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AARP Community Challenge 2023 Grantees

310 quick-action projects to help make communities more livable for people of all ages


For the seventh annual AARP Community Challenge, AARP received more than 3,600 applications from nonprofits and government entities, resulting in a highly competitive selection process. 

spinner image 2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantee announcement image

And the Grantees Are ...

Scroll down to see the 2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantees as organized by state and location, followed by the name of the grantee organization and a brief project description.

See separate lists for:

Projects had to be complete by November 30, 2023

Some $3.6 million is being distributed to fund 310 quick-action projects across the country, helping urban, rural and suburban communities make immediate improvements and jumpstart long-term progress to support residents of all ages.

In 2023, the AARP Community Challenge funded projects across three different grant opportunities, two of which were new, in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The grants were used to improve public places; transportation; housing; digital connections; diversity, equity and inclusion; and more, with an emphasis on the needs of adults age 50 and older. AARP is also bolstering its investment in rural communities, mobility innovation, transportation options, and health and food access.

The selected projects are designed to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:

1. Flagship Grants

  • Creating vibrant public places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities; 
  • Delivering a range of transportation and mobility options that increase connectivity, walkability, bikeability and access to public and private transit; 
  • Supporting a range of housing options that increases the availability of accessible and affordable choices; 
  • Ensuring a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion while improving the built and social environment of a community;
  • Increase digital connections by expanding high-speed internet and enhancing digital literacy skills of residents;
  • Support community resilience through investments that improve disaster management, preparedness and mitigation for residents;
  • Increase civic engagement with innovative and tangible projects that bring residents and local leaders together to address challenges and facilitate a greater sense of inclusion;
  • Improve community health and economic empowerment in support of financial well-being and improved health outcomes.

“These grants continue to lead to long-term, positive changes in communities across the country. This year, we are proud to support the largest number of projects in the program’s seven-year history, which will improve residents’ quality of life through tangible changes so everyone can thrive as they age.”

— Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer

2. Capacity-Building Microgrants

By combining $2,500 grants with additional resources — such as webinars, AARP Livable Communities publications, one-on-one coaching with leading national organizations — the 2023 AARP Community Challenge Capacity-Building Microgrants benefit residents (especially those age 50 or older) in the following categories:

  • Walkability: The selected grantees are receiving support to implement a community walk audit in order to assess and enhance the safety and walkability of a street or neighborhood with guidance from America Walks and the AARP Walk Audit Tool Kit.
  • Community Gardens: The selected grantees are receiving support to create or enhance a community garden with guidance from 8 80 Cities and the AARP publication Creating Community Gardens for People of All Ages.

3. Demonstration Grants

The 2023 AARP Community Challenge Grantees

By supporting demonstration efforts that encourage the replication of promising local efforts, this new grant opportunity benefits residents (especially those age 50 and older) by:

  • Advancing solutions that build capacity toward transportation systems change with funding support provided by Toyota Motor North America.
  • Implementing housing choice design competitions that increase public understanding of housing options and encourage the creation of housing-supportive policies. 

If a grantee has a website or online presence, its name appears in blue and is hyperlinked.

ALABAMA

  • Athens: Athens Main Street 
    This project will provide age-friendly seating in the gathering area at the local farmers market, so that older patrons can relax, socialize and enjoy live musical performances. 
  • Birmingham: AARP Chapter 4668 Central Birmingham
    The project will increase walkability in Birmingham neighborhoods by using walk audits to evaluate them. The data will be shared with community groups so they can see the challenges that residents aged 50+ face, and highlight the need for safer, more accessible streets, sidewalks, paths and trails. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Camp Hill: Edward Bell Community Foundation
    The project will create a rural community garden which will grow produce to improve the diets of older residents, while also providing them with a safe place to get exercise by walking.  

  • Dora: Mission of Hope
    The grant will bolster the mission’s food giveaway program, which provides groceries to more than 1,000 local families, 80 percent of whom are older residents. The money will be used for needed items such as grocery carts and commercial-grade shelving to expand the warehouse’s capacity. 

Information and inspiration for local leaders 

     

 

 

 

  • Eldridge: Hubbertville Community Foundation
    In a rural area with few safe, comfortable outdoor recreation areas, this project will create a community space with a walking trail, picnic area and intergenerational playground equipment, so residents can socialize and engage in healthy physical activity.  

ALASKA

  • Anchorage: Special Olympics Alaska
    This project will create new recreational and social opportunities for adults aged 50+ with intellectual and developmental disabilities by improving Special Olympics Alaska’s sports and fitness facility. 
  • Naknek: Camai Community Health Center
    This project will convert an unused lot, situated in a central location next to a lake, into a community garden with raised beds and accessible benches to accommodate older residents. 

ARIZONA

  • Green Valley: Valley Assistance Services
    This project will provide volunteer transportation services to older adults in a rural community. The organization will recruit, hire and train new volunteer drivers, distribute flyers and initiate community outreach. Demonstration Grant
  • Mesa: Oakwood Creative Care
    This project will support seniors experiencing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia with weekly engagement sessions. The program will focus on activities that scientific evidence shows to be beneficial, as well as coaching sessions for family caregivers. 
  • Phoenix: Elaine
    This project will expand a transportation assistance program that connects older adults to activities that support their health and well-being. The free service prioritizes low-income clients, including people experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable populations. Demonstration Grant
  • Tucson: Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports
    This project will expand an adaptive cycling center where people aged 50+ with disabilities can enjoy the physical, emotional and social benefits of cycling. 
  • Tucson: St. Luke’s Home
    This project will provide needed renovations to an assisted living facility for low-income clients, making it more inviting and accessible for older adults.  

