Tufts Health Plan Foundation awards more than $1.3 million to 10 community organizations

WATERTOWN, MA – Tufts Health Plan Foundation today announced 10 new grants totaling $1.325 million. They demonstrate the Foundation’s commitment to advancing policies and practices that support healthy aging.

“This has been a year like no other; communities are confronting the coronavirus pandemic, efforts are underway to advance racial justice and economic security,” said Tom Croswell, Tufts Health Plan president and CEO and a member of the Foundation’s board of directors. “And nonprofit organizations are on the frontlines, working harder than ever to meet the needs of individuals feeling the greatest pressure.”

Tufts Health Plan Foundation is the only regional funder exclusively focused on healthy aging. The new grants engage older people in systems-level change to remove barriers responsible for inequities in communities across the region.

“We are seeing trends—notably food insecurity and the need to ensure our long-term services and supports system advances healthy aging,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan. “We’ve seen the consequences of generations of systemic racism; we hope these grants will create space to listen to and hear older people as they promote policy solutions that make sense for all of us.”

The eight new Policy and Advocacy grants are:

• Community Catalyst (Boston, Mass.)
  Engage and train a diverse group of older people to inform policy ideas for reforming Massachusetts’ long-term supports and services (LTSS) system. Three-year grant for $210,000.
• End Hunger Connecticut! (Hartford, Conn.)
  Provide training in peer-to-peer SNAP outreach; leverage SNAP call center to assist with the application process; and identify issues for administrative advocacy to improve the application and redetermination experience for older people. Three-year grant for $130,000.
• Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (Boston, Mass.)
  Continue work on SNAP policy change and consumer-friendly practices; work with the state on additional federal flexibilities. One-year grant for $60,000.
• New Futures (Concord, N.H.)
  Advocate for a balanced long-term care system in New Hampshire that ensures access to high-quality supports and services. Three-year grant for $225,000.
• The Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island (Providence, R.I.)
  Mobilize older people to develop an advocacy plan to re-balance Medicaid long-term supports and services (LTSS) spending to improve homecare options. Three-year grant for $180,000.
• The Trust for Public Land (Boston, Mass.)
  Ensure the voices of diverse older people are included in the planning and design of a new park in the Grove Hall neighborhood of Boston. Three-year grant for $130,000.
• University of Rhode Island Foundation & Alumni Engagement – The URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America (Kingston, R.I.)
  Train, educate and provide technical assistance to agency staff working directly with older adults; create a team of staff and older people to work with policy makers on increasing SNAP utilization by people over 55. Two-year grant for $120,000.
• Way Finders, Inc. (Springfield, Mass.)
  Support older adult community advocates working to advance age-friendly policies and initiatives in disinvested neighborhoods in Springfield. Three-year grant for $195,000.

In addition, the Foundation awarded two Collaboration and Community Engagement grants:

• Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging (Easthampton, Mass.)
  Continue promoting the adoption of dementia-friendly efforts in communities statewide. Six-month grant for $45,000.
• SeniorCare, Inc. (Gloucester, Mass.)
  Support leadership for an integrated age- and dementia-friendly effort on Cape Ann. Six-month grant for $30,000.

The Foundation has announced more than $7 million to support community organizations this year, including $3.4 million for pandemic response and advancing racial justice.