Arlington’s 55 and better
Arlington Community Foundation and local leaders believe older adults are an asset and an important reason why the Arlington community is so strong. As testament, Arlington is one of six communities nationwide chosen to participate in the Wisdom Works project associated with the National Council on Aging. The foundation is at an important crossroads and believes it can build on the Wisdom Works project through the Community Experience Partnership. The purpose of the project is to become a real catalyst for sustainable, positive change by directing community investments in a strategic way that makes an impact on the quality of life of older adults and other residents, countywide.
In association with Community Experience Partnership, the foundation conducted an assessment—called Next Phase: Arlingtonians for Community Good—that enabled it to be a member of a learning community that includes other community foundations from around the country. The partnership offers the benefit of helping the foundation advance new and innovative initiatives and programs, leverage its grantmaking activity to a higher degree, build the organization’s capacity through experiential learning, and become a more visible agent of positive change.
The assessment project’s goal was to increase the involvement of Arlington’s 55 and Better individuals in compelling opportunities that meet important community needs. The assessment helped the foundation identify and nurture long-term partnerships with elected officials, business and community leaders, county departments and programs, and service providers to help build public will and ultimately strengthen the community. The foundation was the leading agency in this project, responsible for hiring a consultant to help manage the project, and tapping into the knowledge and work of existing research done by colleagues from around the country who are also engaged in the Community Experience Partnership.
The assessment was conducted in phases: formation of steering committee, information and data gathering, and analysis of results and development of strategies.
Assessment recommendations
The assessment project resulted in several recommendations being considered for implementation with development of action plans. Each recommendation aligns with two major community objectives: improve the matching of individuals to compelling opportunities, and improve the capacity of organizations to attract and manage the involvement of persons 55 and better.
Improve matching: Develop a program offering personalized matching of 55 and better individuals to compelling volunteer and part-time opportunities. Such a program could inform, recruit, counsel, match, and train individual volunteers and part-time workers and organizations needing them, and offer support for data management and analysis of program outcomes. Trained teams of volunteers at key organizations could provide personalized matching services and ensure quality matching and experiences.
Develop an online community: This would create an online network for 55 and better that links to an array of existing resources, serves as a hub of connections, and provides a data collection point.
Establish a central data collection of volunteerism: Acquire comprehensive information that catalogs more of the volunteers who work in Arlington, the organizations they volunteer in, and the type and duration of volunteer work they do.
Implement a coordinated marketing and outreach campaign: Develop a campaign and provide materials to all supporting programs. This includes a signature volunteer event, entrepreneur fair, workshops, and other visibility efforts.
Launch Creative Community Connections (CCC):Build a vibrant community of citizens engaged in service, learning and social activities. CCC will be a community of friends who help each other find purpose and meaning in civic engagement.
Pilot an initiative to match 55 and better with youth serving organizations:Develop a pilot program that implements learning from the Next Phase project to match volunteers and part-time employees with youth serving organizations. The pilot would be supported by the foundation and include peer-learning and information sharing.
Build nonprofit capacity:Boost the capacity of nonprofits to attract and manage increased involvement of 55 and better through training and resource sharing.
Promote part-time employment: Support the development of part-time employment opportunities for 55 and better.