ARKANSAS

  • Cabot: Cabot Animal Support Services
    This project will create a "Crops and Canines" program, enabling older adults to grow their own food while enjoying the company of supervised dogs to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.  
  • Heber Springs: Breakin Bread Community Kitchen
    This project will help make needed infrastructure improvements to the largest free meal site in the county, which primarily serves low-income older adults.  
  • Little Rock: WSBZ Farms
    This project will support socially-disadvantaged small farmers aged 50+ in a rural area by installing a greenhouse, sharing germinated plants and providing a prep station with equipment to clean and package produce. 
  • Little Rock: Central Arkansas Library System Foundation
    This project will increase digital literacy among older adults by creating a mobile tech classroom that staff can take into assisted living facilities to conduct workshops on how to operate devices such as smartphones and tablets. 
  • Pine Bluff: Grace Gardening Inc
    This grant will support a new community garden program that provides raised beds and ergonomic benches to accommodate older gardeners, while also offering summer "Yoga in the Garden" sessions. Capacity-Building Microgrant

CALIFORNIA

  • Arcata: Arcata House Partnership
    This project will support a community garden for a 60-unit apartment complex serving previously unhoused people to improve their nutrition and provide opportunities to socialize. It will include raised garden beds and accessible paths to accommodate residents who have limited mobility. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Gualala: Gualala Community Center
    This project will provide mobile solar chargers to older residents and others in need. The devices are especially important during wildfires, earthquakes, and weather-related electrical outages in the rural, hard-to-access area.
  • Long Beach: Healthy Aging Center
    This program will provide rides for adults aged 55 and older who lack other means of transportation to essential services needed for their health and well-being. Demonstration Grant
  • Oxnard: Gold Coast Transit District
    This project will benefit residents who use public transportation by providing seating and lighting at bus stops in neighborhoods with large older adult populations. 
  • Sacramento: Civic Thread
    This project will transform a park by staging a vibrant pop-up community celebration and organizing workshops where older adults can become involved in decisions about how to improve their community.
  • San Diego: Webster Heights Community Development Corporation Inc.
    The project will recruit older volunteers to conduct five walk audits in residential areas to identify potential locations for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Santa Rosa: Farm to Pantry
    This project will provide 10 "Farm-acy" Carts that will deliver food to low-income senior housing communities and medical facilities. Older adults will be able to take home top-quality, fresh, immunity-boosting, nutritious and locally grown produce at no cost. 

COLORADO

  • Bristol: Town of Bristol Improvements Board
    This project will install a solar-powered shade structure at a new senior center which will showcase art installations for visitors to enjoy.  
  • Fort Collins: City of Fort Collins
    This project will host DIY repair workshops for homeowners in mobile home parks.  It will also develop a neighborhood business guide to promote shopping locally. 
  • Wheat Ridge: Seniors’ Resource Center, Inc.
    This project will convert an old firehouse into a community space to house a trishaw cycling program, providing an opportunity for older adults to enjoy outdoor recreation and socialize. 

CONNECTICUT

  • Goshen: Goshen Land Trust
    This project will install benches and informational signage along a new accessible loop trail that provides an experience in nature for people of all ages and abilities. 
  • Willimantic: Garden Club of Windham with Friends of the Garden on the Bridge
    The project will transform an neglected park into a welcoming and functional recreational space, with seating and tables to encourage outdoor recreation, socializing and intergenerational interaction.
  • Willimantic: Town of Windham Human Services
    The project will create a community gardening program to help older adults grow food locally.  It will enrich the design of a new green space at a senior center and will provide tools and weekly group sessions led by a master gardener. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Windsor Locks: Town of Windsor Locks
    This project will transform an underutilized alley into a downtown community gardening and socializing space that includes garden beds and outdoor seating.  

DELAWARE

  • Milton: Town of Milton
    This project will install three benches at local bus stops to provide residents with a place to rest, wait or socialize when they visit the town center, while also making the local transportation system more accessible to older people and those with disabilities.  
  • Milton: Nurses & Neighbors Collaborative Inc.
    The project will provide transportation vouchers for older adults with physical limitations or who are unable to drive so that they can utilize an on-demand ride service. 
  • Wilmington:  Delaware Art Museum 
    The project will employ and train 10 residents to conserve and maintain 30 works of public art, most of which are in disrepair. In the process, the program will promote interest in the arts in the local community. 
  • Wilmington: Cornerstone West CDC with West Side Grows Together
    The project will support Open Streets events by closing streets to vehicle traffic, creating safe spaces for residents of all ages to move freely and advocating for permanent improvements to the city's streets. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

  • Washington: SOME
    The project aims to increase use of public transportation by residents aged 50+, improving their access to essential services such as medical appointments.  
  • Washington: Vida Senior Centers
    This project will create a community garden for low-income older adults, many of whom live in apartment complexes without outdoor space. The volunteer gardeners will grow produce typically used in Latin American cuisine. The crops will then be distributed to members of the community. Capacity-Building Microgrant

FLORIDA

  • Cape Coral: Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc.
    This project will engage volunteers to restore a tree canopy, which was lost during Hurricane Ian, with native plants in a local park. 
  • Florida City: Sprout Up
    This project will use aeroponic gardening as an alternative to traditional gardening methods, bringing residents of various ages together to cultivate plants. The produce will go to community fridges and choice pantries, where older people can obtain food at no cost. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Lakeland: City of Lakeland
    The project will create a safe, ADA-compliant, walkable connection to a park and link to three other bike/pedestrian routes that are connected throughout the city to other facilities and trails. 
  • Orlando: City of Orlando
    The project will raise awareness of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and make the permit process more user-friendly for intergenerational households that want to build an ADU for older family members. 
  • Tallahassee: Knight Creative Communities Institute
    To improve safety, this project will stage a community event during which two crosswalks will be painted near an elementary school and a senior living community. Local artists will be paired with students who will work together to make the crosswalks more visually appealing.  
  • Tallahassee: Apalachee Regional Planning Council
    This project will support "Wills on Wheels" in a nine-county region. The mobile legal clinics will provide estate planning services to residents, including older adults. 

