Grantmaking

Informing Federal Policy Affecting Older Persons in Rural Places

In today’s political and policy environment, the messenger is often more important than the message – if information is going to break through to decisionmakers, it must be delivered by a trusted source. Through this project, TSF can work with a research partner with longstanding bipartisan relationships and credibility amongst key federal policymakers. The Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) will establish a direct communications channel with Congressional staff on committees of jurisdiction to solicit input on the top policy issues impacting rural older adults. By leveraging existing TSF assets, including the People Say, connecting outputs to other important TSF projects (Brookings-AEI Rural Commission), and working closely with key Hill staffers on the front end, the RUPRI team will develop materials that will be uniquely positioned to help inform future federal rural aging policymaking.

Reframing Aging 

Sharing the stories of people with lived experience provides an opportunity to highlight what they need to live well at home and in community. With co-funding from Archstone Foundation, The John A Hartford Foundation, and RRF Foundation on Aging, this will support a national summit as part of a national movement to change how society thinks and talks about aging in order to change the systems that shape how we all experience aging.

National Center to Reframe Aging – Driving Toward Sustainability

Sharing the stories of people with lived experience provides an opportunity to highlight what they need to live well at home and in community. With co-funding from Archstone Foundation, The John A Hartford Foundation, and RRF Foundation on Aging, this will continue developing new programs and partnerships as they complete the transition to a self-sustaining central hub to carry the movement to reframe aging forward. This long-term endeavor is building a national movement to change how society thinks and talks about aging in order to change the systems that shape how we all experience aging.

CHW Planning Grant and Pilot Within CDA’s Cal Community Connect Initiative

Community Health Workers (CHWs) provide vital health care and service navigation support that the aging and disability network could better leverage with deeper understanding of how to utilize and bill for the CHW services. With support from the MPA Fund, Futuro Health will pilot a sustainable CHW model in collaboration with the California Department of Aging’s Cal Community Connect initiative. At the conclusion of the project, Futuro Health will share an implementation toolkit for replication among the aging and disability network.

LTSS Modeling

There is an urgent need for tools capable of directly evaluating the economic and fiscal trade-offs of specific policy levers and assessing the impact of LTSS policy recommendations. This project will result in the establishment of such a tool, an analytic model capable of assessing diverse federal LTSS financing policy ideas that would be designed to align with the methodologies and assumptions used by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the most trusted nonpartisan source of legislative analysis. The tool and its benefits will be disseminated to key policymakers and stakeholders through a public event, private briefings, and at least two policy reports.

ACO “Near Dual” Research Project

California Advocacy Network 2026-2027

Founded by The SCAN Foundation in 2011, the CCLTSS advances long-term services and supports reform in California by uniting state and county-level organizations to educate policymakers, build consensus on policy solutions, and strengthen advocacy for programs that support older adults and people with disabilities across the state’s system of care. This is accomplished statewide monthly policy meetings and local engagements. CCLTSS through the work will produce webinars, factsheets, hold advocacy days, and elevate the stories of people with lived experience.

This opportunity strengthens TSF’s approach to disability inclusion by supporting grassroots, lived-experience–led advocacy. The Fund’s participatory model, network of aging and disability leaders, and alignment with narrative and policy change reinforce TSF’s focus on elevating voices often excluded from policymaking.

This project will deepen TSF’s engagement in philanthropy’s evolving efforts to elevate underrepresented voices. The structure and convening power of the Forum and President’s Council create valuable opportunities for shared learning and expanded access to new partners and networks.

Health Affairs Journal Articles to Amplify the Voices of Older Healthcare Beneficiaries & Caregivers

Health Affairs will explore a new article format to highlight the real-life impact of health policy on older adults. This innovative approach seeks to foster meaningful dialogue between older adults with lived experience and academic policy researchers, encouraging a meaningful exchange of insights and perspectives. The personal stories and insights shared by participants will not only promote mutual understanding but also inform and shape the policy-making process, elevating the voices of those with lived experience. Three articles will be published as part of this exploration.

Promotion and Maintenance of the LTSS Initiatives Compendium Website

This project will support continued dissemination and promotion of the LTSS Compendium through the production of policy briefs and demonstrations on how to use the site.

Educating State Legislatures on Multisector Approaches for Aging

Convening and providing education to policymakers is central to driving policy change. This project, co-funded by The John A Hartford Foundation and West Health, will equip legislators with the knowledge needed to understand and consider how Multisector Plans on Aging support aging policy. This will be accomplished through a series of briefs and a day-long meeting of state legislatures.

The Aging & Disability Health Policy Lab

The Aging & Disability Health Policy Lab is a nonpartisan, non-profit initiative  that will accelerate public policies at the state and federal levels to help older adults with limited incomes and people with disabilities age well. The Aging & Disability Health Policy Lab is housed at the National Academy of Social Insurance and made possible by initial support from The SCAN Foundation (TSF).

Medicaid Outreach and Education

Sharing the stories of people with lived experience provides an opportunity to highlight what they need to live well at home and in community. USofCare, through this project, co-funded by the California Health Care Foundation, will work to educate policymakers on the compelling facts and arguments for how the Medicaid program impacts their constituents through elevating lived experience.

Medicare Advantage Lived Experience Advisory Group

Through this grant, the Center on Health Insurance Reform will create an advisory group, made up of older adults, to ensure that beneficiaries with lived experience in Medicare Advantage (MA) are informing policymakers on MA reform legislation and regulation.