Today, San Francisco-based Metta Fund announced twenty-three grants totaling $1,690,000 to advance the health and wellness of older adults.
As people live longer – well into their 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond — older adults have come to represent our nation’s fastest growing population group. In San Francisco alone, nearly 30% of residents will be age 60 or older by 2030. In 2017, Metta made a 10-year commitment to focus on addressing social isolation among older adults, a growing health concern associated with detrimental health consequences.
With nearly $1.7 million in funding, the work will focus on two programs:
- A new capacity building program providing local, elder-serving nonprofits with training and technical assistance opportunities that strengthen organizational learning, evaluation, and impact.
- Continued core operating support for twelve San Francisco-based nonprofits working to address social isolation in older San Franciscans.
Grantees will receive awards ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 over the course of two years.
The evaluation and learning capacity building program grant partners are:
- Bayview Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior Services ($25,000)
- Candid ($50,000)
- Community Living Campaign ($25,000)
- Community Tech Network ($25,000)
- Covia Foundation / Well Connected ($25,000)
- Curry Senior Center ($25,000)
- Kimochi, Inc ($25,000)
- Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly ($25,000)
- Openhouse ($25,000)
- Shanti Project ($25,000)
- San Francisco Senior and Disability Action ($25,000)
The core operating support grant recipients are:
- Bayview Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior Services ($150,000)
- Community Living Campaign ($100,000)
- Community Tech Network ($70,000)
- Curry Senior Center ($150,000)
- Felton Institute ($100,000)
- Homebridge ($200,000)
- Institute on Aging/Friendship Line ($70,000)
- Meals on Wheels of San Francisco ($200,000)
- OnLok Inc./OnLok and Openhouse ($75,000)
- Openhouse ($100,000)
- SF Tech Council/ Community Living Campaign ($75,000)
- Stepping Stone ($100,000)
A major aim of Metta Fund’s grantmaking is to support promising interventions and strategies for addressing social isolation in older adults. Providing organizations with core operating support—as well as resources to evaluate their programs and data-gathering tactics — will ultimately lead to stronger outcomes and increased impact.
“This round of grantmaking underscores the importance that the Foundation places not only on general operating support, but also on learning and outcomes-thinking by helping to build the capacity of organizations serving our elders,” said Janet Y. Spears, CEO of Metta Fund. “The newly-launched capacity building program builds on three years of experience, data, and feedback. We’re eager to continue this vital work with our partners organizations.”