GEORGIA

  • Athens: Georgia Bikes
    This project will create a crash prevention program to protect pedestrians and cyclists, including older adults. It will analyze accidents in high-risk areas, recommend countermeasures and provide safety education to local residents.  
  • Clarkesville: Pebble Ministry Inc.
    This project will install a StoryWalk which will allows families to go from one post to another while reading pages of a story together. It will provide parents and grandparents a way to introduce children to reading while getting exercise. 
  • Macon: United Way of Central Georgia
    The project will clear trash and overgrowth to create safe paths for exercise and walking to school, while bringing young volunteers and older adults together to build a stronger sense of community.  
  • Madison: City of Madison
    This project will improve the local sidewalk network by making repairs and adding pedestrian signals and crosswalks for greater safety. It will also create a small park with benches, a pavilion and landscaping that will benefit older adults in nearby neighborhood. Demonstration Grant
  • Powder Springs: City of Powder Springs
    This project will install five new, permanent bike racks in the downtown area, each decorated by a local artist, to promote an active and healthy lifestyle. 
  • Stone Mountain and Decatur: Global Growers Network
    This project will benefit people from diverse cultures, including new Americans, by enhancing two community farms and providing the opportunity to grow food for their families. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Union City: Christian City, Inc
    This project will turn an unused wooded lot into a centrally-located, easily-accessible dog park with accessible gates, benches and a gazebo to provide a gathering spot for older neighborhood residents. 

AARP Community Challenge Resources

Page published June 28, 2023

HAWAII

  • Līhuʻe: Better Block Hawaiʻi
    This project will create a competition to solicit accessory dwelling unit designs and promote ADUs as an opportunity for affordable housing, particularly for older adults. It will culminate in a book, available online and free of charge, to further best practices and knowledge sharing around ADU development. Demonstration Grant

IDAHO

  • Boise: Adapted Builds
    This project will develop video content that addresses the needs of caregivers and people with disabilities to foster inclusion, improved quality of life and greater self-reliance. 
  • Lapwai: Prairie River Library District
    This project will create a covered bus stop equipped with Wi-Fi outside a local library, as well as an indoor gathering space focused on the audio, visual and mobility needs of older adults.  
  • Malad City: Malad City
    This project will build regulation-size outdoor pickleball courts for use by local residents, providing a popular recreational form for exercise to people aged 50+. 
  • Orofino: City of Orofino
    This project will install ADA-compliant benches to improve walkability and create opportunities for multigenerational interaction.  
  • Pocatello: United Seniors Project
    This project will provide a forum for USP so others can embrace and become a part of the effort to provide a lifelong learning and wellness space which is multipurpose and intergenerational to improve physical, mental, emotional and social health.

ILLINOIS

  • Alton: Mountains to Molehills
    This project will coordinate the installation of air conditioning window units in the homes of residents aged 50+ during the hottest months of the summer. 
  • Chicago: Good City Group
    This project will conduct three walk audits in a busy commercial district and stage a community workshop to identify potential locations for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, with attention given to an intersection where a new Metra commuter rail station is being built. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Chicago: Greater Chatham Initiative
    This project will install a colorful and artistic Complete Streets demonstration, showcasing short-term street and sidewalk alterations to increase pedestrian safety for residents, especially those aged 50+. 
  • Chicago: Nichols Park Advisory Council
    This project will install a comfortable and attractive circular tree bench in a park where residents can sit while they wait for the bus. 
  • Elgin: Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley
    This project will help low-income older residents remain safely in their homes by providing repairs and modifications that address health, safety or code violations issues. 

INDIANA

  • Evansville: Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve
    This ADA-accessible trail project aims to make the country’s largest urban old-growth forest fully accessible for people with limited mobility. 
  • Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne Trails
    This project will install curb cuts and signage to improve the community’s access to a prairie, a pond and paths on the campus of Stillwater Hospice, a place of comfort and healing. 
  •  Indianapolis: Still Waters Adult Day Center
    This project will revitalize a languishing garden and make it inviting and accessible for people of all ages to plant and enjoy flowers, herbs and vegetables. Community members will be able to reserve plots and raised beds will ensure the garden’s accessibility for older people and their caregivers. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Jasonville: GROW Jasonville Inc.
    This project will create a walkway equipped with ADA-compliant benches, directional signage, lights and a painted crosswalk to encourage residents aged 50+ to use the nearby community garden and connect with Jacksonville’s history. 
  • Mongo: Mongo Community Development Association
    The project will conduct walk audits, identify areas with the greatest need for new sidewalks and work with a contractor to build them.  Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Pendleton: South Madison Community Foundation
    This project will develop a pocket park that will bring local school students and older adults engaged in storytelling and experience-sharing events.

IOWA

  • Chariton: Chariton Free Public Library
    This project will transform land adjacent to the library into an accessible gathering space and sensory garden, which will be open year-round and offer educational events on gardening, wildlife and nature appreciation. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Ely: Ely Public Library
    This project will provide four virtual reality devices for the community’s use, with an emphasis on introducing older adults to the technology as education and entertainment. 
  • Epworth: American Legion John White Post 650
    The Veterans Memorial will promote awareness of the great service of men and women in all branches of the armed forces.
  • Graettinger: City of Graettinger
    The project will install pickleball courts in a local park, providing older residents with access to the increasingly popular sport.  
  • Logan: Logan Public Library
    This project will turn an underutilized lawn into an accessible public area with the addition of a covered gazebo, seating and an ADA-accessible picnic table. 
  • Wilton: Wilton Public Library
    This project will improve a garden space by developing a sensory area for all ages. The upgrades will provide shade and increase comfortable seating options, ensuring the space is accessible for all users. Master gardeners will help guide planting, with the aim of growing produce. Capacity-Building Microgrant

KANSAS

  • Halstead: The Kansas Learning Center for Health, Inc.
    This project will install benches, bench swings and concrete artwork to encourage intergenerational engagement and provide places for rest and conversation along walking paths and in a community garden. 
  • Iola: Thrive Allen County
    This project will provide raised garden beds, a greenhouse, a solar energy kit and a heater and fan to make a community garden more accessible to community members of all ages throughout more the year. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Lawrence: Home Works USA
    This project will enlarge a community garden next to an affordable housing community. Four raised beds will ensure accessibility for residents with disabilities, as well as for older volunteers. Excess produce will be donated to local food banks. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Newton: Newton Murals & Arts Project
    This project will convert the back of a billboard into a mixed-media mural depicting figures and images representing Kansas history, adding vibrancy to a park located near a train station.  
  • Rossville: Rossville Community Foundation
    This project will create a multipurpose trail to enable safe outdoor exercise and allow older adults to gain the health benefits of walking and biking.

