MCF Announces Over $1 Million in Grants for Older Adult Services

April 13, 2010

contact: Fred Silverman (415.464.2527 or via email)

To help Marin County’s older adults benefit from a range of health and social services and have opportunities to be involved in their community, the Marin Community Foundation (MCF) is making over $1 million in grants to local organizations serving this population.

“The Foundation has a long history of supporting organizations that provide services to older adults in Marin,” said MCF President Thomas Peters in announcing the grants. “Since the growth rate of the older population in Marin is the fastest of any county in the state, it’s important that as a community we come together to provide coordinated and effective support to these residents.

“These services help ensure the health and independence of Marin’s older adults, and as a result, everyone in the community can benefit from their immense talent and skills,” he added.

Direct services being funded include health screenings for older adults living in low-income housing facilities, with nursing students at Dominican University of California overseeing their care and improving safety in their homes.

Other service providers will receive grants to provide classes, meals, and case management assistance in order to help older adults access such services as transportation and in-home support as well as public assistance programs.

Additionally, Spectrum LGBT Center of the North Bay will train organizations serving older adults to work more effectively with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients.

A second group of grants will encourage older adults in Marin to become involved in volunteer and employment opportunities. For example, a grant to the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin will fund its efforts to recruit and manage volunteers, some of whom will be helping at agencies that provide services to other older adults in Marin.

Grants will also provide scholarships so older adults can attend a range of community activities throughout the county, including classes, health fairs, and other gatherings.

Also, a grant to the YWCA of San Francisco & Marin’s FiftyPlus Employment Program will support instruction in computer skills as well the agency’s Job Seeker Institutes, which offer training in résumé writing and interview skills.

“Not only do we want to tap into a tremendous resource in our community,” said Peters of these efforts, “but it’s well known that older adults who are engaged in their community are healthier and remain independent longer.

“We are fortunate in Marin to have nonprofit agencies with a strong commitment to the county’s older adults,” said Peters. “By supporting their efforts, we are helping ensure that our county has a compassionate and effective support system in place to meet their needs.”

The complete list of grants follows:

Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin $75,000
City of Novato-Novato Independent Elders Program $70,000
Dance Palace Community Center $20,000
Dominican University of California $50,000
Jewish Family and Children’s Services $75,000
Meals of Marin $60,000
Northern CA Presbyterian Homes and Services Foundation $20,000
Novato Human Needs Center $40,000
Senior Access $75,000
Spectrum LGBT Center of the North Bay $60,000
West Marin Community Services $10,000
West Marin Senior Services $200,000
Whistlestop $275,000
YWCA of San Francisco & Marin $75,000