Age-Friendly MN Community Grants
AFMN Community Grants fund a wide variety of age-friendly efforts. Projects have ranged from repurposing a former public-school building into a multigenerational community center, to purchasing an accessible van, to conducting a community needs assessment to support age-friendly planning across various cultural groups. Grantees include local governments, nonprofit service providers, school districts, universities, businesses, foundations, and more.
In 2023, AFMN awarded $2.8 million to around 90 Community Grantees. AFMN will announce round two Community Grantees in April 2025. The availability of future funding is not yet known.
Community Grantee Highlights
Here are a few examples of the diverse projects funded through AFMN's first round of Community Grants.Wonderlust Productions: Through its AFMN Community Grant, Wonderlust Productions created Thank You For Holding: The Caregiver Play Project, using theatre arts to express and share the experience of caregiving. Based on true stories and featuring performances from a mix of actors and real caregivers, the production brought forward the unseen and undervalued labor of caregiving.
Thank You For Holding was the culmination of two years of interviews and story circles involving nearly 150 caregivers from a diverse mix of communities across the Twin Cities, and explores questions of what community looks like, and how as a society we care.
Thank You For Holding ran in October and November 2024, including several sold-out shows.
Keystone Community Services: Keystone Community Services worked to develop a community engagement approach for the Karen, Latino, and Ethiopian/Eritrean communities. They worked to identify barriers, perceptions and insights to make improvements in their older adult programs and events.
With an Age-Friendly Minnesota grant and the help of consultants, translators, and key staff, they took great caution in extrapolating findings for these communities through community dialogue sessions and individual interviews. Participants reported feeling honored that Keystone valued their insights and in having their voices influencing future decisions. Valuable recommendations included ideas for enhanced social and recreational activities, addressing transportation barriers, the accessibility and affordability of programs, improved awareness and outreach, enhanced cultural competency and inclusivity, tailored supports and services, and accessible gathering spaces.