Lifetime Arts Expands Policy Work with Support from The Music Man Foundation
Lifetime Arts is proud to announce it has been awarded the competitive Strengthening the Sector grant from The Music Man Foundation. This funding will support Lifetime Arts’ mission to weave creative aging into the fabric of our communities, establishing these practices as core components of healthy aging policies and plans.
At a time where federal government policy priorities are rapidly shifting, this grant will allow Lifetime Arts to demonstrate the value of integrating creative aging practices into aging policy, particularly through multi-sector plans for aging. By leveraging arts participation as an evidence-based tool for connection, lifelong learning, and improved wellbeing, this initiative aims to advance policy proposals that will combat the loneliness epidemic, reduce ageism, and maximize the creative potential of older adults across the country.
This generous grant from The Music Man Foundation enables us to address a critical need in the aging services sector—one that has left too many older adults underserved and increasingly isolated, with significant health consequences,” said Heather Ikemire, Executive Director of Lifetime Arts. “By supporting a coordinated, multi-sector approach, this initiative positions creative aging as a powerful intervention. Music and the arts not only unite people and foster joy but also serve as essential tools for improving well-being and ensuring that all older adults have opportunities for connection, growth, and purpose.
Establishing Creative Aging as Core to Healthy Aging
Through this initiative, Lifetime Arts will:
- Map the Policy Landscape: Collaborate with a policy advisor to analyze current healthy aging policies, identify opportunities, and highlight trends for an effective advocacy strategy.
- Form a Policy Working Group to Develop Recommendations and Strategy: Assemble a 5-member group of policy influencers, including health experts, insurers, advocates, legislators, and researchers. Lifetime Arts will work with this group to create policy recommendations and an advocacy plan with clear, actionable goals targeting policymakers and media at state and national levels.
- Create and Share a Policy Brief: Draft a brief with research, recommendations, and action steps; organize nationwide dissemination of the brief.
The Music Man Foundation’s Strengthening the Sector grants focus on increasing public investment in the arts and amplifying the profound impact of arts on health and wellbeing. Lifetime Arts is honored to join a cohort of grantees that includes Arts for LA, National Guild for Community Arts Education, and California for the Arts, among others.
This collaboration underscores Lifetime Arts’ commitment to growing the creative aging movement by partnering with other changemakers who share a vision for a society where aging is seen as a time of growth, learning, and creativity.
About Lifetime Arts
Lifetime Arts is a nationally recognized nonprofit transforming the way our society understands and experiences aging through the arts. Since 2008, we have been at the forefront of the creative aging movement—an evidence-based practice that combines arts participation with social engagement to foster healthy aging. Our team has trained over 11,000 professionals and supported the launch of more than 1,000 programs across 44 states. Together with a network of more than 6,000 partners, we are working to combat isolation, challenge ageism, and celebrate lifelong creativity. By bridging vision and action, we embed creative aging practices into public health, cultural policy, and aging services—ensuring that creativity is recognized as essential to well-being at every stage of life.
About The Music Man Foundation
The Music Man Foundation honors the legacy of Meredith Willson, composer of the Tony-winning musical The Music Man, by supporting organizations that use music to catalyze lasting change. Since 1998, the Foundation has awarded over $22 million to nonprofits transforming education, healthcare, and community wellbeing through music and the arts.
Media Contact:
Liza Cucco
Director of External Affairs
Lifetime Arts
