Posted on February 3, 2012

AARP Foundation Awards $3.7 Million to Nonprofits Assisting Vulnerable Older Americans

The AARP Foundation has announced grants totaling $3.7 million to twenty nonprofit organizations working to help adults age 50 and older.

The inaugural awards made through the foundation's grants program will help organizations across eighteen states and the District of Columbia working to address older Americans' needs in the areas of hunger and income. Through the foundation's Hunger Innovation initiative, grants were awarded to ten nonprofits that have made a significant impact on community food security and sustainable food systems; recipients include Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe in El Paso, Texas ($292,492), and the Collective Roots Garden Project in East Palo Alto, California ($90,000).

The foundation also awarded Recession Recovery Income Grants to ten nonprofits working to help older adults upgrade their job skills, obtain employment, and access benefits, work supports, and services designed to protect them from financial insecurity; recipients include the Florida Institute for Workforce Innovation ($190,880).

When it was launched, the Hunger Innovation and Recession Recovery Income initiative had a budget of $2 million, but strong interest and the quality of proposals led the foundation to boost grantmaking in these areas to $3.7 million.

"The current economic uncertainty has left many older Americans concerned about making ends meet," said AARP Foundation senior vice president Phyllis L. Kim. "AARP Foundation is already in communities across the country helping vulnerable Americans with direct services, but we believe strongly that we must also invest in long-term solutions."

For a complete list of grants, visit the AARP Foundation Web site.