The The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has awarded OATS a $500,000 grant to support OATS in scaling the Senior Planet licensing program and virtual programming for lower-income seniors in priority areas. Senior Planet programs will help to mitigate senior poverty and improve quality of life for disadvantaged older adults virtually and in-person with a focus on areas including Baltimore, San Francisco, Hawaii and Northeastern Pennsylvania.
During the grant period, which began on December 6, 2023, and concludes on December 31, 2026, OATS will deliver 150,000 additional virtual engagements to older adults and expand the Senior Planet licensing program to 18 new locations. The project is expected to serve as a foundation to develop an even larger network of collaborating sites as new federal resources and funding become available in 2025 and beyond.
The support comes at a time when poverty has increased among Americans aged 65 and older, from 10.3 percent in 2021 to 10.9 percent in 2022. The lack of digital literacy has severe social and economic implications for older adults, especially those in underserved communities. Developing technology skills for these older adults at scale, so that they can more effectively access financial, government, healthcare, and community resources, is one clear path to mitigating the impact of poverty for one of the country’s most at-risk population.