NEWS

Age-Friendly Funding Alerts: Mass Cultural Council, Asphalt Art Initiative, Digital Literacy, Community Transit Grant Program

Apr 26, 2023

The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative encourages communities working to become more age- and dementia friendly to consider the following funding opportunities:

The next grant round of Festivals & Projects will support activities incorporating the arts, humanities, or sciences that provide community and/or public benefit and take place between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. These awards of $2,500 will support outdoor performances, art workshops, public art projects, pop-up markets, small capital projects, art and nature hikes, regional food festivals, cultural celebrations – and more – across the Commonwealth.

More information is available here.

The Asphalt Art Initiative grant program is designed to fund visual art on roadways, pedestrian spaces, and public infrastructure in cities. Typically, the projects are painted murals, organized in collaboration between city governments and local communities, with the following primary goals:

    • Improving street and pedestrian safety
    • Revitalizing and activating underutilized public space
    • Promoting collaboration and civic engagement in local communities

The program will award up to 20 cities grants of up to $25,000 each, as well as on-call technical assistance from the tactical urbanism firm Street Plans. Winning cities are expected to be announced in fall 2023 for projects installing during calendar year 2024.

More information is available here.

REMINDERS – The following Age-Friendly funding opportunities are still available

A new $1.5M grant opportunity is available from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) funded by the American Rescue Plan Act Home and Community-Based Services. The Enhancing Digital Literacy for Older Adults Grant will provide municipal Councils on Aging (COAs) up to $100,000 per COA to purchase devices, software, or broadband for older adults; and/or provide training and support for older adults to enhance digital literacy.

COAs must apply online before May 22, 2023 using the MassGRANTS application portal.

  • Community Transit Grant Program, MassDOT (applications accepted May 8-June 23)

MassDOT’s annual Community Transit Grant Program (CTGP) offers funding for transit authorities, municipalities, Councils on Aging, and nonprofits to expand mobility for older adults and people with disabilities.

Register for a training on May 5 (10-noon) or May 8 (1-3PM) to learn about applying for funding through MassDOT’s Community Transit Grant Program. Applications for operating and mobility management projects will open May 8 and close June 23. Learn more using the links below:

Contact Rachel.L.Fichtenbaum@dot.state.ma.us or (857) 368-8584 to register for one of the two virtual training sessions.