FOA Awarded Seed Grants
Fort Collins, Colorado (June 15, 2009): The Foundation on Aging for Larimer County, Inc. (FOA), an organization that provides emergency funding for seniors’ needs, has received a Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI) seed grant from JVA Consulting, LLC, to strengthen its capacity to develop collaborative solutions to aging challenges in Larimer County. The FOA, which encourages partnerships among the community and business leaders, will use the 2009 CCI grant to develop these partnerships in the search for innovative approaches to aging in the community.
The FOA’s focus involves bringing to the fore the strengths and needs of Larimer County’s graying population—a pressing need as Census data project a 54.3% growth in the 60+ population in Larimer County between 2000 and 2012. Specifically, the FOA will facilitate collaboration among community resources—people, programs, service providers, business leaders and community leaders—to bring about innovative, well-funded solutions that result in healthy, happy, and enriched lives for us all.
In the coming months, the FOA will launch a comprehensive website to educate all constituents, provide an interactive forum on the perceived needs of aging, and contribute to the search for solutions. Community participation on the website will aid in the development of themes for a town hall meeting, a face-to-face venue for learning about and listening to what is happening in the community with elderly residents and their families. The website and town hall meeting arise from the FOA’s commitment to making the community “aging ready” so that community members can work proactively and cooperatively to meet the needs of people as they age.
The FOA partners with the Larimer County Office on Aging – an agency that uses federal, state and county funds to develop and implement a omprehensive and coordinated system of services for older adults and their families. The Office on Aging also is involved in long range planning and advocacy to address seniors’ unmet needs. As Margaret Long, Office on Aging Program Manager, says, “Our partnership with the FOA represents a unique collaboration that will enable us to better position ourselves to address the needs of a burgeoning population of older adults.” The FOA seeks to bring
community focus and leadership to the discussion of seniors’ needs and, even more important, to the creation of innovative solutions for greater self-support, family support, and the ability for seniors to continue to live fulfilling lives.
Bonnie Shetler, FOA President, adds, “In this environment we have some of the most creative resources one could ask for. We need to work together and to focus upon our collective strength as a community to effectively serve the needs of our residents as they age.”
The FOA is a non-profit, 501c3 community organization. It was formed in 1986, when the number of older residents in Larimer County was growing every year, but federal and state funding was not keeping pace. Since then, FOA efforts have been twofold: to implement and administer an emergency support fund for older people whose needs are not met because of gaps in the existing service network, and to provide community education and increase awareness about aging issues. The FOA’s 2009 CCI grant is a Year 2 award that follows its initial capacity-building grant in 2008.
For more information or to become involved and help support the FOA and its work, contact:
Bonnie Shetler, President
Foundation on Aging for Larimer County, Inc.
P.O. Box 288
Fort Collins, CO 80522
Tel.: 970-224-5476
E-mail: bshetler@foundationonagingforlarimer.org
Website: http://www.foundationonagingforlarimer.org
