Volume 18 | Issue 29 | July 19, 2023

News for Advocates of Children, Youth, and Older Adults from Generations United

Bridge Meadows, a Generations United Program of Distinction, uses the power of community to help children heal from the trauma of foster care. Their program includes high-quality affordable housing, therapeutic programs, and intergenerational community support. Elders live in the community, serving as mentors, friends, and caregivers to the children and each other, forming a safety net of care and interdependence. Their Theory of Change shows how this safety net improves quality of life for all three generations: children, parents, and elders. They build affordable housing with independent townhomes and apartments to support permanency. Intentionally designed spaces encourage connection and relationship-building, while providing safety and security. The community connects around the shared social purpose of permanency for youth formerly in foster care. Clinical staff weave the community together with trauma-informed support services and community-building expertise to facilitate connection and mutual support. Learn more.

Photo courtesy of Bridge Meadows

Each week, Generations United is spotlighting a recipient of our Intergenerational Program Certification. The certification is an annual recognition of outstanding programs bringing older and younger participants together and is based on rigorous standards of program effectiveness and sustainability. Learn more about the Intergenerational Program Certification here.

The Dialogues on the Experience of War program from the National Endowment for the Humanities supports the study and discussion of humanities sources that address the experiences of military service and war from a wide variety of perspectives. Dialogue projects encourage veterans and nonveterans to reflect collectively on such topics as civic engagement, veteran identity, and the legacies of war, service, and homecoming. Project teams should include humanities scholars, military veterans, and individuals with relevant experience. The optional draft deadline is July 27, 2023 and the application deadline is September 7, 2023. Learn more.

The Field-Initiated Approach to Addressing Racial Bias and Inequity in Child Welfare opportunity from the Administration for Children and Families aims to award up to eight grants that support the development, implementation, and evaluation of field-initiated approaches to addressing racial bias and inequity in child welfare and improving the safety, stability, and well-being of families in traditionally underserved communities. As a field-based initiative, this funding opportunity will enable communities to design and lead targeted solutions to local issues of systemic disproportionality and inequitable access to services experienced by traditionally underserved communities at varying points across the child welfare continuum. The closing date for applications is July 31, 2023. Learn more.

NEW: AARP Foundation works to end senior poverty by helping older adults build economic opportunity. Through its current requests for applications, the Foundation seeks projects that advance economic opportunity among older adults with low income in 22 U.S. states and territories with high rates of senior poverty. The focus is on achieving equitable outcomes for older adults with low income by increasing income and decreasing expenditures, accessing benefits, and securing refunds and credits. Priority is given to equitable strategies and services that address systemic barriers, racial and ethnic disparities, and other biases that perpetuate economic instability. Support is provided for direct service projects developing and testing new approaches and solutions to help older adults with low income secure the essentials and field building projects advancing economic opportunity and financial stability for older adults on a systemic level. The application deadline is August 4, 2023 and the invited full application deadline is September 8, 2023. Learn more.

NEW: The WITH Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are currently accepting applications through a request for proposals (RFP) focused on projects that foster health and healthcare systems transformation for older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in communities of color within the United States. Proposals should prioritize one of the following approaches: implementation of models, educational resources, regional or national advocacy, or research to identify and fill gaps in knowledge and inform efforts to improve health related to the care that older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in communities of color receive. The RFP also seeks to foster the development of new partnerships between community, healthcare, and disability organizations. Proposals should specifically support primary care providers (including dentists) and healthcare systems in providing culturally competent care to older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in communities of color. The application deadline is August 15, 2023. Learn more.

NEW: Community Collections Grants from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress fund and support contemporary cultural field research and documentation within diverse communities. Available to individuals and organizations, the grants offer up to $50,000 each to support projects within their communities to produce ethnographic cultural documentation, such as interviews with community members and audio-visual recordings of cultural activity, from the community perspective. Funding through these awards can be used to cover travel, equipment rental or purchase, and other expenses associated with cultural documentation fieldwork. Applications are due by 2:00 p.m. ET on August 18, 2023. Learn more.

The Foot Locker Foundation Community Empowerment Program, offered by LISC and Foot Locker, Inc., through the Foot Locker Foundation, supports nonprofit community organizations that empower youth in underserved communities. Eligible cities include Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco, CA; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Baltimore, MD; Detroit, MI; Newark, NJ; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Dallas and Houston, TX; and Washington, DC. Grants ranging from $25,000 to $75,000 support current youth programming, the creation of new programming, or the extension of existing programming over one year. Grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 support capital improvement projects that enhance the impact of youth programming over one year. Applicant organizations should primarily serve youth in under-resourced communities with programs and services focused on health and wellness, education and life skills support, mentoring, or career development; include people of color in their leadership ranks; and more. The application deadline is August 30, 2023. Learn more.

The International Paper Foundation addresses critical needs in the communities where International Paper employees live and work in the United States. Areas of interest include education, with a focus on children's literacy; hunger and food security for children, families, and seniors; health and wellness, including promotion of healthy habits; and disaster relief. If your organization does not have an International Paper location in the community, you are not eligible for grant funding. (Grants in the company's global headquarters location of Memphis, TN, are made by invitation only). Applications are accepted through mid-September, annually. Learn more.

Life Comes From It is a grantmaking and movement-building circle that supports grassroots work led by people of color in the United States. Funding is provided for projects and collaborations led by people of color that focus on restorative justice, transformative justice, Indigenous peacemaking, and land-based projects. The aim is to support work committed to replacing criminalization and incarceration with alternative approaches to address violence and repair harm, and prioritizing peacemaking development and Indigenous initiatives led by Native people. Grants are typically unrestricted and for general operating costs. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or organizations with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor are eligible to apply. Application deadline: None for introductions. Learn more.

If you have—or know of—any intergenerational funding opportunities, please send them to gu@gu.org.

"Intergenerational Community Planning" Report: Generations United Senior Fellow Irv Katz and Generations United friend and Penn State professor Matt Kaplan, PhD, collaborated on a "guide" to intergenerational community planning published by the American Planning Association (APA). The intergenerational planning guide follows related APA reports on multigenerational planning and planning for all ages. The document suggests that the well-being of children, youth, and older adults--and how they relate with one another--should be integrated into regular city planning processes, such as the comprehensive planning that most cities and towns undertake. "Intergenerational Community Planning" is available for free to members of the American Planning Association and $25 for non-members.

"There can be a lot of benefits from this cross-generational interaction, both in terms of decreasing stigma and improving understanding across generations. Our clients have so much lived experience. And many of our students are just starting out. That experience and wisdom is often extraordinarily welcomed."

Maggie Ratnayake, program director for Lori's Hands, a Generations United Program of Distinction

We want Generations This Week to be a resource for you. Please send us any national news on intergenerational issues in addition to upcoming conferences, funding opportunities, research, reports, and webinars. You can connect with other intergenerational enthusiasts through our Facebook group. Please also let us know how we can improve! Email us at gu@gu.org. We'd love to hear from you!