KENTUCKY

  • Beverly: Red Bird Mission
    In this intergenerational project, high school students will build leadership skills by teaching basic computer skills to older rural residents.
  • Glasgow: Barren County Fiscal Court
    This project will fund the purchase of 15 portable generators for qualifying residents with healthcare needs to use during power outages. 
  • Jackson: Kentucky River Area Development District
    This project will turn a flooded green space into a community gardens with raised beds, buckets and an accessible bench. Local senior centers will be invited to use the raised beds for educational classes and outings. Produce grown in the garden will be distributed to the community. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Salyersville: Royalton Community Council
    This project will transform a community park into a gathering place where residents can enjoy concerts, outdoor movies and other events. It will add benches, shade canopies and trash cans, as well as a sound system and other amenities.

LOUISIANA

  • Baton Rouge: Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club
    This project will create a video to depict a typical day on local transit.  It will organize community meetings with the aim of bringing residents who use the Baton Rouge area bus system together with its operators to improve service and increase ridership. Demonstration Grant
  • Hammond: City of Hammond
    This project will transform an underutilized public space into a multipurpose place capable of hosting special events that bring older adults and people of all ages together in one cultural location.  
  • Lake Charles: Greater St. Mary Community Development Foundation
    African American churches will create cooling centers powered by in-ground generators and expand their digital hubs to provide safe, cool places for residents to digitally connect with recovery resources and get assistance during weather emergencies.  
  • Minden: Village of Dixie Inn
    The project will install shade coverings in the local park to make it more comfortable and enjoyable for residents of all ages.  
  • New Orleans: New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, Inc.
    This project will renovate a meeting space and intergenerational playground in an affordable housing development built for low-income musicians who were displaced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  

MAINE

  • Acton: Three Rivers Land Trust
    This project will install accessible benches and parking guidance to make it easier for older adults and people with mobility challenges to enjoy the Goat Hill Trail.
  • Auburn: City of Auburn 
    Walk audits will ensure intergenerational community design input for two MaineDOT-funded traffic and pedestrian safety modification projects and one in the planning phase.  The sites require traffic calming to make it safer for pedestrians, including older residents. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Berwick: Town of Berwick with Berwick for a Lifetime
    The town will create a Handy Helper Tool Collection to enable residents to try out tools for everyday activities and household chores. The displays will introduce residents to new products before they make purchases.  
  • Bowdoinham: Town of Bowdoinham
    The town will develop a plain language guide promoting the use of Universal Design as an approach to more inclusive, safe and accessible housing for people of all ages and abilities.  
  • Caribou: Cary Medical Center with Age Friendly Caribou
    This project will create a digital toolkit to inform residents about elder abuse and engage them in its prevention, with the additional aim of sharing the toolkit with other Maine communities.
  • Chelsea: Age-Friendly Chelsea
    This project will create an intergenerational, accessible community garden at an elementary school, with at least eight raised beds and an accessible bench, as well as signs and decorative artwork created by the students. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Millinocket: Millinocket Memorial Library
    Solar-powered lighting will be installed along a popular downtown walking trail, increasing safety and accessibility, especially for older walkers.  
  • Portland: Friends of Congress Square Park
    The grant will fund a badminton league, disc golf practice sessions and chess and board-game events to help bring people together with fun activities.  
  • Saco: Age-Friendly Saco
    This project will provide a flexible shuttle service as a transportation option for older residents in the region, helping them to shop for groceries, attend social events and run errands.  Demonstration Grant
  • Scarborough: Scarborough Public Library
    This project will establish a network of walking paths to provide a safe place and programs for older adults to exercise and socialize outdoors in a community that lacks a walkable downtown.  
  • Sedgwick: Blue Hill Heritage Trust
    The project will create an easily-traversed walking path and viewing platform, as well as a ramp that allowing for easy access to the shore.  
  • Sullivan: Age-Friendly Sullivan
    The grant will fund an automated external defibrillator (AED) for the town’s community building, which will be accessible to anyone using the facilities for exercise, meetings or other activities.  

MARYLAND

  • Annapolis: Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center
    The center will conduct workshops to educate adults age 50-plus on conflict management at local senior centers, enhancing community inclusion and acceptance of individual differences.  
  • Ashton: Emmanuel Brinklow Seventh Day Adventist
    The grant will fund renovations to the organization’s multipurpose center, including creation of walking trails and expansion of the community garden.  
  • Elkton: Bayside Community Network, Inc.
    This project will help convert the organization’s kitchen and on-site greenhouse into a learning garden-to-table experience to increase the overall health, independence and employability for people age 50-plus and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  
  • Glen Burnie: Anne Arundel County Transit
    This project will provide ADA-compliant bus shelters for patrons in identified areas throughout the service area.  

MASSACHUSETTS

  • Attleboro: Attleboro Norton YMCA
    This project will provide free care to older adults with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other related dementias so their caregivers can exercise while knowing that their loved ones are safe.  
  • Bridgewater: Bridgewater Senior Center
    The project will fund a garden and outdoor activity area designed for older adults. It will include ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible raised gardening beds, grilling stations and outdoor seating. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Chelsea: La Colaborativa, Inc.
    La Plazita, an indoor/outdoor activity space, will provide Latinx residents age 50-plus with a place to gather, connect, celebrate and create community. The space is inspired by plazas, mercados and outdoor spaces in Latin America.  
  • Dunstable: Town of Dunstable
    This project will conduct three walk audits in the town center, with a focus on connections with public facilities, conservation trails and the small business community. The town will host community meetings to discuss the findings. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Lynn: Bike to the Sea
    This project will conduct three walk audits to assess challenges that older adults face when accessing a shared-use trail. The organization will work with local stakeholders and city officials to advocate for improvements to increase accessibility and use. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Springfield: WalkMassachusetts
    The grant will fund a walk audit training program to teach residents how to recognize hazardous conditions in their communities and advocate for changes to make streets safer.  

