-action” projects.

• In 2020, the program received over 2,800 applications and  distributed more than $2.4 million among 184 grant winners (including projects specific to community needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic).

• In 2021, the program received 3,560 applications and nearly $3.2 million was distributed to 244 projects, including projects with a special emphasis on diversity and inclusion and supporting economic recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The AARP Community Challenge grant program is part of the nationwide AARP Livable Communities initiative, which helps cities, towns, villages and rural areas become great places to live for residents of all ages. As part of this effort, AARP staff and volunteers engage and mobilize residents, delivering technical assistance and expertise to local leaders and organizations, and supporting the work of the communities and states that have enrolled in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. 

Learn more about the AARP Community Challenge

• Look up the recipients by year or state: AARP Community Challenge Grantees
  
• Visit the AARP Community Challenge Home Page
• Find Frequently Asked Questions about the Community Challenge

^{Questions about the AARP Community Challenge can be emailed to CommunityChallenge@AARP.org}

^{Page updated January 2021}