COMMUNITY IMPACT
Learn more about leaders from around the state who are making Minnesota a great place for us all to age.
2023-2024 GRANTEES
Learn more about the exciting work underway in the first round of Age-Friendly Minnesota grants here!
A LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
January 1, 2024
My Fellow Minnesotans,
Thanks to the support of the Minnesota State Legislature, our Age-Friendly Minnesota Council and community partners are working hard to invest in powerful public and private partnerships that engage older people and our communities in advancing the social, economic, environmental and lifestyle changes needed to influence health and longevity for us all.
In our first round of grantmaking, Age-Friendly Minnesota Community Grants were awarded to 91 entities. Their work is making Minnesota a better place for us all to grow older. I invite you to learn more about their efforts. Keep reading!
Sherrie Pugh, Chair
Age-Friendly Minnesota Council
GRANTS BY REGION
STATEWIDE REACH
72% of applications were funded and grantees span all regions of the state, including several statewide projects and efforts for multiple counties. In total, 56 counties and 7 tribes are specifically represented in this first round of grants.
GRANTEE PROFILES
The 91 grantees include 56 non-profit organizations (such as faith communities, foundations and school districts), 18 cities (including 8 with populations under 1,000), 13 for-profits, two counties, and one Tribe.
GRANTS BY COUNTY
TYPES OF GRANTS
Grantees are working on a variety of different projects, such as
14
targeted community planning efforts,
14
that are investing in outdoor spaces,
10
investing in buildings,
9 in developing new services or programs,
6 engaged in broad community planning efforts, as well as
6 targeting housing,
6 working on social connection,
6 efforts to develop new systems, as well as
5 capacity-building efforts,
4
vehicle purchases,
3 projects looking at training, and
2 projects focused in the arts.
Learn more about these programs below.
FOCUS ON DEIA
The Age-Friendly Minnesota Council is committed to making sure that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are core to the foundation of our grantmaking. Grants awarded serve a diversity of communities. For example, you'll see our work span Hmong, SE Asian, and Korean communities or in projects that seek to target challenging issues like hearing loss, vision loss, and mobility.
GRANTEE STORIES
FRIENDS & CO
"We are excited to report that based on initial program data, a stunning 97% of participants reported that their experience in Community Conversations was worthwhile."
WHAT'S NEW?
As an Age-Friendly Minnesota grantee, Friends & Co held Community Conversations at 11 locations across the state, including their first Spanish-speaking event. Conversations in Spanish revealed specific needs of older adults, and in response, Friends & Co. partnered with DARTS to pilot Café, Pan y Conexión - an initiative providing Spanish-speaking older adults with new opportunities for connection, and helping communities drive their own solutions for reducing isolation throughout the metro.
An additional five more conversations are planned by end of June 2024, including a series engaging members of the LGBTQ+ community. In June, overall findings will be summarized into an open report that can inform programming throughout Minnesota.
LEARN MORE
BACKGROUND
Learn more about our Technical Assistance Grants.
Learn more about our Community Grants.
Do you want to share your story? Contact Adam Suomala to schedule an interview.
Do you have questions about Age-Friendly grants? Contact Age-Friendly Minnesota.
To learn more about Age-Friendly MN Council work, including our grants and priorities, visit our full website.
ABOUT
Starting in 2023, the Age-Friendly Minnesota Council asked the MN Leadership Council on Aging to create and maintain this website to promote events, resources, news and stories from Age-Friendly Minnesota technical assistance providers and community grantees.
