“In fewer than 25 years, one in five people will be 65 years or older in the U.S.” – American Psychological Association
Did you know that the baby boomer generation is becoming older and the biggest increase in population will be among those 85 years or older? However, very few foundations fund in the space of aging and not a lot of individual philanthropic dollars go to this field. Only 2-4% of all philanthropy benefits seniors of any kind, and of that only 30% benefit low income seniors. Many experts I spoke with expressed concern that this country will not be able to meet the demands of the unbelievably high aging population if more money and resources aren’t devoted to this sector.
Given this huge need to support nonprofits working with older adults, we felt that it was necessary for Philanthropedia to identify high-impact nonprofits in this area. Therefore, over the past two months, Philanthropedia surveyed 88 experts working in the field of aging (with an average of 24 years of work experience in the field) to identify those organizations that were making the biggest positive impact in the field.
Philanthropedia’s experts (funders, researchers, nonprofit senior staff, veterinaries, etc.) identified 13 top nonprofits (out of 97 total reviewed nonprofits) making an impact at the national level. Below is a graphical representation of who participated in our research. You can also see who our experts were by clicking here.
We asked experts to recommend nonprofits that work in one or more of the following areas: 1) health care, care-giving, and long-term support; 2) housing; 3) economic security; and 4) other services, which includes nonprofits that work in the areas of transportation, civic engagement, socialization and prevention of elderly abuse. Types of nonprofits could include direct-service providers, coalitions, advocacy organizations, associations, or research organizations. Specifically excluded from the research were for-profit organizations and government agencies.
The following is the list of the top-recommended high-impact nonprofits working in the field of aging at the national level. “Agree” is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field. “Disagree” is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field.
We invite you to visit the profiles of each of these top organizations on our website to read the expert reviews here: http://myphilanthropedia.org/top-nonprofits/national/aging. Experts commented on the impact each nonprofit has had, what the nonprofit’s other organizational strengths are, and how each organization could further improve.
We will be highlighting the top 5 high-impact national nonprofits working in the field of aging through our blog and Twitter, so stay posted! We also invite your feedback.
Please tell us what you think and what experiences you’ve had with these great organizations! You can reach Dawn Kwan, Manager of Philanthropedia Research at dkwan@guidestar.org.