National Legal Resource Center

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Support projects for legal assistance for older persons under Title IV, Section 420 of the Older Americans Act (OAA), as amended in 2006 (P.L. 109-365), are intended to build and strengthen the national system of legal assistance and elder rights programs and to improve the quality, cost effectiveness, and accessibility of legal assistance and elder rights protections provided to older people. Through this program announcement, the Administration on Aging (AoA) plans to award five (5) cooperative agreements to organizations that will collaborate and collectively function as one National Legal Resource Center (NLRC), with funding for each project ranging from a federal share of $75,000 to $250,000 for project year one (1). Four (4) of the cooperative agreements will be funded at a federal share ranging from $150,000 to $325,000 for project years two (2) and three (3), contingent on the availability of federal funds, satisfactory performance, and at the discretion of the Assistant Secretary for Aging. One (1) cooperative agreement will be funded for only one (1) year. The total federal funding for the collaborative work of the awardees comprising the NLRC will be approximately $825,000 for each year. Pursuant to Title IV, Section 420(c) of the OAA, as amended in 2006, applicants must be national nonprofit organizations experienced in providing support and technical assistance on a nationwide basis to states, area agencies on aging, legal assistance providers, ombudsmen, elder abuse prevention programs, and other organizations interested in the legal rights of older individuals. National nonprofit entities, including faith based organizations are eligible to apply under this program announcement. An applicant may apply under one or more funding options. It will be the preference of the AoA to make awards to 5 separate organizations, with each organization assuming project responsibilities under one of the 5 funding options. To be considered for funding, applications will be reviewed and scored on the criteria set forth in Section V: Application Review Information, including how well the primary applicant demonstrates comprehensive expertise and experience in supporting aging and legal services networks in the provision of legal assistance and elder rights protections, and exhibits the requisite organizational capacity to carry out activities outlined in this program announcement on a national level. For each Option, the primary applicant must possess direct, in-house expertise to carry out programmatic work under primary and secondary activities, unless sub-grants or sub-contracts are specifically provided for under the funding option. Grantees are required to match at least 25% of the total program costs from non-federal cash or in-kind resources. The full text of the program announcement includes a description of the application options, the priority areas, and all the instructions necessary to prepare and submit an application to compete for the National Legal Resource Center.

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