The partners of The Grandmother Collective span diverse geographies, issue areas, demographics, and ideologies, demonstrating that the power of older women to drive positive change knows no boundaries. We believe that the meaningful contributions of grandmothers and older women can be felt both at the grassroots level and on the international stage. Partners of The Grandmother Collective highlight the myriad ways these women advocate for and advance positive development, fostering a world where the greatest number of people can thrive and lead meaningful, connected, and purpose-filled lives.
We bring together grandmother-centered organizations for peer support, new ideas, networking, and mutual collaboration and learning. This includes our Monthly Coffee Chats, in which we host events for organizations to learn about each others work and find ways to support.
Interested in joining us? Send us an email.
India, Guatemala & Worldwide
Barefoot College International aspires to increase economic mobility by making vocational and educational opportunities accessible to women and girls from the most marginalized communities around the world. They train grandmothers to become engineers who build solar energy grids to power and empower their home communities all over the world.
Nigeria
El-Aged Care Ltd/Gte is a non-for-profit organization (NGO), registered in Nigeria with a mission to deliver an alternative model of community care support services that incorporates medical, social, recreational rehabilitation, and social work supportive care to older persons who reside in rural communities in Nigeria.
Our solution is helping rural communities to reimagine the lives of older persons by designing new standards of care, developing innovative care models, and engaging local communities in deploying more effectively the services needed to improve the functional and social abilities of the older persons to live dignified, independent lives and contribute to communities, and society.
USA
For All Ages is Connecticut’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the generations and inspiring action to end loneliness, reduce ageism, and improve health and well-being. Through evidence-informed programs and events, For All Ages creates positive, collaborative experiences between the generations that showcase the wisdom and vibrancy of older adults while countering the loneliness and isolation that are at epidemic levels across all age groups.
Zimbabwe
Friendship Bench works to make mental healthcare widely available and accessible throughout Zimbabwe. Grandmothers are trained in therapy methods and provide free counseling in community safe spaces like parks to anyone in need. Friendship Bench partners with entities like the Government of Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care and the World Health Organization, and their project has helped to close a massive gap in the country's healthcare system and during times of crisis.
Spain
Grandma Sita is a food education organization that is centered around a cute puppet handmade from recycled materials. She is the heart of a food education start-up aligned with the SDGs that inspire you to live your best life with less waste effectively and sustainably. It’s also a tribute to our grandmothers because this generation valued their resources and food.
USA
Grandmas2Go-Family Coaches connects trained and trusted "women of wisdom and experience" with struggling new families to mentor, nurture and support parents, infants and toddlers during the critical early years of brain growth, from pregnancy to preschool.
Grandmother Project’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of women, children and families in countries in the Global South by empowering communities to drive their own development by building on their own experience, resources and cultural realities. Grandmothers are the key to this work, serving as the community leaders who implement GMP's on-the-ground work.
Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) is a non-partisan network of volunteers working together across Canada to advocate at local, national and international levels to influence national and global policymakers. Our vision is a world where the human rights of older women, children, youth and gender diverse persons are recognized and protected so they can achieve their full potential. Our passion for this vision is a deep concern for the well-being and human rights of grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa and the children and youth in their care, as well as those of vulnerable and marginalized women in communities of the Global South.
Grandparents On The Move, Inc. a non-profit located in Detroit, Michigan, supports grandparents who are the sole guardians of their grandchildren. GOTMO has provided services to grandparents and their children in the Metro Detroit area since 2003, including supportive services, after-school life skills classes, physical and mental wellness classes, food, clothing, nutrition classes, financial management, workshops, and more, free to all grandparents and the children they care for.
USA
USA
USA
Uganda
Nyaka educates, empowers, and transforms vulnerable and impoverished communities in Uganda, ensuring that everyone has the chance to learn, grow, and thrive. As part of their programming, Nyaka empowers grandmothers with training, resources, and microfinancing for businesses and for their care of grandchildren at home.
Silver Talkies
India
Silver Talkies is a social impact organization that has been working in the area of promoting holistic well-being of older adults, including social and emotional well-being beyond the traditional focus on physical well-being, in line with WHO guidelines for healthy aging. They have been working towards making active aging a viable goal for older adults through a community-based model and peer-based approach. Silver Talkies Club is a vibrant community of older adults (youngest member being 52 and oldest 96) who are tied together through an innate desire to age well. They are all thriving because of flourishing social connections and continued learning and engagement. With city chapters in six cities, they keep their members engaged and active through online and offline programs, meet-ups and weekly classes, group travel, digital magazine, provide them with support and assistance, and take care of their different needs through their service partners.
Netherlands & Worldwide
Together Old and Young (TOY) is an international programme that promotes intergenerational learning. The TOY approach to intergenerational learning brings young children (0-8) and older adults together to share experiences, have fun, learn from each other, and develop meaningful relationships. Intergenerational Learning activities in TOY are friendly and informal social encounters, where children and adults can equally partake as the learner and the teacher. TOY is an international community of practice and supports intergenerational activities worldwide through professional development, quality assessment and improvement. The TOY project was initiated and is promoted by International Child Development Initiatives - ICDI (www.icdi.nl).
Jordan & Worldwide
We Love Reading inspires children to read for fun through our research-backed read-aloud program, training local volunteers to read to children in their neighborhoods changing mindsets through reading to create changemakers. We Love Reading has spread to more than 60 countries around the world, where thousands of We Love Reading libraries have been established.
Wisdom records, preserves, and shares oral history, cultural arts, language concepts, and traditional ecological knowledge of exemplary Native American elders, storytellers, and scientists in collaboration with diverse institutions, agencies, and organizations. Our vision: Native American cultural sustainability, multimedia education, and cultural reconciliation.
USA
Champions of Caring nurtures compassion through intergenerational programs that bridge community divides. With a legacy of 1 million service hours contributed by 10,000 high school students, the organization transforms character into action. Its evidence-based curriculum empowers participants to reduce prejudice and drive positive, lasting social change.
Kenya
The Leo Project champions education and healthcare as universal rights, working to dismantle barriers created by birthplace, status, and gender. Through local and international partnerships, the organization sustains community-driven programs designed to address root causes and drive lasting social change.