Guidelines

The Foundation's Healthy Aging Program primarily funds patient-based and social service activities that directly help the older adults of New York City. We will consider funding high quality, direct service providers who:

Increase/enhance access and availability of support, care or services especially for those with acute or chronic illness and those requiring palliative care.
Create positive, measurable changes in quality.
Demonstrate more cost-effective ways of delivering needed services.
Develop programs and provide services to those who are traditionally underserved, such as immigrant and economically disadvantaged older adults.
Increase the availability and quality of programs that allow us to remain in our homes and delay the need for long-term institutional care.
Improve the quality-of-life of older adults who are residents of long-term care facilities.
Improve the way professionals (physicians, nurses, social workers) and paraprofessionals (nursing aides) care for older adults and help to increase the number of professionals and paraprofessionals who care for us as New Yorkers live longer and healthier lives.

Programs supported by the Foundation must meet a demonstrable need of New York City's aging population. They must be designed to deliver services or alter the behavior of either providers or consumers. They should meet current needs or lay the groundwork to meet future needs and must have the potential to become sustainable and self-sufficient without further funding from the Samuels Foundation. The Foundation is particularly concerned with the availability and quality of healthcare received by older adults. As we live longer and healthier lives, the Foundation is committed to using its grant funds to work toward changing the system for the better.

We give priority to programs that will remain in place and grow once our funding has ended. Therefore, we are looking to fund programs that are sustainable in the following ways:

The program continues to generate revenue, which supports the continued provision of services to older adults.
The program is or will be eligible for, and takes advantage of reimbursement mechanisms either from insurance programs or federal, state or local entitlement programs.
The program will reduce the overall costs of delivering direct services. These savings will enable the organization or institution to continue the program after the grant term.
The program will continue with other grants or funding, and there is evidence that the organization has a track record of strong, continuing and reliable funding streams.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

The Foundation makes grants almost exclusively to organizations that service older adults in the five boroughs of New York City. Grants will be awarded only to recognized tax-exempt, publicly supported organizations. Applicant organizations must provide direct services to older adults and have the experience and capability to demonstrate that each grant dollar provides the greatest benefit to the greatest number of patients and their families.

The Foundation's Healthy Aging Program does not give grants to individuals, nor will it provide funds for general operating support, conferences, bio-medical research, endowment campaigns, nor ongoing support of demonstrations beyond the period of the grant. Requests for capital or building projects are not funded unless necessary for program implementation.

Assuming that a proposed program meets the Foundation's geographic and programmatic guidelines, it will be reviewed using the following criteria:

The program will improve the overall quality of life of, or healthcare service delivery to New York City's older adults;
The program has a realistic, achievable work plan and a rational, well justified budget;
The program staff who are to perform the work are experienced and highly qualified;
The sponsoring organization is stable, competent and committed.

Application Procedure

FIRST STEP: Contact the Foundation and speak to a Healthy Aging Program Officer to discuss your idea or project.

Next Steps: If your proposed program does not meet our criteria, you will be notified as soon as possible.

If we feel that your idea may meet the Foundation's criteria as detailed above, you will be invited to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). At that time the Foundation will direct you to its online grant application portal where you will be asked to create an account. You will then have access to the LOI application. When you complete and submit the LOI, our staff will review your submission and if our staff agrees that the project/program you propose is a good fit with the mission of the Healthy Aging Program, we will give you access to the full proposal/application. Proposals will be carefully reviewed and may, when appropriate, be sent out for external evaluation. Site visits may be made where necessary. Personal discussions between applicants and Foundation staff are an integral part of the application process.

The Foundation's Board meets quarterly and must approve all grants. If you are invited to submit a full proposal, we will work with you so that your proposal can be presented to the Board as quickly as possible. We will not, however, compromise the quality and strength of a proposed program so that it can meet a perceived deadline. Applicants will be notified if they have been approved or declined for funding within two-weeks of the relevant Board meeting.

Applicants should be aware that the Foundation receives many more requests for support than it can possibly fund. The Foundation does not assume responsibility for any costs incurred by applicants in the preparation of their submissions.

We are here to help, if at any time you have questions about our mission or our guidelines, please do not hesitate to contact our program staff at 212.239.3030 or e-mail us at:

Julio A. Urbina
Vice President
Director, Healthy Aging Program
jurbina@samuels.org

Lauren G. Weisenfeld
Deputy Director, Healthy Aging Program
lgweisenfeld@samuels.org