MICHIGAN

This project will create an accessible community greenhouse, designed by graduate architecture students in collaboration with low-income older adults, to extend the growing season at a community garden. (2023)

  • Jackson: Grow Jackson
    This project will enhance a community garden by implementing educational programming for older adults on topics including nutrition and fresh food, gardening and food saving. Capacity-Building Microgrant 
  • Lansing: Lansing Parks and Recreation
    This project will create a senior fitness membership for residents aged 60 and older, providing access to a fitness center, drop-in activities and an instructor to lead fitness and nutrition classes.  
  • St. Louis: Veterans Heroes Center
    This project will provide Wi-Fi access and establish a computer lab with a printer, tables and chairs for military veterans and their families. 
  • Sterling Heights: Chaldean Community Foundation
    This project will provide classes for caregivers with limited English skills to teach them about financial literacy and self-care, as well as provide budget-friendly cooking tips.

MINNESOTA

  • Alexandria: Cycling Without Age Alexandria
    The organization, which pairs volunteer pilots with older adults and people with restricted mobility for bike rides, will purchase two specialized three-wheel bikes, known as trishaws.  
  • Duluth: Community Action Duluth
    This project will invite older adults to become vibrant participants in Duluth’s farmers markets and mobile grocery program by increasing opportunities to connect through volunteering, community visioning and intergenerational play. 
  • Duluth: Ecolibrium3(Eco3)
    This project will engage older adult volunteers to help create an inclusive intergenerational space for social activities on the site of a former urban college farm. Capacity-Building Microgrant 
  • Duluth: Lincoln Park Resource Center
    The Center will improve the accessibility of a community garden by installing safe walkways, ramps, handrails and benches so community members can use the garden plots to grow healthy food, get exercise and host social events. 
  • Madison: The Madison Mercantile
    This project will provide access to digital devices, including training and troubleshooting, to ensure older adults living in the rural community maximize their digital literacy. 
  • Saint Peter: Point to Place
    This project will convert a vacant lot into a downtown plaza and community event space, providing a gathering place for residents and visitors.

MISSISSIPPI

  • Greenwood: Girls Club & Learning Center, Inc.
    This project will conduct walk audits and host two community meetings with participants, residents and local business owners to discuss the findings. Capacity-Building Microgrant  
  • Oakland: Oakland Area Chamber of Commerce
    This project will improve the area around a senior center by adding a decorative mural, building a pickleball court and adding a pocket park with benches and raised flower beds.  
  • Pass Christian: City of Pass Christian
    The project will add pickleball courts to the city’s main park and recreation area, providing a popular amenity to older adults and people of all ages.  

MISSOURI

  • St. Louis: South Grand Community Improvement District
    This project will build a bus shelter, incorporating seating and a decorative planter box filled with native plants, which will add to the vitality of the business district and improve a transit stop frequently used by older adults. 
  • Springfield: SeniorAge Agency on Aging
    This project will provide disaster preparedness kits and safety presentations to older residents in southwest Missouri. 

MONTANA

  • Billings: Adult Resource Alliance with Age-Friendly Billings
    This project will add signage to Lillis Park that will encourage older adults to pursue their walking and exercise goals.
  • Hamilton: City of Hamilton
    This project will improve safety for road users by installing three neighborhood traffic circles in historic residential areas. It will also develop and implement pop-up traffic calming strategies on a local street.
  • Three Forks: Headwaters Trail System
    This project will provide three pieces of exercise equipment along a walking loop, which is frequently used by older residents. 

NEBRASKA

  • Callaway: Seven Valleys Senior Center
    This project will provide internet service, a desktop computer, desk, projector and screen to a rural senior center to increase opportunities for digital connection. 
  • Chappell: City of Chappell
    This project will make improvements to the Chappell Lake recreation area, including upgrades to the parking lot, solar-powered lights for night fishing, repairs and renovations in the restrooms and new picnic tables.  
  • Fairbury: City of Fairbury
    This project will upgrade a community center by adding an indoor walking track, internet connectivity and wireless devices to expand programing and provide a safe recreational space for older residents.
  • Lincoln: Civic Nebraska
    This project will conduct three walk audits along a busy residential street to identify potential locations for traffic calming tools, which would improve walkability for multigenerational families, immigrants, renters and low-income residents. Capacity-Building Microgrant

NEVADA

  • Las Vegas: The Culinary Academy of Las Vegas
    This project will assist older residents in Southern Nevada with digital literacy and job-readiness, including digital navigation skills, resume writing and online and in-person interviewing. 
  • Reno: Be the Change Project
    The placemaking mural project will use art as a catalyst to create collaborative relationships between neighbors and advocates for walkable streets.  
  • Reno: Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation
    This project will make all-terrain wheelchairs, designed for outdoor exploration, available to park visitors who need mobility assistance.  

NEW HAMPSHIRE

  • Bethlehem: Tri-Town Bicycle
    This project will develop large-print maps of cycling trails, safe road riding routes and supporting infrastructure, designed specifically for use by cyclists age 50-plus.
  • Claremont: Claremont Opera House
    The Claremont Opera House will upgrade its obsolete assisted listening devices so that patrons with hearing challenges can fully appreciate the music, theater, movie and lecture events on stage.
  • Littleton: Littleton Community House
    This project will provide audiovisual technology and support to community groups meeting at the Littleton Community Center, allowing transportation-disadvantaged persons to remotely attend events.
  • North Conway: Gibson Center For Senior Services with MWV Age-Friendly Community
    This grant will support the Safe and Smart Home Expo, which will include a Smart Home on Wheels that will demonstrate technology that can enable older people to age in place safely and in comfort.
  • Portsmouth: Gather
    This project will create a community garden with raised garden beds and vertical gardens to enable older residents of local senior housing communities to grow their own food. Capacity-Building Microgrant 
  • Wilton: Town of Wilton
    The project will create a shaded, handicap-accessible gazebo situated at a location where older residents can observe wildlife and catalog what they see for a natural resources inventory.

