SFNCT Receives Major Grant from Metta Fund to Support Older Adult Programs
San Francisco Neighborhood Centers Together (SFNCT) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a major grant from Metta Fund, a private foundation dedicated to advancing the health and wellness of San Francisco’s aging population.
The $350,000 multi-year grant is dedicated to building SFNCT’s capacity to strengthen and sustain services for older adults served by our network of eight neighborhood centers. Together, these centers serve more than 3,500 older adults in San Francisco each year.
“This grant will be transformative to our organization and the thousands of older adults our centers serve,” said Danny Sauter, SFNCT’s Executive Director. “Metta Fund continues to be a leader in supporting critical work including fighting isolation and supporting wellness among San Francisco’s growing older adult population.”
Metta Fund’s investment will fund a comprehensive community needs assessment, support professional development for staff, initiate new programs in priority need areas, and launch an ambitious set of policy and advocacy goals. Most importantly, it will improve outcomes for the thousands of residents who rely on SFNCT’s citywide network of neighborhood centers.
Richmond Neighborhood Center Executive Director Michelle Cusano stated, “It's about the collective impact each neighborhood center has together, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. With this capacity building grant, SFNCT has the ability to affect long term positive change for older adults citywide, as well as in their own local neighborhood."
The grant comes at a time of growing need for older adults in San Francisco. By 2030, 27% of San Francisco residents will be age 60 or older, up from 19% in 2019. Engaging and caring for this population is an immense challenge as some 30% of older adults live alone and 52% speak a primary language other than English.
“We’re grateful to partner with SFNCT to strengthen supports for elders in our city. Metta Fund's long-standing partnership with SFNCT is based in our shared belief that strong connections and communities are the basis for healthy and just societies, where all can thrive and age with dignity,” said Janet Y. Spears, Chief Executive Officer of Metta Fund.
The grant builds upon an existing partnership with Metta Fund which has supported SFNCT through their Healthy Behaviors for Aging and Older Adults program. Prior funding enabled programs and services that were particularly vital to older adults during the pandemic including home-delivered groceries, virtual wellness classes, and technology training workshops.
The partnership has supported member centers like Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center (TEL HI), which has served the North Beach/Chinatown community for more than 130 years. As TEL HI Executive Director Nestor L. Fernandez II explained, “Our area has the highest population of older adults in San Francisco, many of whom live alone. With support from the Metta Fund, TEL HI is able to offer important programs and services to over 500 older adults who need a place to get a hot meal, join an exercise class, or socialize with others. Taking care of seniors is part of our mission and we are proud to partner with SFNCT and the Metta Fund in this vital body of work.”
The needs of older adults in San Francisco are complex and evolving. Thanks to this grant from Metta Fund, SFNCT’s network will continue at the forefront of caring for San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents.