AARP has announced it is accepting applications for its seventh annual Community Challenge grant program, a funding source for nonprofit organizations and governmental entities to apply for “quick-action” projects that make communities more livable and have the potential to seed long-term change.
Previous grant awards were given for a wide-range of initiatives, including a 2021 project that provided Wi-Fi, smart home devices, a computer lab and digital literacy programming for older adults in a public housing development in Jersey City, NJ; and a 2019 program to help bridge the digital divide and social isolation by funding a hotspot lending program that distributed 60 hotspot devices.
This year, two new grant award categories have been established in addition to the Flagship Grants awarded in previous years. The two new grant categories are Capacity-Building Microgrants and Demonstration Grants.
Applications are due by March 15. Grant award winners will be announced on June 28 for projects that must be completed by November 30.
Flagship Grants
The Flagship Grants range between several hundred dollars for smaller, short-term activities to tens of thousands of dollars for larger projects with an average grant amount of $11,900.
Those grants are for projects that benefit residents, especially citizens 50 and older. They can include a variety of initiatives – ranging from the creation of “vibrant public places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities,” support for affordable housing options, enhancement of community resilience “through investments that improve disaster management, preparedness and mitigation” to delivering transportation and mobility options that “increase connectivity, walkability, bikeability, and access to public and private transit;” as well as projects that aim to increase digital inclusion projects that expand access to high-speed Internet and develop digital literacy skills.
New Funding Opportunities
The new Capacity-Building Micgrogrants will...
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