NEW JERSEY

  • Hackensack: Northern New Jersey Community Foundation
    This project will provide dozens of rain barrels and community education to help address future flooding.  The rain barrels will be painted to serve functional public art. 
  • Morris Plains: Borough of Morris Plains
    The borough will install a crosswalk with transitional curbs, crossing signs, and detectable warning surfaces for older users. 
  • Newark: The Trust for Public Land
    The project will install fencing around garden beds and provide supplies for older residents who will take over summer maintenance of a pilot garden project at a local elementary school. 
  • Woodbury: The FAF
    The grant will support LOT 323, a creative placemaking pop-up park that features music, arts and crafts events, and connects with residents age 50-plus by partnering with senior housing and senior centers, as well as assisted living facilities.

NEW MEXICO

  • Alamogordo: Alamogordo MainStreet
    This project will beautify alleys that will be utilized to access businesses during a streetscape construction project on main street.  The grant will repair surfaces to make them safer for walking, and add benches and flowers, shade and LED lighting.  
  • Farmington: Northwest New Mexico Arts Council
    The Art in the Alley project will cover the exterior walls of several downtown businesses with murals and historic images, creating a pedestrian walkway. 
  • Las Cruces: Cruces Creatives
    This project will help community members to beautify a revitalizing downtown through a participatory paint-by-numbers mural on the wall of a nonprofit makerspace. 

NEW YORK

  • Brushton: Brushton-Moira Adult Center
    This project will renovate a senior center, including updating a kitchen and dining area and installing an outdoor LED sign board. 
  • New York: Homeward NYC
    This project will provide free, in-unit Wi-Fi access in affordable apartments for low-income and formerly homeless older adults. 
  • Staten Island: Transportation Alternatives
    The project will conduct a walk audit series along a major waterfront thoroughfare on Staten Island’s North Shore to evaluate safety infrastructure for pedestrians and propose improvements that will facilitate a long-term transformation of the route. Capacity-Building Microgrant 
  • Syracuse: Syracuse Housing Authority
    This project will install projectors and screens to expand the type and variety of programming, events and activities that can be provided to residents of six public housing buildings for seniors and people with disabilities.  

NORTH CAROLINA

  • Banner Elk: Carolina Cross Connection
    The project will work with local social service agencies to identify older adults whose homes are in need of repairs or aging-in-place modifications. Young volunteers who are being trained at home repair camps will perform the improvements.  
  • Brevard: El Centro 
    The project will expand a community garden for Hispanic families by adding a 50-foot-by-50-foot patch of tilled rows. Cooking, exercise and gardening classes will augment the physical improvements. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Chapel Hill: Town of Chapel Hill
    This project will install pedestrian safety islands with garden beds, LED lighting and signs on streets in Chapel Hill, to make them safer for pedestrians, particularly those who are older adults. Demonstration Grant
  • Charlotte: Sustain Charlotte
    This project will engage older adult volunteers to create an online accessibility map for Mecklenburg County's greenway network, which will indicate locations of connecting trails, benches, water fountains, restrooms and transit access points.
  • Matthews: Town of Matthews
    The project will install a mural along a local pedestrian and bike trail to commemorate the Crestdale community, the oldest Black community in North Carolina, as well as LED lighting, ADA-compliant benches and signs.  
  • Navassa: North Carolina Gullah Geechee Heritage Trail
    This project will install educational storyboards and benches along a section of the trail at historic Reeves Chapel so that visitors can learn about the area’s history.  
  • Winston-Salem and other communities: Age-Friendly Forsyth
    The project will train 100 volunteer Aging Services Ambassadors to provide information about local services for older adults.  

NORTH DAKOTA

  • Forman: City of Forman
    This project will move an existing community garden to a more accessible location. It will also expand the garden to offer more raised beds for people who are interested in growing their own food. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Glen Ullin: Glen Ullin Park District
    The project will install permanent cornhole boards in outdoor public spaces, which will give residents of all ages a place to enjoy the popular game.
  • Grand Forks: University Park Neighborhoods
    This project will match students with up with older residents. The students will help with chores such as yard cleanup, window washing and simple home repairs, while the older residents will mentor older students and advise them about paying bills, navigating relationships with landlords and other practical life skills.
  • Milnor: City of Milnor
    This project will install adult exercise equipment in a local, intergenerational playground to provide a wide range of activities for people of all ages and capabilities.
  • Munich: Munich Area Development Corporation
    This project will help a local nonprofit grocery store, which provides fresh, affordable food to local residents, to transition to self-service operations. This will enable individuals within the community to access groceries at almost any time.

OHIO

  • Alliance: StarkFresh
    This project will transform a vacant space inside an old elementary school building into a full-service grocery store located next to senior high-rise apartments. 
  • Chillicothe: City of Chillicothe
    This project will turn a vacant and blighted property into the Sixth Ward’s first-ever park, providing access to outdoor space for all generations.
  • Cleveland: Union Miles Development Corporation
    This project will provide home repair services to older residents in the Union-Miles neighborhood to help them to live safely in their homes.
  • Warren: Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership
    This project will convert a vacant property – the site of a demolished former hospital – into a greenspace for older adults by installing trees, landscaping, a walking path and lighting.

OKLAHOMA

  • Grove: City of Grove
    The project will add lighting and signals to downtown crosswalks to help make them safer, particularly for older pedestrians.  
  • Pauls Valley: The Bridge
    This project will conduct four walk audits to identify and document streets that are unsafe for older pedestrians. This information will be used to make the case for future improvements. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Tishomingo: Southern Oklahoma Library System
    This project will create a private space in the Johnston County Library that residents can use to access telemedicine services. 

