West End Home Foundation

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Can you tell us about The West End Home Foundation and your role there? 

The West End Home Foundation is a private foundation located in Nashville, TN. Our mission is to enrich the lives of older adults through grantmaking, advocacy and community collaboration. Our organization was founded in 1891 as a residential home for elderly women, primarily civil war widows. The home provided care for over 500 women over the span of almost 120 years. When the home was sold in 2009, the board of directors established the foundation and preserved the home’s legacy by keeping the mission focused on older adults. I joined the foundation in 2016 as the first Executive Director. 

What are your current funding priorities and where do you fund?

As our mission implies, our focus is exclusively on aging. Within the aging space, we fund broadly across seven impact areas: advocacy, enrichment and socialization, food and nutrition, healthcare, housing, transportation, and wellness and supportive care. Our geographic service area for our annual grant program is Nashville/Davidson County and its six contiguous counties in middle Tennessee. We are currently funding 40 organizations that provide services in the seven impact areas. 

Are you working on any new initiatives within your impact areas?

We are just completing a statewide grant program entitled “Reducing Social Isolation and Increasing Access to Essential Services Through Digital Literacy and Inclusion for Older Tennesseans.” This program was funded through a special grant from the Chancery Court of Davidson County in the amount of $3.8 million to address the profound impact of the digital divide that left so many older adults behind during the pandemic. 

Thirty projects were funded across the state and recipients included public libraries, senior centers, faith-based organizations, Area Agencies on Aging and Disability, and community-based nonprofits. Nearly 6,500 older adults received services that included digital literacy classes, age-appropriate devices, internet subsidies, and technical support. A requirement of every grant was a robust focus on cyber security. Nearly every program was filled to capacity with a waiting list. The results of the program evaluations overwhelmingly demonstrated that older adults are able to become proficient users and their top two uses are accessing healthcare/health information and communicating with family and friends. As the grant period came to a close, funding for digital literacy programming became available through the Tennessee State Broadband office and we have offered matching grant funds to enable our grant partners to secure funding to sustain the programs. 

In your leadership role, you’re helping to champion aging while enriching the lives of older adults in Tennessee. What led to your commitment to aging?

My passion for aging began very early in my career. My master’s degree was in sociology with an emphasis in gerontology. My first job out of college was with a research project on mental impairment of nursing home residents. I still have vivid and very fond memories of the nursing home residents that I spent nearly 18 months with during that project. After the project was completed, I began a several decade career in the nonprofit sector, only peripherally focused on aging. In 2016, I had the opportunity to join The West End Home Foundation which allowed me to bring my passion for aging and my nonprofit experience together in a philanthropic setting. This is the most gratifying work I’ve ever done. 

What about GIA’s mission really motivates you? 

It is an honor to serve on the Grantmakers In Aging Board of Directors and to be part of a movement that values and embraces people of all ages. GIA promotes new policies, identifies innovative solutions, and leverages new resources to ensure that all people can live their best lives throughout their lifespan. This totally aligns with the mission of our foundation. As chair of GIA’s Audit Committee, I’m committed to maintaining the highest standards of stewardship of the funds entrusted to us by our members and our community partners to do this vitally important work. 

For some fun insight, can you share with us what you enjoy doing most when you’re not working?

I’m definitely a summer person. I love being outside, preferably in or near water. My husband and I spend a lot of time during the summer months at our lake house at the Lake of the Ozarks. I’m always up for a beach vacation in the winter. One of our favorite activities in Nashville is enjoying live music – you can find great talent somewhere on any given night. I’m also fortunate that our daughter, now 29, lives five minutes from us and I love being able to spend time with her.

What are you currently reading or binge-watching?

I recently finished “The Bear” and can’t wait for the next season. I love all of the characters but my absolute favorite is Jamie Lee Curtis – maybe it’s an age thing! Speaking of age, “NYAD” was one of my favorite films receiving Oscar nominations this year. What a wonderful portrayal of a 60-year-old woman pursuing her dream.