LeadingAge and NewCourtland Join Forces to Award $100K in Grants

Grants to Fund Innovative Projects that Blend Housing and Services for Low-Income Elderly

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, LeadingAge announced the availability of grants through its inaugural Innovations Fund, which seeks to catalyze innovation among LeadingAge members by funding programs that have demonstrable impact on residents, clients, families, employees or the broader community.

Through the generosity of its members, LeadingAge intended to award $50,000 in its inaugural year but a matching grant from the NewCourtland Foundation (an affiliate of NewCourtland, a LeadingAge member) doubled the amount available. A total of $100,000 will now be available through the Innovations Fund in its inaugural year for projects that address the critical importance of bringing housing and services together to meet the needs of lower income elderly.

"Innovation is one of our six Leadership Imperatives," said Larry Minnix, LeadingAge's president and CEO. "This fund reinforces our promise of expanding the world of possibilities for aging, and the matching support from the NewCourtland Foundation literally achieves this with the expectation that those possibilities will be realized."

"Like LeadingAge, NewCourtland seeks to design new alternatives to address the evolving needs of seniors," added Gail Kass, president and CEO of NewCourtland. "The greatest need and opportunity for invention resides in housing bundled with services, and this collaboration will avail providers with much-needed resources to conceptualize and implement creative, yet common sense solutions for the aging services community."

Funding activity of the NewCourtland Foundation is currently restricted to this joint venture with LeadingAge. As part of the collaboration, the NewCourtland Foundation will work with LeadingAge to administer the grants, which will be awarded in increments of up to $25,000 in the first year. Multi-year proposals will be considered. Winning proposals will address one or several of the following dimensions of housing with services, with examples of areas of possible emphasis noted:·

• Assessment (development/implementation of resident assessment tools; using information to prioritize services; developing resident service plans)
• Health and Wellness Programming (health promotion activities; self-care management; chronic care management; transitional care and health education) 
• Partnerships with Service Providers (co-location of services; development of formal collaborations with community health and social service agencies)
• Workforce Training (service coordinator training; property manager training around linking housing and services)
• Technology (assistive devices; retrofitting and home modification; wireless communication; telehealth)

LeadingAge members must submit proposals through an online application that can be found at http://www.leadingage.org/InnovationsGrant2012.aspx. Interested bidders should submit questions via email by September 10 to [email protected]. Applications will be due on or before October 30, but priority consideration will be given to applications submitted by September 30. Recipients will be announced in November.

About LeadingAge
To expand the world of possibilities for aging, LeadingAge members and affiliates touch the lives of 4 million individuals, families, employees and volunteers every day. The LeadingAge community (www.LeadingAge.org) includes 6,000 not-for-profit organizations in the United States, 39 state partners, hundreds of businesses, research partners, consumer organizations, foundations and a broad global network of aging services organizations that reach over 30 countries. The work of LeadingAge is focused on advocacy, education, and applied research. We promote home health, hospice, community-based services, senior housing, assisted living residences, continuing care communities, nursing homes as well as technology solutions and person-centered practices that support the overall health and wellbeing of seniors, children, and those with special needs.

About NewCourtland Foundation
An affiliate of NewCourtland, a leading, non-profit provider of community services, housing, a nursing home, education & workforce development headquartered in Philadelphia, the NewCourtland Foundation supports not-for-profit organizations that have a stated mission of providing housing and/or programming to low-income seniors. The Foundation's commitment will also extend to train and educate personnel who work, or wish someday to work, in support of those seniors. At the present time, funding activities of the NewCourtland Foundation are restricted to the joint venture with LeadingAge. For more information visit www.newcourtland.org.

SOURCE LeadingAge