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Successful Aging

Grants & LoansGrantsCommunity Grants › Successful Aging

Goal:

To make Marin County a positive and viable place in which to age

Overview:

The growth rate of the older population in Marin is the fastest in the state. By 2010, one in four adults in the County will be over 65. The largest subset of this population growth is in the over-85 age group. The service system and other relevant resources will be pushed to new limits. As older adults age, they face increasing difficulty in remaining in their own homes or other living situations without increases in home health and other supportive services.

Older adults face a unique set of challenges, including isolation (which often leads to depression, self-medication, and other secondary problems), increased falls, malnutrition, lack of information on resources, and lack of appropriate supportive services. These challenges make this population more vulnerable to hospitalizations and unwanted institutionalization. In addition, one-third of Marin's older adults — or 21,000 residents — are dependent upon fixed income of Social Security alone. This low-income group is the target population for the Foundation's support of client services.

Older adults are important assets to our communities, and keeping them healthy and engaged in community life is beneficial for the County's entire population. Community engagement in older life is correlated to improved health and quality of life and improvement of overall health indicators (e.g., reduction in depression, alcohol consumption, and isolation). Older adults with access to a highly coordinated network of health and social services along with opportunities for both community engagement and employment are more likely to age in place with maximum health and dignity. A healthy, fully-engaged older citizenry ultimately strengthens the entire community.

You can download the action plan that is driving the work of the Foundation to serve the County's older adults.

Under this goal, MCF will support projects that incorporate the following strategy and approaches:

 

Strategy: Promote a comprehensive, efficient, and effective system of services and programs that allows for successful aging by older adults through the following approaches:

Approach 1: Develop a coordinated system of health and social services for older adults

Approach 2: Strengthen the delivery of core health and social services

Approach 3: Foster employment, volunteerism, and community involvement for older adults

A logic model for this strategy has been developed that further explains the approaches, activities, and desired impact of this goal area.

Note: The Marin Community Foundation defines older adults as individuals who are 60 years of age or older. Given limited resources and the very challenging economic climate, Foundation resources will be designated to meet the unique challenges of low-income older adults who are aging in their homes, requiring a coordinated, holistic approach to service deliver.

Eligibility:
To be eligible for funding under Approach 2 or 3, organizations must:

  • have a nonprofit tax-exempt status or a fiscal sponsor with a nonprofit tax exempt status
  • ensure the scope of services play a critical role in promoting a comprehensive, efficient, and effective system of services and programs that allows for successful aging among low-income older adults living in Marin County
  • propose a project that clearly articulates activities an organization will implement with Marin Community Foundation funds that are aligned with either Approach 2 or 3 as described above
  • demonstrate partnerships with service providers within and beyond the traditional aging service sector that leverage resources aimed at deepening and broadening the system of services for low-income older adults
  • have a clear evaluation plan to measure the impact of the proposed project on low-income older adults

If applying for funds under Approach 2, priority consideration will be given to those innovative projects that aim to meet the transportation and/or chronic disease management and prevention needs of low-income older adults. In addition, MCF is especially interested in increasing the cultural competencies of aging sector providers who serve or may serve populations with diverse needs and sensitivities (e.g., LBGTQ populations, non-English speaking, frail elderly, and rural elderly). Finally, proposed projects that will leverage other resources to support the on-going program costs (e.g. federal or state matching funds, volunteer hours, sliding scale fees for service) will also be given special consideration.

MCF is committed to advancing the goal to make Marin County a positive and viable place in which to age. To assess progress toward this goal, MCF requires grantees to collect data and report on measurable outcomes. In partnership with grantees, the Foundation looks forward to learning more about which activities and supports effectively ensure independent living among low-income older adults in Marin.

Grant term:
If awarded a grant, the twelve-month grant term will be May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011. Six-month, nine-month, and final reports will be required through the Foundation's online Grant Evaluation Center.

Process:
Approach 1: RFPs will be issued to community organizations that are being invited to apply for support under this strategy. This strategy will not use an open competitive grants process.

Approaches 2 and 3: Organizations applying for support under these approaches should register with the Grant Application Center starting December 1, 2009, which is the Registration Open Date for this goal. This system enables you to complete and submit all application materials online.

Once you have registered, please complete and submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), even if you have received funding from MCF in the past for this kind of work.

If your LOI is approved, you will be notified how to prepare and submit a full proposal, also using the Grant Application Center.

Deadline for LOI: December 28, 2009

Full Proposals invited: January 8, 2010

Deadline for Full Proposal (if invited): February 1, 2010  

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"The more I work with the MCF, the more impressed I am by the Foundation's professionalism, commitment to mission, and dedication to donor charitable intentions. MCF is an exceptional resource to our charitable community and provides much needed stewardship of donor assets. I am always very pleased to be able to refer clients to them."

Julia Sze, CFA
Senior Investment  Strategist, Wells Fargo Family Wealth Group, member of MCF's Investment Committee, and a donor since 2006