The John A. Hartford Foundation is a private, nonpartisan national philanthropy dedicated to improving health care for older adults in the United States. Based in New York City, the foundation funds health-system transformation, family-caregiver support, serious-illness care, research, policy development and evidence-based models that protect the dignity and independence of older people.
Introduction
The John A. Hartford Foundation is one of the leading U.S. philanthropic organizations focused exclusively on aging and health. It works with health systems, universities, professional associations, advocacy organizations, government agencies and community partners to improve how older adults receive care.
The foundation concentrates its grantmaking on three priorities: Age-Friendly Health Systems, family caregiving, and serious illness and end-of-life care.
History and Background
The John A. Hartford Foundation was established in 1929 by brothers John A. Hartford and George L. Hartford. Both served as chief executives of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, widely known as the A&P grocery-store chain.
The foundation initially supported several areas of health and scientific research. In 1982, it began concentrating its philanthropy on aging and health in response to the needs of the United States’ growing older population.
Since 1982, the foundation has awarded more than $758 million in grants to improve the health and well-being of older adults. Its investments have helped develop the field of geriatrics, prepare health professionals to care for older people and expand evidence-based care models across the country.
Mission and Purpose
The foundation’s mission is to improve the care of older adults.
Its vision is a United States in which every older person receives high-value, evidence-based health care, is treated with dignity and respect, and has their goals and preferences honoured.
The foundation’s stated values are:
- Healthy aging
- Equity
- Kindness
- Integrity
- Respect
Its work is based on the principle that better health care can help older adults maintain their independence, improve their quality of life and continue contributing to their families and communities.
Governance and Structure
The John A. Hartford Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees responsible for strategic direction, financial oversight, investment management and approval of grants.
As of 2026, John R. Mach Jr. serves as chair of the Board of Trustees. Elizabeth A. Palmer and Earl A. Samson III serve as co-vice chairs.
The foundation’s president is Rani E. Snyder, MPA. She was appointed president in December 2025 after serving as acting president and previously as vice president of programs. Snyder succeeded Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, who led the foundation from 2015 to 2025 and is now president emerita.
A professional team manages grantmaking, communications, finance, evaluation, partnerships and program development. The foundation operates as a private philanthropy and maintains an endowment valued at more than $750 million.
Funding and Grants
The foundation uses income generated by its endowment to finance national and state-level initiatives that improve care for older adults.
Its grants commonly support:
- Health-system transformation
- Clinical care improvement
- Research and evidence development
- Public-policy reform
- Professional education and workforce development
- Technical assistance
- Advocacy and public awareness
- Evaluation and dissemination
- Development of practical health-care tools
- Expansion of successful care models
Individual grant amounts vary substantially. Recent awards range from smaller planning or advocacy grants to multi-year investments worth several million dollars.
The foundation maintains an online searchable grants database containing information about active and completed grants, recipients, award amounts and project purposes.
Does the Foundation Accept Applications?
The John A. Hartford Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or general funding requests.
Its grantmaking is strategically directed, meaning the foundation identifies organizations and initiatives that align with its priorities and develops potential grants in consultation with selected partners.
Organizations should not submit unrequested proposals, letters of inquiry or concept notes. Reviewing the grants database and published strategies can help prospective partners understand the foundation’s funding approach, but it does not create an open application route.
Major Program Areas
Age-Friendly Health Systems
Age-Friendly Health Systems is a national movement designed to ensure that older adults receive reliable, evidence-based care based on their personal needs and preferences.
The initiative was created by The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
Age-friendly care is organized around the “4Ms” framework:
- What Matters: Understanding and aligning care with each older adult’s health goals and preferences.
- Medication: Using medications that do not interfere with the person’s goals, mobility or mental functioning.
- Mentation: Preventing, identifying and treating dementia, depression and delirium.
- Mobility: Supporting safe movement so older adults can maintain function and independence.
As of September 2026, 7,011 hospitals, practices, nursing homes and other care locations had been recognized as participating in the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement.
Family Caregiving
The foundation supports policies, health-care practices and community programs that recognise family caregivers as essential members of the care team.
Its funding helps organizations:
- Include caregivers in care planning and decision-making.
- Improve caregiver training and access to information.
- Promote respite care and other support services.
- Develop caregiver-friendly health-system practices.
- Strengthen state and federal caregiving policies.
- Support caregivers from diverse and underserved communities.
Foundation-backed initiatives include work connected with the national RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council and efforts to implement the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.
Serious Illness and End-of-Life Care
The foundation supports care that respects the needs, values and preferences of people living with serious illness.
Funded work may include:
- Expanding access to palliative care.
- Improving communication among patients, caregivers and health professionals.
- Supporting advance-care planning.
- Strengthening home- and community-based care.
- Developing state policies for people with serious illness.
- Improving public understanding of palliative and end-of-life care.
- Supporting shared decision-making about treatment and health-care costs.
This work aims to ensure that patients receive appropriate care while avoiding unwanted or burdensome interventions.
Policy, Advocacy and Systems Change
The foundation supports organizations that improve public policies affecting older adults, caregivers and long-term care.
Its policy-related grants address areas such as:
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Long-term services and supports
- Nursing-home quality
- Home-based primary care
- Public-health approaches to healthy aging
- Rural health care
- Caregiver recognition and support
- Health equity
- Workforce capacity
- Serious-illness care
The foundation combines research, advocacy, technical assistance and stakeholder engagement to turn successful care models into sustainable health policies.
