Common Council Approves Grants for Older Adult Services

The City of Madison Common Council signed off Tuesday night on nearly $950,000 in grants to 13 community agencies that serve older adults in Madison. The decisions are the culmination of a months-long funding application process.

The awards, which included more than $100,000 of funding added through last year's budget process, take effect beginning in 2025. It is the first time since 2016 that funding for older adult services has been put out to bid.

Funds are administered in the City of Madison's Community Development Division. In response to a request for proposals issued last fall, staff received 15 applications seeking a total of more than $1.6 million - nearly double the amount of funds available and prompting the Council to increase funding in the recently passed budget.

Even with the additional funding, difficult choices were necessary. In formulating recommendations to the Council, CDD staff considered input from a review team comprised of representatives from nearly a dozen local community partners active in or familiar with supporting older adults.

A primary objective of this funding process was to extend the reach of programs and services to a more diverse group of older adults, including people of color and other historically marginalized populations. A racial equity analysis undertaken by City staff in 2021 suggested services were not reaching everyone that needed them. Those findings were corroborated in 2023 through work done in collaboration with Equity By Design, a local consultant, seeking to learn more about challenges marginalized groups face in accessing older adult services. About 300 Madison residents offered their input to that effort.

In its instructions to applicant agencies last year, the City indicated it was looking to fund efforts that focus on low-income older adults, with a priority on making sure programs and activities are culturally and linguistically responsive to all residents - including those who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, or who may not be proficient in English.

Additionally, because transportation is a barrier many older adults face in accessing services, agencies were asked to try to focus programs and services on areas of Madison with higher concentrations of older adults - specifically in so-called "equity priority areas," which are census blocks where the City of Madison's Data Team has determined there are higher concentrations of BIPOC and lower-income older adults.