Healthy and Fulfilling Aging

The 2010 U.S. census found 53,000 adults age 60+ in Washtenaw County. By 2040, this number will more than double, to 110,000. Those 75 and older will comprise more than half the elderly population and will be the fastest growing segment of society overall.

AAACF is a data-driven organization and has commissioned several research studies to better understand and document the needs of seniors and caregivers in Washtenaw County. 

In 2020, AAACF contracted with Root Cause, a national research firm specializing in community development and systems change, resulting in the AAACF Washtenaw County Healthy & Fulfilling Aging Systems Research Report. This report is part of our efforts to learn from older adults and caregivers in Washtenaw County what matters most to those aged 55+ and potential community-driven solutions.

Previously, the 2018 qualitative study, Vulnerable Older Adults & Caregivers in Washtenaw County, by Abbie Lawrence-Jacobson, Ph.D., LMSW, was been the basis for Vital: A Fugue on Aging. Vital is a performance created by Decky Alexander and produced by Limelight Productions. A highly-reviewed production in Washtenaw County and Michigan, the Vital fugues were performed at the national Grantmakers in Aging (GIA) Conference in Fall 2019. 

By 2040, the number of seniors in poverty in the County will more than double, to about 9,000, and the senior refugee population will continue to increase by 2-3% annually. Life for everyone in 2040 will be shaped to a large degree by how we respond now to the needs of the aging. With two decades to go, this County is not prepared to fully and justly support its growing senior population. Read more about the growing need and our research on vulnerable seniors & their caregivers here.

AAACF is dedicated to supporting seniors in Washtenaw County and addressing the growing need in our community. Since the establishment of the The Anna Botsford Bach Fund for Seniors in 2003, AAACF has distributed $1.8 million to support seniors, with a preference for programs that support caregivers. Our work in supporting seniors also includes the Phoebe Davis Fund and Oscar Reimold Fund, and our funding through Washtenaw Coordinated Funders. In 2018, we added the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund to our support for vulnerable seniors in Washtenaw County and their caregivers. 

Glacier Hills Legacy Fund

Through the generosity of Ann Arbor's Glacier Hills Senior Living Community and Trinity Health Senior Communities of Livonia, MI, an $18.25 million fund has been created to benefit senior adults in Washtenaw County—especially those at-risk and with low incomes—in perpetuity, managed by AAACF. Through this fund, AAACF will direct $650,000 of new money annually toward senior initiatives in Washtenaw County.

Glacier Hills Legacy Fund Committee & Staff

In 2018, the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund funded the Vital Seniors: A Community Innovation Competition. The $2.5M initiative, the largest of its kind in North America, was designed to catalyze high-impact innovation and create enduring outcomes for vulnerable seniors and their caregivers in Washtenaw County.

In 2019 AAACF awarded over $1 million in grants from the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund, investing in programs, services, and research that will innovate and help Washtenaw County better serve the needs of our growing senior population. More than $600,000 of those investments were directed to a second year of funding for the winners of the 2018 Vital Seniors Competition, including building a supportive network of those grantees.