OREGON

  • Chiloquin: City of Chiloquin
    The project will transform a gravel lot into a park with accessible features, including non-slip concrete surfaces and ADA-compliant seating areas, to allow older adults to relax and socialize.
  • Portland: East Portland Resilience Coalition with ROSE Community Development
    The project will stage Live Well Café pop-up events in two East Portland neighborhoods, which will bring together older adults, people with disabilities and other residents to discuss emergency preparedness, mutual aid and other important issues for community resilience. 
  • Portland: REACH Community Development
    This project will provide free safety modifications for older adults and homeowners with disabilities living on lower-incomes, allowing them to remain safely in their homes.
  • Portland: Kindness Farm
    This project will turn an overgrown area into a community garden featuring medicinal and edible plants. The accessible space will host educational workshops and give community members a place to gather and socialize. In addition, produce from the garden will be donated to people in need. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Roseburg: Douglas Public Health Network
    This project will fund educational materials designed to increase emergency preparedness and disaster resilience for residents in rural Douglas County.
  • Vida: Vida McKenzie Community Center
    The grant will fund installation of an audiovisual system with a hearing loop to make a community center more accessible people who are impacted by hearing loss.

PENNSYLVANIA

  • Lancaster: SACA Development Corporation
     The “Clean, Green and Safe” project will make it safer for older residents to walk to the Marin Senior Center by adding shade trees, plants, benches, trash receptacles and public safety cameras along the route and outside the center.
  • Palmer Township: Paza, Tree of Life
    The project will turn an open space adjacent to the public library into a community gathering area with benches, a sculpture and a garden paying tribute to Native American culture.
  • Philadelphia: Philly Community Wireless
    The project will equip two senior high-rise apartments with a Wi-Fi network. The signals will be able to reach a nearby playground and other outdoor areas.
  • Pittsburgh: Bike Pittsburgh
    This project will train people how to advocate for their neighborhoods to receive traffic calming improvements to protect cyclists and pedestrians, as well as people with disabilities and older adults.
  • Pittsburgh: Bike Share Pittsburgh
    This project will provide seven accessible bikes specifically suited for older residents and people with disabilities, which will be available for rent in Pittsburgh's Southside neighborhood along the Great Allegheny Passage.

PUERTO RICO

  • Juncos: LTRG of Puerto Rico
    This project will conduct workshops designed to help residents to improve their disaster preparedness. It will also install infrastructure, such as solar-powered lighting and a water storage tank, to support community members following a disaster.  

RHODE ISLAND

  • Newport: Bike Newport
    This project will support Cycling Without Age, a program that will provide older people and disabled veterans with trishaw rides, piloted by trained volunteers. Photo Album
  • Providence: Providence Streets Coalition
    This project will support the "Walk, Talk & Chalk" series, which will conduct six walk audits of local neighborhoods and engage community members by using sidewalk chalk to mark recommended infrastructure improvements. 
  • Providence: Mount Hope Community Center
    This project will purchase laptops that older residents can use to learn about technology and the internet. It will also provide residents with support and instruction. 

SOUTH CAROLINA

  • Barnwell: Barnwell Farmers Market
    This project will provide four nutrition education workshops, as well as educational materials focused on healthy eating and chronic illness prevention. 
  • Rock Hill: City of Rock Hill
    This project will create a pollinator garden at the Northside Recreation Center, which will provide residents with an opportunity to learn about the benefits of pollinator gardens and how to care for them. 

SOUTH DAKOTA

  • Clear Lake: Clear Lake Area Development
    This project will add two accessible benches with shaded canopies and a chilled water drinking fountain at Clear Lake City Park.
  • Highmore: Hyde County Parks & Recreation 
    The project will rebuild a community swimming pool and make it more accessible for older adults and people with disabilities by adding features such as zero-depth entry, an ADA-compliant lift and in-pool seating.
  • Lemmon: Lemmon Public Library
    The project will purchase a portable dance floor, which residents will be able to check out from the library for local events.
  • Pine Ridge: Red Cloud Indian School
    To increase tribal elders' access to locally-grown food, this project will host a weekly farmers market featuring traditional foods that students will grow, harvest and prepare.

TENNESSEE

  • Chattanooga: ELLA Library
    The project will turn an unused space into a community garden with raised beds to accommodate older gardeners, as well as allow for monthly gardening events there. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Chattanooga: Lighthouse Network Services
    The project will support student caregivers and their families to grow their own food and access healthier food options.
  • Memphis/West Memphis: TennGreen Land Conservancy
    This project will improve a trail segment in Big River Park and add a gathering circle with repurposed stone block benches. All improvements will be ADA-compliant.
  • Springfield: Robertson County Schools
    The project will support a “Reading Across Robertson” bus that will provide older residents and school students with access to library books and intergenerational activities.

TEXAS

  • Austin: Red Line Parkway Initiative
    The project will install wayfinding signs along the Red Line Parkway, a walking and cycling route that stretches for more than 32 miles. 
  • Dallas: Better Block Foundation
    The project will revive a local farmers market by creating a space for it in a vacant lot and making sidewalk connections so that people of all ages and abilities can navigate the area. Demonstration Grant
  • Houston: University of Houston-Downtown
    This project will provide residents aged 50+ with tablet computers, along with tutorials from university student volunteers on how to use them.
  • Kerrville: City of Kerrville
    The project will install five benches along the River Trail, giving older walkers a place to rest and socialize, and plant five trees to provide shade.
  • San Antonio: Citymakery 
    A design competition for accessory dwelling units will encourage families and students to think creatively about ADUs as a way to create multigenerational households and provide for older family members so they can age in place. Demonstration Grant

UTAH

  • Green River: Epicenter
    The project will build a pavilion at Pearl Baker Park designed to be accessible to older visitors, with hand rails and a soft pathway surface to reduce the potential for injuries from falls.  
  • Salt Lake City: TreeUtah
    The project will mobilize volunteers to plant trees in public outdoor spaces throughout the state. 

