The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC), which leads the Age-Friendly Central Massachusetts initiative covering 40 cities and towns, recently released a report, “Discovering the Happy Factor” that examines how civic involvement impacts happiness and well-being among the diverse populations of Central Massachusetts.

The report is based on surveys and interviews with older adults from across the CMRPC region and produced recommendations centered around recruitment, retention, accessibility and succession planning. The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative served as an advisor on the project.

To support implementation of the recommendations identified through the Happy Factor project, CMRPC is offering a small round of mini-grants to municipalities and community-based organizations in Central Massachusetts. These grants are intended to help communities test practical strategies that reduce barriers to civic participation among older adults and strengthen connections between residents and local government.

CMRPC will allocate approximately $20,000 in remaining project funds to support a round of mini-grants. Individual awards are expected to range from approximately $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the scope of the proposed project. Applications are due May 8th.

Applicants will complete a roughly 10-minute application via Survey Monkey describing their proposed activity, how it connects to the recommendations in this report, and how the funding will be used. The application process is intentionally designed to be simple and accessible in order to encourage participation from municipalities, volunteer groups, and community organizations. View the Happy Factor Mini Grants Application.

More information on this work and Age-Friendly Central Mass is available here, and a mini documentary on the project is available here.