Village to Village Network Awards Grant to Local Group to Create Sustainable Model to Support Aging in Community

POSTED: JANUARY 2012

Twelve grassroots “Villages” across the U.S. were awarded $54,000 by the Village to Village Network to support the creation of a sustainable business and organizational infrastructure for their Village organizations. Villages were created through a grassroots movement so that older Americans can age in their community with maximum independence and dignity. In May 2011, MetLife Foundation awarded $350,000 to NCB Capital Impact to support the expansion of the Village to Village Network (VtV Network) with its partner Beacon Hill Village. These Business/Operation Sustainability Grants stem from this overall expansion initiative.

Locally, Gramatan Village in Bronxville was one of the 12 Villages chosen, as they will use their grant funds to develop sound business solutions and innovative approaches to sustainability, membership retention and strategic partnership strategies. Additionally, the grantees will share lessons learned and successful models with the VtV Network.

“When you think about the fact that by 2032, there will be more people over 65 than people under 15, we have no time to lose in getting sustainable Villages in place,” noted Candace Baldwin, co-director of the Village to Village Network.

Villages are self-governing, membership driven, non-profit organizations run by small staffs and volunteers working together to build welcoming communities, provide social supports, and coordinate affordable services, including transportation, in-home medical care, home repairs and other day-to-day needs for people wishing to remain in their home and communities. In 2010, NCB Capital Impact and Beacon Hill Village launched the VtV Network to provide a national peer-to-peer network to help communities establish and sustain their own Villages.

“With the U.S. population age 65 and over expected to double in size within the next 25 years, it is even more critical to establish sustainable practices that allow older Americans to remain in their own homes and engaged with their communities as they age,” said Dennis White, MetLife Foundation president and CEO. “The growing ‘Village’ model is achieving this in a sustainable way as it helps people help themselves,” he added.

Today, there are approximately 65 operating Villages in the U.S., and over 115 communities that are in some stage of developing a Village. Currently, 178 organizations are members of the VtV Network.

The Village to Village (VtV) Network is being created by Villages for Villages. The VtV Network helps communities establish and manage their own Villages. The Network is sponsored through a joint partnership between Beacon Hill Village and NCB Capital Impact and was developed in response to requests from Villages nationwide. For more information, visit www.vtvnetwork.org.

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