AARP Foundation
For a future without senior poverty.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
AARP Foundation Tax-Aide
A volunteer-based program that provides tax return preparations services for the poor and elderly. More than 35,000 volunteers served 2.6 million taxpayers in 2015.
Senior Community Service Employment Program
SCSEP (Senior Community Service Employment Program) is a community service and work-based job training program for adults 55 and older. The program provides training assignments designed to provide skills that enable low-income, unemployed older adults to obtain unsubsidized employment.
BACK TO WORK 50+
BACK TO WORK 50+ is dedicated to moving low-income, unemployed adults age 50+ to stability by increasing their income through employment in good jobs in their communities. This program works with community colleges, workforce investment boards and nonprofits to provide older adults access to training, support and access to employers.
AARP Foundation Experience Corps
AARP Foundation Experience Corps is an intergenerational volunteer-based tutoring program that is proven to help children who aren’t reading at grade level become great readers by the end of third grade. We inspire and empower adults 50 and older to serve in their community and disrupt the cycle of poverty by making a lasting difference in the lives of America’s most vulnerable children.
AARP Foundation Litigation
AARP Foundation conducts legal advocacy through its litigating arm, AARP Foundation Litigation, which advocates for systemic change in federal and state courts nationwide to advance the legal rights and interests of people 50 and older, particularly vulnerable individuals and those living with low income. Specifically, we file and support lawsuits that will have a significant impact on senior poverty by:
Reducing barriers to employment, including self-employment
Increasing access to public and private benefits
Protecting consumers by stopping unlawful business practices and securing refunds for those who lost money
Lowering out-of-pocket costs for key expenses, such as housing, food, and health care
Promoting more equitable outcomes across these areas
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our Mission
AARP Foundation serves vulnerable people 50 and older by creating and advancing effective solutions that help them secure the essentials.
Our Focus
We're tackling senior poverty by sparking bold, innovative solutions that help vulnerable older adults build economic opportunity and social connectedness — fostering resilience, strengthening communities and restoring hope.
Our History
For 57 years, we've aided America's poor and isolated seniors. As AARP's charitable affiliate, we serve AARP members and nonmembers alike.
Our Approach
Operating at the intersection of collaboration, innovation, legal advocacy and grantmaking, we bring together industry, government, activists, and volunteers to forge practical approaches that pair brainpower with some serious willpower.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
AARP Foundation has a range of internal resources to support our work. Each of the program areas is staffed with a complement of employees who bring the skill and expertise to drive the work forward. These include subject matter experts as well as general practitioners capable of moving projects forward. Budget is allocated to each program unit in alignment with the breadth and scope of planned work.
Shared services provide support to all of the program areas. These include marketing and communications, technology, program evaluation, strategic planning, innovation, and development. Additionally, AARP Foundation Litigation conducts litigation to protect the rights of vulnerable older Americans across all of our issues areas.
As the charitable affiliate of AARP, we benefit from the strength of AARP's advocacy arm and the influence of its 37 million members.
External resources include partnerships, influence, and the ability to convene disparate stakeholders.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Food Security – For food security, we have improved the food security of over 10,000 low-income 50+ people and are moving toward our goal of 50,000. We achieved our interim milestone of creating 10 strategic partnerships. We have not yet met our outcome of reducing the negative health outcomes of 5% of the people we served. Due to the nature of our programs, it has been difficult to track the health outcomes that can be attributed to our work. We have refined our strategies to focus on the methodology to measure. We have also narrowed our objectives to the people we serve rather than setting a goal for the population at large.
Housing Security – For housing security, we have not yet met any of the outcomes. We are making progress toward increasing the number of low-income 50+ in affordable and adequate housing by 10,000 by 2017. We have achieved our milestones of establishing 5 new strategic partnerships and are on track for 9 new concepts by 2017. Since much of the housing work exists outside of our control, we are looking at strategies for legislative advocacy that will help stimulate the production and protection of affordable housing.
Income Security – For income security, we are on track to reach 6,000 people securing or advancing in jobs each year. We have not yet met our outcome of 300,000 avoiding predatory practices each year. We learned that it is hard to measure the incidence or avoidance of fraud since fraud victims often do not report. We have adjusted the strategy to include partnering with financial institutions that are also invested in the reduction of fraud. We are on track to reach our partnership milestone and have met our milestone of developing 5 new concepts.
Social Connectedness – We have not yet met any of the outcomes for social connectedness. However, we are on track with the milestones that would get us there. First, we have established an isolation assessment tool that allows us to measure the degree of isolation among the people we served. The tool has been externally validated. We are now able to roll it out among the people we serve. Additionally, we are narrowing down the health outcomes that will be tracked to measure the reduction in targeted negative health outcomes.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
AARP Foundation
Board of directorsas of 3/18/2022
Ms. Libby Sartain
David Adame
Chicanos Por La Sausa, Inc.
Ronald Daly
RR Donnelley Co.
Ann Daw
Specialty Food Asociation
Jaime Gutierrez
Harry Johnson
Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation and private attorney
Tim Kelly
Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader
Neal Lane
Optimum Partners
Diane Miller
Wilcox Miller & Nelson
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data