Volume 18 | Issue 22 | May 31, 2023

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

The goals of Social Call, a Generations United Program of Distinction, are to measurably decrease loneliness and increase social connection and perceived feelings of meaningful relationships. Social Call was launched in 2009, pairing older people aged 60+ and volunteers 18+ in the Bay Area region of California for in person 1:1 conversation. In 2018, Social Call moved to a remote model available by phone or video and expanded availability throughout the United States, with matches spending at least 30 minutes per week in virtual visits to develop meaningful relationships and friendships. Social Call works with 1,100 older adults and volunteers, and facilitates over 500 matches annually. Learn more.

Photo courtesy of Social Call

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 Herb Block Foundation: Encouraging Citizen Involvement. The Herb Block Foundation is committed to defending basic freedoms, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice, and improving the condition of the poor and underprivileged in the United States. The Foundation’s Encouraging Citizen Involvement grant program provides support to nonprofit organizations nationally with the aim of helping to ensure a responsible, responsive democratic government through citizen involvement. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 support projects focused on citizen education and greater voter participation in the electoral process. All projects must be nonpartisan and may not involve lobbying for specific legislation or candidates. Letters of inquiry are due June 1, 2023. Learn more.

KidsGardening: The Lots of Compassion Grant, a new program offered by Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day and KidsGardening, is designed to support local leaders looking to transform vacant lots into gardens to help grow compassion in their community. In 2023, ten grantees will receive $20,000 each to transform a vacant lot into a garden. Nonprofit organizations, school districts, universities, groups, religious organizations, and other tax-exempt organizations are eligible to apply. The deadline for application submission is Friday, June 2, 2023, at 11:59 PM PT. Learn more.

The Brookdale Foundation Group Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the creation or expansion of supportive services to grandparents and other relatives raising children. A seed grant of $30,000 ($20,000 in year one and $10,000 tier two, contingent upon progress made during year one and potential for continuity in the future) is available to non-profit organizations across the United States. On-going technical assistance will be provided. Proposals are due June 22, 2023. Learn more.

Administration for Community Living: Advancing Aging Network Capacity to Recognize and Support Family, Kinship and Tribal Caregivers. Using the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers (the Strategy) as a road map, ACL will fund up to five (5) new cooperative agreements to eligible entities to work on a national level to further advance the development of state, community and tribal family caregiver support programs funded under the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), Title III-E and VI-C of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended. This new initiative is intended to advance NFCSP/NACSP development to more closely align it with the principles and concepts contained in the Strategy, thus better positioning the program to more effectively recognize, assist, include, support, and engage family caregivers and better meet the challenges and opportunities associated with supporting them. Closing date for applications is June 25, 2023. Learn more.

ECMC Foundation's mission is to improve higher education for career success among underserved populations in the United States through evidence-based innovation. Support is provided for efforts that fit within the Foundation’s strategic priorities: 1) removing barriers to post-secondary completion, including programs that directly support learner success; 2) building the capacity of higher education organizations, institutions, and systems to improve outcomes for learners and evolve to meet changing needs; and 3) transforming the post-secondary ecosystem, including large-scale, cross-sector collaborations in service of more equitable outcomes. The Foundation makes grants and investments through an open letter of inquiry process for projects connected to one or more of the strategic priorities. Nonprofit organizations, government entities, and post-secondary institutions and systems are eligible to apply. Application deadline: None for letters of inquiry. Learn more.

NEW: National Alliance for Children's Grief - Grief Reach Grants is a dedicated grant opportunity supporting childhood bereavement services in the United States. Any organization that currently serves young people who have experienced a death of a loved one are invited to apply for this competitive grant opportunity to enhance access to and increase grief support for youth and their families. This competitive funding opportunity has four goals: to increase access to bereavement support services in local communities, especially diverse communities; to enhance the capacity of organizations providing bereavement support service; to expand bereavement support services to address unmet needs; and to support communities dealing with grief and loss with tangible resources. This funding opportunity is offered twice a year. Cycle 2 of 2023 will focus on the area of Community Expansion. The cycle will open for application on June 1, 2023, with grants awarded in September 2023. 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.

"Mental health is an extremely important issue across all generations. No matter our age, we can all appreciate happiness, sadness and the full spectrum in between, with any number of things impacting our feelings and wider wellbeing."

Anita Astle, owner and manager of Wren Hall, a dementia specialist nursing home

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!