Retirement Research Foundation

RRF Foundation for Aging (formerly the Retirement Research Foundation) is an endowment-based independent foundation founded in 1950 by John D. MacArthur, now holding approximately $146.5 million in assets as of fiscal year 2024. The foundation rebranded in 2019 to signal a broader mandate beyond academic research and recently released a 2026–2030 Strategic Plan that defines its current grantmaking priorities.

RRF's philosophy centers on advancing systems-level change for people age 60 and above across six defined priority areas: Age Equity, Caregiving, Economic Security, Housing, Social/Intergenerational Connectedness, and Organizational Capacity Building. This is not a foundation for one-time service projects or capital investments. Biomedical research, construction, conference support, dissertations, and endowment campaigns are explicitly excluded. The foundation favors proposals demonstrating the potential for lasting policy, practice, or field-level change.

The application process follows a mandatory two-stage LOI-first gateway introduced in Spring 2021. All applicants must submit a Letter of Inquiry before any full proposal; RRF staff screen LOIs for priority alignment and available funding, then invite selected applicants to proceed. This means organizations must make a compelling case for fit at the LOI stage—a concise, precisely worded document is more effective than a comprehensive one.

Geographic scope is a critical eligibility filter. Direct Service and Organizational Capacity Building grants are available exclusively to Illinois-based organizations. Advocacy, Research, and Knowledge Sharing grants require national reach—or, for Illinois organizations, significant state-level policy impact with replication potential. Organizations based outside Illinois cannot access Direct Service funding regardless of project strength.

The grantee roster reflects a strong preference for established organizations with field credibility. Multi-cycle relationships dominate the top of the portfolio: SAGE ($375,000 general operating in 2025, plus $180,000 in earlier program grants), National Council on Aging ($175,000 across two grants), AgeOptions in Chicago ($152,133 across five grants), and Columbia University ($150,000 across two grants). First-time applicants should emphasize organizational track record, a clear theory of change tied to at least one of the six priority areas, and familiarity with RRF's current strategic language.

RRF Foundation for Aging has maintained total annual giving between $8.8 million (2012) and $14.5 million (2021) over the past decade. The elevated 2021 figure ($14.5M total giving, $9.3M grants paid) reflects a surge in net investment income ($20.2M that year) enabling expanded grantmaking. In 2022–2023, total giving stabilized at $10.0–10.6 million, with grants paid of $4.8–6.0 million. The 2024 fiscal year showed $146.5M in assets and $15.5M in total revenue; grants-paid figures were not yet filed in available IRS data.

Across 236 grant records in the database, the average grant size is $72,839. In practice, amounts differ substantially by grant type. The 2025 cycle's largest awards were Advocacy grants: $375,000 to SAGE (general operating), $300,000 each to Generations United, Habitat for Humanity International, and the National Alliance for Caregiving. Research grants are structured as two-year awards; while RRF does not publish a fixed range, public grant announcements show awards from approximately $44,000 to $260,000 over the grant period. Professional Education and Knowledge Sharing grants (exemplified by the Medical College of Wisconsin's $263,577 for Memory Cafes expansion) sit in the $100,000–$265,000 range. Organizational Capacity Building grants run from as low as $4,400 to a maximum of $125,000.

Multi-year, repeat relationships define the top of the portfolio. Miami University Scripps Gerontology Center received $191,516 across three grants; Health and Medicine Policy Research Group $175,000 across two; Massachusetts General Hospital $173,316 across two; Matter Chicago $160,000 across three. Illinois service organizations such as AgeOptions ($152,133 across five grants) and Loyola University of Chicago ($90,025 across two) have received sustained multi-cycle support.

Budget rules are strict: indirect costs are capped at 10% of direct expenses requested from RRF—tighter than most federal funders. Applicants must build detailed, justified direct-cost budgets. Approved grants fund approximately two months after the trustee decision. The foundation does not receive contributions (zero contributions received in 2019–2023 filings), operating entirely from endowment investment returns.

The table below compares RRF Foundation for Aging to four peer foundations in the aging and older-adult philanthropy space. Asset and giving figures are approximate, based on publicly available tax filings and foundation websites.