Examples of Recent Grants
Recent grants illustrate the scale and diversity of the foundation’s funding.
- The Institute for Healthcare Improvement received $7,279,163 in 2026 to expand the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement and increase its impact nationally.
- The University of California, San Francisco received $2,989,693 to strengthen the national research infrastructure for evidence about age-friendly health care.
- Trust for America’s Health received $2,741,494 to expand age-friendly public-health policies and practices.
- Case Western Reserve University received $2,572,862 to strengthen implementation and evaluation of the 4Ms in convenient-care and primary-care settings.
- The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai received $2,295,062 to scale and sustain the Hospital at Home model.
- The Center to Advance Palliative Care received $2,009,821 to expand access to community-based palliative care.
- The National Academy for State Health Policy received $925,001 to strengthen state policies for people living with serious illness.
- Justice in Aging received $250,000 for its Future of Aging Policy Project.
These grants demonstrate the foundation’s preference for initiatives capable of influencing health-care delivery, research, professional practice or public policy at scale.
Major Initiatives and Partnerships
In addition to Age-Friendly Health Systems, the foundation has supported numerous national initiatives, including:
- The RAISE Family Caregiver Implementation and Technical Assistance Center
- The National Center to Reframe Aging
- Patient Priorities Care
- Geriatric Emergency Department accreditation
- Geriatric Surgery Verification
- The Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program
- The Better Care Playbook
- The Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition
- Hospital at Home
- The National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative
- Age-Friendly Public Health Systems
- Comprehensive dementia-care models
- Home-based primary-care initiatives
These programs bring together health professionals, researchers, policymakers, advocates and community organizations.
Impact and Examples of Work Funded
The foundation’s investments have influenced clinical practice, health-professional education, research and aging policy across the United States.
Documented areas of impact include:
- Helping establish geriatrics as a recognized field within American health care.
- Supporting the education and development of physicians, nurses, social workers and other professionals specializing in older-adult care.
- Expanding age-friendly care to 7,011 recognized health-care locations by September 2026.
- Advancing evidence-based models for dementia, depression, care transitions and serious illness.
- Supporting national and state policies for family caregivers.
- Improving geriatric emergency care, surgery, primary care and nursing-home quality.
- Expanding the use of the 4Ms framework across hospitals, clinics, long-term-care facilities and home-based services.
- Promoting equity for older adults and caregivers from historically underserved communities.
An independent assessment of more than 30 years of grantmaking concluded that the foundation played an instrumental role in building the field of geriatrics and strengthening the systems responsible for caring for older adults.
Why the Foundation’s Work Matters
The number of older adults in the United States is increasing rapidly, creating greater demand for accessible, coordinated and person-centred health care.
Older people frequently manage multiple medical conditions, medications and care providers. Family members may also provide extensive unpaid assistance without sufficient training, financial support or recognition.
The foundation addresses these challenges by helping institutions redesign health care around what matters most to older adults. Its funding focuses on systemic change rather than isolated services, allowing successful approaches to spread across multiple institutions and communities.
How the Grantmaking Process Works
Because unsolicited proposals are not accepted, the foundation generally develops grants through the following process:
- The foundation identifies a challenge within one of its strategic priority areas.
- Program staff review available evidence, policies, care models and potential partners.
- Selected organizations work with foundation staff to develop a proposed initiative.
- The proposal is reviewed for strategic alignment, feasibility, expected impact and sustainability.
- The Board of Trustees considers and approves recommended grants.
- Grantees implement the project and report on activities, finances, outputs and outcomes.
- Effective tools, research findings and care models are shared with health systems, policymakers and other stakeholders.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not send an unsolicited proposal or funding request.
- Do not assume that the foundation operates a continuously open grant competition.
- Do not present projects that fall outside aging and health care.
- Do not approach the foundation with a general service-delivery project that lacks potential for wider systems change.
- Do not overlook health equity, evidence, measurable outcomes and sustainability.
- Do not confuse The John A. Hartford Foundation with other organizations that use the Hartford name.
- Do not rely on old funding priorities without checking the foundation’s current strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The John A. Hartford Foundation?
It is a private, nonpartisan U.S. philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults.
When was the foundation established?
The foundation was established in 1929 by John A. Hartford and George L. Hartford, former executives of the A&P grocery-store company.
What are its principal funding priorities?
Its three priorities are Age-Friendly Health Systems, family caregiving, and serious illness and end-of-life care.
How much has the foundation awarded?
Since 1982, it has awarded more than $758 million in grants to improve the health and well-being of older adults.
Can an organization submit a grant application?
No general application route is available. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or funding requests.
What is an Age-Friendly Health System?
It is a health-care organization that consistently applies the 4Ms framework: What Matters, Medication, Mentation and Mobility.
Where does the foundation operate?
The foundation is based in New York City and supports initiatives intended to improve aging and health care across the United States.
Conclusion
The John A. Hartford Foundation is a major national funder of healthy aging and older-adult health-care improvement in the United States. Through strategic grants, research, policy advocacy and partnerships, it is expanding age-friendly care, strengthening family-caregiver support and improving services for people living with serious illness.
Its long-term investments demonstrate how targeted philanthropy can transform clinical practice, professional education and public policy. Organizations interested in its work should review the foundation’s current strategies and grants database while recognising that unsolicited funding requests are not accepted.
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