VERMONT

  • Brattleboro: Vermont River Conservancy
    This project will organize walk-and-talks and indoor workshops led by community members aged 50+ to inform residents about the construction of a riverside park and get them engaged in shaping its future development.
  • Burlington: Heineberg Community Senior Center
    This project will create an accessible outdoor seating area for older residents by repurposing several paved parking spaces near the local senior center and equipping them with bench seating, tables, chairs and planters for gardening. 
  • Burlington: Old East End Neighborhood Coalition
    This project will promote walkability by conducting a walk audit in a Burlington neighborhood and staging a community design charrette with 50 participants to come up with improvements for problem areas. 
  • Wheelock: Town of Wheelock
    This project will conduct three walk audits along a busy route in Wheelock Village to identify walking hazards and potential crosswalk locations, and then share results at a community meeting that will be open to residents, business owners and local officials. Capacity-Building Microgrant

VIRGIN ISLANDS

  • Frederiksted: Virgin Islands Trail Alliance
    This project will improve the Adventure Nature Trail with new features, including a restored pavilion, benches and picnic tables, and signs identifying tree species and describing the area’s history. 

VIRGINIA

  • Arlington: Arlington Neighborhood Village
    This project will engage 25 volunteers to participate in a “Senior Ambassador Program” and provide older residents in their neighborhoods with information about local services. Additionally, the project will compile a Senior Resource Guide and translate it into Spanish.  
  • Fries: Town of Fries
    This project will turn underutilized property beside the town farmers market into a community garden with 10 raised vegetable beds, rain barrels and two ADA-compliant benches, which will be available for all town residents to use. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Richlands: Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens
    An underutilized playground in a residential area will be upgraded to a “Fit for Life” multigenerational park for exercisers of all ages, especially older adults. 
  • Roanoke: Local Office on Aging
    The project will create an outdoor fitness area, including a walking track and fitness equipment suitable for use by older adults.  
  • Roanoke: City of Roanoke
    The project will stage an accessory dwelling unit design competition that will increase public awareness of this housing option. The competition will result in a set of plans that homeowners and developers can use to build an ADU on a single-family residential lot.  Demonstration Grant
  • Winchester: Blue Ridge Habitat for Humanity, Inc.
    This project will create and distribute a printed Quick Look Reference Guide, a one-page directory of services for older adults in the region. 

WASHINGTON

  • Lynnwood: Homage Senior Services
    This project will provide fare-free rides to seniors, making transit more accessible and affordable while also demonstrating the benefits of rural transit routes in underserved communities. Demonstration Grant
  • Seattle: Elizabeth Gregory Home
    The project will renovate the home’s Day Center to improve accessibility, launch health education sessions and offer holistic support for low-income older adults, particularly women experiencing homelessness and economic insecurity. 
  • Seattle: Seattle Metro Pickleball Association
    The project will provide permanent pickleball nets at two regional pickleball centers and host introductory clinics, enabling more older adults to participate in the age-friendly sport. 
  • Seattle: Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties
    The project will permanently establish the organization’s CAPABLE program, which provides access to occupational therapists and registered nurses who do home assessments and develop a workplan to help older clients continue to live independently.  

WEST VIRGINIA

  • Davis: National Youth Science Academy
    This project will turn an unused area into a community garden with 20 raised beds and four accessible benches. Gardeners will have the opportunity to grow food for their families and also contribute produce to the local food bank. Capacity-Building Microgrant
  • Mannington: Marion County Senior Center 
    This project will install outdoor fitness equipment at two different locations along a walking trail to provide older adults with an opportunity to get their exercise in the outdoors.
  • Wheeling: Wheeling Heritage
    This project will create a pocket park in downtown Wheeling that will feature outdoor art, chess tables and chairs in an ADA-compliant public space.

WISCONSIN

  • Altoona: City of Altoona
    The city will hold an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) design competition in order to promote their use as a housing solution. The competition will include an open house and presentations of the concepts to help educate builders and the broader community about ADUs. Demonstration Grant
  • La Crosse: City of La Crosse Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department
    This project will revitalize a frequently used route and make it more accessible to residents age 50-plus by adding improvements such as a new crosswalk with art, a covered bus shelter and seats, light posts with decorative banners and other amenities.  
  • Milwaukee: Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee 
    This project will support community outreach for the Growing MKE initiative, which will amend the city’s Comprehensive Plan and update zoning to reduce barriers interfering with development of housing for older adults.    
  • Milwaukee: City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works 
    This project creates a traffic calming lending library in Milwaukee that gives residents the power to try out traffic safety designs on their street, so they can understand what options would most effectively address their concerns.
  • River Falls: City of River Falls
    The grant will fund safety improvements at a major intersection and demonstrate traffic calming interventions such as high-visibility crosswalk markings and an auditory response system. 
  • Stevens Point: City of Stevens Point
    This project will install five age-friendly benches at selected transit stops, all of which have a high-degree of usage and are situated along major transportation corridors. 

WYOMING

  • Dubois: Mountain Grace Church
    The project will launch a new community service program which will assist older residents in maintaining and repairing their homes, so that they can continue to live independently.  
  • Laramie: Age-Friendly Laramie
    The project will convert a donated bus into an accessible greenhouse, which will be part of a community garden. The exterior of the bus will be decorated with tiles so that it will double as an art installation.  
  • Laramie: Miles of Smiles
    The project will purchase a trishaw and train cyclists to provide rides on these specially built pedicabs to residents of senior living facilities.  
  • Sheridan: Holy Name Catholic Church
    The project will help family caregivers with instructional workshops, which will pair newer caregivers with experienced ones who can provide one-on-one support.  
  • Thayne: Thayne Senior Center
    This project will provide transportation assistance to older residents in a frontier community who need to get to medical appointments outside of the local area.  

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