The Archstone Foundation Board of Directors has approved three grants totaling more than $780,000 to support aging advocacy efforts in California and nationally.
Justice in Aging received a three-year, $600,000 general operating support grant to continue its advocacy in support of low-income older adults and respond to federal and state activity affecting older Californians. A longstanding partner of Archstone Foundation, Justice in Aging plays a central role in many efforts across the state, including California's Master Plan for Aging.
Federal changes are reshaping programs that low-income older adults rely on, including Social Security, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid. Staffing cuts at the Social Security Administration have made it harder for eligible people to access benefits. Following the passage of H.R. 1, states facing fiscal uncertainty may also turn to Medicaid cuts, including cuts to home and community-based services that help older adults remain in their homes.
Founded in 1972 as the National Senior Citizens Law Center, Justice in Aging has brought legal cases that established new rights in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SSI, pension law, and nursing home law. With this flexible, multi-year support, the organization will defend access to Medicare, Medicaid and SSI for low-income older adults and provide leadership in California on aging issues. They will provide timely training, technical assistance, and resources to the aging and disability network, engage in administrative advocacy and litigation, and work with California's new statewide leadership to focus on the needs of low-income older Californians. Its Equity Advisory Council will continue to guide this work on behalf of marginalized older adults.
Grantmakers In Aging was awarded a $150,000 grant to support the first year of the State Aging Action Network (SAAN), a national initiative that connects state-based aging advocates to one another and to federal policymaking. Archstone Foundation was a founding investor in the Aging Advocacy Fund, supporting the planning and design phase that shaped this work.
Social Security, Medicaid, and Older Americans Act services are underfunded and under threat, yet aging policy remains a low priority in state and federal decision-making. National advocacy organizations have access to federal policy processes but are often removed from how policy plays out on the ground. State-based organizations closest to older adults lack consistent access to federal advocacy resources.
SAAN emerged as a co-created solution to strengthen coordination between state advocacy efforts and federal policymaking. The Network allows for a multi-directional flow of information, ideas, and resources. It also equips state advocates to influence national policy while ensuring that federal advocacy priorities are shaped by on-the-ground realities and the lived experiences of older adults.
Capitol Impact received a $31,500 grant to support Informing Aging Policy for California's Next Administration, a seven-month nonpartisan campaign to educate California's incoming governor and their transition team on aging. Archstone Foundation joins The SCAN Foundation, Metta Fund, and the California Health Care Foundation in supporting this work.
California's 65+ population is projected to reach 22% by 2040, making aging a core policy priority for the state's next administration. However, incoming leaders often lack clear, coordinated, and voter-informed insights on aging. This project builds on the conversation started at last year's Health Matters Forum and on discovery work Capitol Impact completed earlier this year with funders, grantees, and community-based organizations.
Capitol Impact will convene aging funders around shared priorities, conduct statewide public opinion research, and develop refined messaging, briefs, and other educational materials for partners. The project will also create a directory of subject matter experts, host one to two nonpartisan roundtables with state leaders and transition representatives, and offer a webinar for grantees on engaging in California's gubernatorial appointments process. Partners will be encouraged to invite older adults and caregivers to the roundtables so future leaders can hear directly from people with lived experience.
