“She’s outside more than I am these days,” says Ald. Sabrina Madison of her mother, who had not participated in community activities or events since relocating to Madison several years ago. “She’s sending me photos and videos, telling me to look for her on Facebook.”

Thanks to a nearly $1 million funding boost in 2025 for older adult programs, Madison’s mother now regularly participates in art museum trips, exercise classes, and other recreational opportunities in her south-side neighborhood.

“I want that energy for my district,” says Madison, who represents parts of the city’s far east and north sides.

Despite last year’s funding boost, gaps in accessible programming are still pronounced in other parts of Madison.

In response to these disparities, the city of Madison’s Community Development Division is launching a new pilot initiative designed to bring older adult programming into underserved areas, ensuring that residents who historically have had limited access can participate more fully in community life.

This initiative will be funded through a $750,000 grant from the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports education, research, healthcare and community services in Madison.

Approved by the city council on March 10, the pilot program centers on the addition of two new program and outreach coordinators, whose positions are funded by the grant for three years. These coordinators will be based at the downtown Madison Senior Center but will spend substantial time working directly in targeted neighborhoods.

Their primary responsibility will be to develop, implement and oversee programming tailored to the specific needs and interests of older adults in what the city calls “equity priority” areas — sections of Madison identified as having higher concentrations of low-income, Black, Indigenous and other marginalized older adult residents. Many of these areas currently lack consistent access to senior-focused programs and services, leaving residents with limited opportunities for engagement.

Yolanda Shelton-Morris, the city’s community resources manager, who oversees older adult services, tells Isthmus that the coordinators will actively engage with residents in these neighborhoods to create programming in order to ensure that offerings are not only accessible but also responsive to the needs of the communities themselves.

“We have to figure out how to think outside of the four walls [of the Madison Senior Center] and still provide the same programming and services that we would within those four walls,” Shelton-Morris says.

Programming at the Madison Senior Center already spans a wide range of activities, from health and fitness classes and creative arts workshops to language conversation groups, writing and poetry sessions, and technology support classes. Under the pilot program, coordinators will either run these programs directly, facilitate transportation to existing events, or collaborate with partner organizations to deliver programming in neighborhood-based locations.

For example, yoga or wellness classes might be provided by external agencies but hosted at neighborhood sites, ensuring older adults in equity priority areas can participate without facing logistical barriers.

Priority areas for the coordinators will include expanding meal programs, addressing transportation barriers, and connecting residents to opportunities that are often concentrated downtown.

“Whether it’s wellness activities, bingo or art, it really is based on what people in specific neighborhoods want to see,” says Shelton-Morris.

The city’s commitment to equity in older adult programming is grounded in a series of assessments and community engagement efforts conducted over several years. A 2021 racial equity analysis revealed that existing programming was not reaching all older adults equally, particularly Black, Brown and LGBTQIA+ residents. In 2023, local consultant EQT by Design worked closely with the city to identify barriers to participation for marginalized groups, drawing on the perspectives of approximately 300 Madison residents.

The feedback helped shape priorities for a 2024 request-for-proposal (RFP) process, through which the city outlined program goals and reviewed applications from local organizations interested in expanding older adult programming in equity priority areas. This RFP marked the first time since 2016 that funding for older adult services was allocated through a competitive process.

After a comprehensive application review, the city council elected to increase the number of organizations receiving funding, broadening reach and enabling more diverse neighborhoods to benefit from programs. In early 2025, the city approved the distribution of $941,909 to 13 agencies.

Despite this investment, certain districts remain underserved. The pilot is designed to complement existing programming while targeting these gaps, says Shelton-Morris.

After the grants were released, the Rennebohm Foundation reached out to the city to explore further ways to collaborate on expanding and strengthening older adult programming.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway highlighted the importance of the partnership between the city and the Rennebohm Foundation at a March 2 finance committee meeting, calling the foundation a “strong partner” in developing the pilot initiative.

“We hope there will be other investments, whether through public or private foundations, to be able to sustain and support the ongoing need of the program,” Shelton-Morris says.

The city plans to begin recruiting for the new coordinator positions by late March or early April, with the goal of having staff in place by May or June.