On April 7, our Healthy Aging team brought grantees, partners, and aging leaders together for a day of learning, networking, and connecting through our annual grantee convening.
This year’s convening was timed with the release of our 2025 RFP and took place against a backdrop of uncertainty for our state’s aging network amid proposed dramatic cuts to federal programs that serve older adults.
Our convening provided spaces to discuss these changes, their impacts on aging services in Michigan, and partnership opportunities and shared responses to continue our work to improve health and well-being for Michigan’s older adults and their caregivers.
Among the highlights:
- MDHHS’s Scott Walmsley — Bureau Director for Aging, Community Living and Supports — joined to provide an update on the Department’s 2025 program priorities. This included updates on long-term care outreach strategies, direct care workforce initiatives, 2026 state budget process updates, and more.
- USAging’s Amy Gotwals — Chief of Public Policy & External Affairs — shared a wide-ranging overview of recent federal policy actions impacting aging services and supports. A panel of Health Fund grantees provided real-time reactions, reflecting on how these changes are affecting — or may affect — services, and in turn older adults, in their communities.
- Breakout sessions — One morning breakout shared how Health Fund grantees are using innovative data practices to measure their effectiveness, enhance their programs, and tell compelling stories about their impact. Our second breakout highlighted new approaches to provide respite for caregivers, as well as new resources and collaborative funding efforts to increase the availability of respite programs.
Our impressions
Our Healthy Aging grantees include many of our state’s most knowledgeable, experienced, and dedicated leaders and advocates for older adults. As always, it was inspiring to hear about the promising solutions and new programmatic approaches our grantees are pioneering and eager to explore with others.
We were also struck by the unique power of bringing expertise from communities across the state together in the same room. Gathering in person provided an unmatched opportunity to learn from one another, find common ground, and forge new partnerships and understanding.
Above all, the resiliency of our grantees and partners at a time of uncertainty for the aging network stood out the most. Grantees encouraged “radical collaboration” and argued for a continued commitment to health equity and focus on serving individuals most impacted by health disparities as they age.
Advice for funders
Our 2025 convening began with a welcome from Health Fund CEO Neel Hajra, who reaffirmed our commitment to supporting a strong and resilient nonprofit sector to serve all residents of our state, including older adults.
And as we closed the program, we asked a panel of grantees to reflect on what funders like the Health Fund should be doing to make good on this commitment. Among the themes we heard:
- Maintain support and flexibility
- Maintain or build relationships with nonprofits and frontline leaders
- Think outside the box and allow for experimentation
- Be a connector
This input is invaluable for our Healthy Aging team. Since the convening we discussed actions we can take — and actions we will continue to take — to strengthen relationships and build more trust with our grantees to provide the flexible, dynamic support nonprofits need to innovate, sustain, and serve for years to come.