In addition to creating a home where residents of all ages can be happier and healthier, a well-designed age-friendly community can foster economic growth. AARP Connecticut is working in partnership with local leaders, organizations, and dedicated residents to help make that vision a reality.

As part of that effort, AARP recently announced nine recipients for its sixth Livable Communities Grant Program. The AARP initiative is dedicated to funding quick-action projects in Connecticut communities that will help make immediate improvements or jumpstart long-term progress that support residents. AARP Connecticut has funded 38 projects since the inception of the program in 2018. The 2023 recipients are:

• Bloomfield Senior Services
• Colt Park Foundation
• East Lyme Senior Center
• Fairgate Farm
• Friends of Newtown Seniors
• Thames Valley Council for Community Action
• UR Community Cares
• Wethersfield Historical Society
• Windsor Historical Society

Learn more about the 2023 recipients at www.aarp.org/ct. AARP Connecticut launched the Livable Communities Grant Program, a local expansion of the national AARP Community Challenge initiative, to provide nonprofit organizations and municipalities in Connecticut with up to $5,000 for projects that aim to help neighborhoods, towns, and cities become great places for people of all ages. The program is open to incorporated organizations that are 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofits and Connecticut municipalities, who seek to make improvements in their neighborhood or community in Connecticut. 

Projects can range from small, short-term activities to larger, permanent solutions, but they must be completed within 12 months of receiving the funding. Grant applications were evaluated for projects in Connecticut with a focus on improving the lives of those 50+ and making a positive impact within one of the following 8 Domains of Livability:

• Outdoor spaces and buildings
• Transportation
• Housing
• Social Participation
• Respect and Social Inclusion
• Work and Civic Engagement
• Communication and Information
• Community and Health Services

An age-friendly community is livable for people of all ages. YOU can create a livable community wherever you work, live, and learn. Please email us with any questions to CTLivable@aarp.org. We love to read about the great ideas people around the state have for making their communities more livable for people of all ages. 

While AARP Connecticut’s Livable Communities Grant Program is only open to Connecticut towns and nonprofits, AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative funds projects in all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. AARP announced in June that it will fund 310 projects across the country in 2023, including five in Connecticut, as part of its seventh annual AARP Community Challenge grant program. More than one thousand projects have been funded since the grant program began in 2017.
AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative also provides resources and publications to encourage local action, such as the Roadmap to Livability and the AARP book-series Where We Live: Communities for All Ages. To learn more about AARP’s livable communities work in communities across the country, please visit  www.aarp.org/livable.

Nora Duncan is the state director for AARP Connecticut.