New Grants Totaling Over $2.3 Million Approved by JAHF Board of Trustees
The John A. Hartford Foundation Board of Trustees approved new grants totaling $2,347,544 to strengthen support for family caregivers and improve public library programming for older adults:
Embedding Caregivers into the Age-Friendly Ecosystem: Scaling and Sustaining the Movement ($1,959,181 for 3 years)
Rush University Medical Center
Family caregivers play a significant role in supporting older adults’ care, but they often lack support, training and recognition within the health care system. To address these needs, Rush University Medical Center developed the Caring for Caregivers (C4C) model and implemented the program in 48 health care sites. The next phase of this work aims to embed family caregivers into the Age-Friendly Ecosystem, a cross-sector movement to improve quality of life for older adults. It will expand the award-winning C4C model to 100 new sites of care, develop scalable approaches for Age-Friendly Health Systems to routinely assess caregiver needs, and provide technical assistance to health care organizations to initiate change. It will also build a coalition of community and public health organizations to integrate caregiver support, including preparing 20 public health departments and training 150 public health professionals. This initiative has support from two regional funders, the Michigan Health & Hospital Association and the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, and will leverage partnerships with national health and caregiving organizations.
Aging Together: An Evaluation of Library Programs for Older Adults ($388,363 for 18 months)
American Library Association
This grant will support the American Library Association (ALA) to evaluate and summarize the state of older adult programming in libraries across the United States and offer recommendations based on successful models and best practices. Public libraries are vital community hubs for older adults, promoting social connection, enhancing well-being and ensuring access to essential resources—particularly in rural areas. However, little research exists on the prevalence or impact of library programming for older adults. ALA will conduct a national evaluation of library programming for older adults through a landscape report, advisory group, and data analysis from ALA initiatives. The findings from this project will inform ALA’s future actions regarding resource development, partner engagement and initiative creation for older adult library programming.
