Madison Reporter

The City of Madison Common Council has approved nearly $950,000 in grants to support 13 community agencies that provide services to older adults. This decision concludes a lengthy funding application process.

The funding, which includes over $100,000 added through last year's budget, will be effective starting in 2025. It marks the first time since 2016 that such funding for older adult services has been open for bidding.

These funds are managed by the City of Madison’s Community Development Division (CDD). In response to a request for proposals issued last fall, 15 applications were received, seeking more than $1.6 million—almost double the available funds. This prompted the Council to increase funding in the recently passed budget.

Despite the additional funding, making decisions was challenging. CDD staff considered input from a review team composed of representatives from various local community partners who are active in or familiar with supporting older adults.

A key goal of this funding process was to expand program reach to a more diverse group of older adults, including people of color and other historically marginalized populations. A racial equity analysis conducted by City staff in 2021 indicated that services were not reaching everyone who needed them. These findings were supported in 2023 through collaboration with Equity By Design, a local consultant working to understand challenges faced by marginalized groups in accessing older adult services. Approximately 300 Madison residents contributed their input to this effort.

In its instructions to applicant agencies last year, the City emphasized its interest in funding efforts focused on low-income older adults and ensuring programs and activities are culturally and linguistically responsive to all residents—including those identifying as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, or those not proficient in English.

Furthermore, given that transportation is often a barrier for older adults accessing services, agencies were encouraged to focus their programs on areas with higher concentrations of older adults—specifically "equity priority areas," identified by the City’s Data Team as having higher concentrations of BIPOC and lower-income older adults.