Finances
Appropriate management of funds is critical to any organization's success. For nutrition programs, this requires an understanding of how to make the most of limited resources, how to generate revenue for your program through voluntary contributions, fundraising, and other means, how to identify and, when possible, reduce the cost of doing business, and how to make the most of limited resources. Remember, federal grant funds typically cannot be used to pay the costs of organized fundraising, including staff time; see 2CFR § 200.442.
- The Amazing Adventures of Captain Funds Finder — Comic-style guide to finding and securing various funding sources (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- Meal Services Elements of Sustainability: Establishing a Private Pay Program — Guide to establishing a fee-for-service private pay system (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center, 2020)
- How Attachment Uploads Can Make Or Break Your Grant Application— Article on how to organize attachments for applications (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Community Care Hubs: Quality, Fidelity, and Compliance Expectations for Service Delivery Partners— Resource about ensuring CCH success (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Community Care Hubs: What Evidence-Based Program Providers Need to Know— Resource about how participating in a network eases burdens and enables providers to serve more people (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- How Evidence-Based Program Providers and Accountable Care Organizations Can Work Together on Quality and Performance Improvement— Resource about how these partnerships can be beneficial (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Updated Medicare Reimbursement Rule Addresses Health-Related Social Needs and Care Coordination— Resource about a new final regulation that allows for reimbursement for services that address a person’s health-related social needs (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Use of Incentives for Older Americans Act Grantees — Definition and examples of incentives (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center, 2021)
- Business Planning & Sustainability— Article with business plan and sustainability toolkits (National Council on Aging, 2021)
- Top Five Ways To Prepare for a Notice of Funding Opportunity— Article on using your time strategically and working with partners (National Council on Aging, 2022)
- Tips for Sustaining a Project Beyond the Grant Period— Multi-prong sustainability plan (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Writing Competitive Grants— Keys to successful grant applications (National Council on Aging, 2022)
- Tips for Developing a Compelling Budget Justification Presentation for a Grant Proposal— Article on budget narratives (National Council on Aging, 2022)
- Beginners Guide To Diversifying Funding — Inspiration from successful programs and other helpful resources for funding options (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- Identifying the Total Cost of a Meal — Summary brief for meal cost calculations (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- Sustainability and Revenue Generation for Senior Nutrition Programs — Summary brief (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- The Roadmap to Community-Integrated Health Care— Resources for pursuing complex sustainability strategies and stronger partnerships with the health care sector (National Council on Aging)
- Maximizing Use of Commercial Kitchens for Senior Nutrition Programs — Opportunities and challenges (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- Quick Tips: Funding Options — Information and resources related to common questions on funding for OAA Title III-C Nutrition Services (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- Recipe for Success: Fundraising (YouTube)— Bite-sized video with tips on fundraising (ACL, 2024)
- Beyond Fundraising Series (YouTube)— Senior Nutrition Program fireside chats to help programs succeed in various endeavors such as enhancing collaboration to attract volunteers, sustaining grab-and-go, prioritizing participants, and setting up non-OAA-funded expansion programs to reach people with disabilities (ACL, 2023)
- How Nutrition Services Boost Your Bottom Line — Presentation about how nutrition services can offer cost savings (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- Sharing Financing Experiences— Presentation (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- What Your Organization Needs To Know About Applying for Grants— One-hour presentation on telling your organization’s story, articulating your need, finding funders, preparing the proposal, and reporting requirements (SCORE, 2023)
- Looking Beyond ACL: Expanding Federal Funding Opportunities Through Creative Grant Prospect Research— One-hour webinar that will help participants understand how to find “non-traditional” sources of federal funding (free registration required to view the video) (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Building Blocks for Participating in a Coordinated Network of Community-Based Organizations— Series of four one-hour webinars that highlight different components to serve as an effective partner in a coordinated network (free registration required to view the videos) (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Medicaid Opportunities for Evidence-Based Program Sustainability— Series of four 90-minute webinars about Medicaid programming and experiences from CBOs on their journeys to Medicaid reimbursement (free registration required to view the videos) (National Council on Aging)
- Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship and Implications for Sustainability— 90-minute webinar (free registration required to view the video) (National Council on Aging, 2023)
- Creative Fundraising for Senior Nutrition Programs (YouTube)— One-hour webinar exploring creative ways to sustain senior nutrition programs through fundraising efforts (ACL, 2023)
- Giving Big: Trends in Philanthropic Support for Aging— One-hour webinar on the latest trends in philanthropy and their impact on the field of aging (free registration required to view the video) (National Council on Aging, 2023)
Food 911: How Meals on Wheels Redefines Population Health— Sixteen-minute webinar that discusses the frailty scale screening and a health economist’s return-on-investment analysis of home and community-based program impacts (ACL, 2021)