RRF Foundation for Aging occupies a distinctive niche among dedicated aging funders: it is large enough to award $300,000+ Advocacy grants to national organizations, yet operates a transparent, three-cycle annual LOI process that is far more accessible than invitation-only peers like the John A. Hartford Foundation. The Hartford Foundation, the largest dedicated aging philanthropy in the U.S., focuses primarily on health systems and workforce transformation—a narrower lane than RRF's six-priority framework. Archstone and SCAN are California-specific analogs of comparable asset size but limited geographic reach. The Weinberg Foundation's scale dwarfs RRF but treats aging as one of many social-service priorities. For organizations working nationally on aging policy, advocacy, or research, RRF represents one of the most accessible major dedicated aging funders in the country.

RRF Foundation for Aging entered 2026 with significant institutional momentum. The most consequential development is the release of its 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, which elevated Age Equity to a standalone priority alongside Caregiving, Economic Security, Housing, Social Connection, and Organizational Capacity Building. This plan provides the clearest roadmap yet for aligning proposals with the foundation's grantmaking direction for the next five years.

In January 2025, President Mary O'Donnell published a public Letter to the Editor highlighting Illinois caregiver policy improvements—a signal of the foundation's direct advocacy engagement and its investment in state-level caregiving infrastructure. Later in 2025, RRF issued a new call to action on older adult Economic Security, specifically identifying debt (including medical debt and predatory lending targeting seniors) as an underaddressed problem and actively soliciting innovative nonprofit partners—an unusually open invitation for organizations with relevant programs.

On staffing, RRF added Elsa Tullos as Communications Officer in 2025, building out external engagement capacity. The foundation also published a 2025 Learnings Brief with accompanying video, a transparency practice that gives prospective applicants direct access to the foundation's self-assessment on grantmaking effectiveness.

The 2025 grant cycle itself produced the largest single award in the available database: $375,000 in general operating support to SAGE, alongside $300,000 each to Generations United, Habitat for Humanity International, and the National Alliance for Caregiving. These awards reflect increasing comfort with large, flexible grants to established national organizations—a meaningful shift for first-time applicants with strong organizational track records.

Align to the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan language precisely. RRF's LOI screening is fundamentally a priority-alignment check. Review the strategic plan and the current 'What We Fund' page on rrf.org before drafting a single sentence. Use RRF's exact terminology: 'Age Equity,' 'system-level approaches to caregiving,' 'economic security in later life,' 'intergenerational connectedness.' Generic aging language is insufficient.

Understand the geographic filter before applying. Direct Service and Organizational Capacity Building grants are exclusively available to Illinois-based organizations. Advocacy, Research, and Knowledge Sharing & Awareness Raising grants require national reach—or, for Illinois applicants, meaningful state-level impact with replication potential. A nationally framed proposal from a Minnesota organization is eligible; a Chicago-based service program can access all five grant types.

Treat the LOI as your primary proposal. The Letter of Inquiry is the decisive filter. Prepare all responses offline first—RRF explicitly instructs applicants to write responses in Word or Google Docs and copy-paste into the online portal. Your LOI must answer: What is the specific problem for people age 60+? Which priority area(s) does this address? What systems-level change will result? What is your organization's track record?

Observe the one-LOI-per-cycle rule strictly. Organizations may submit only one LOI per deadline cycle (university departments are an exception). Coordinate with development staff and program colleagues before submission. A poorly timed or misaligned LOI blocks that project for a full year—submit only when fit is strong.

Budget for the 10% indirect cap. RRF allows only 10% of direct expenses as indirect costs. Build itemized direct-cost budgets covering all personnel, consultants, data costs, and dissemination expenses. Auditors will flag padded line items. Note that grants fund approximately two months after approval.

Consider timing strategically. The three annual LOI cycles (November 1, February 1, May 1) lead to proposal deadlines approximately six weeks after invite decisions, with final decisions roughly three months later. The May 1 LOI cycle (August proposal, November decision) may align with year-end organizational planning. The November 1 LOI cycle (February proposal, May decision) is the first of the fiscal year and may be less crowded.

General operating support is achievable for established organizations. SAGE's 2025 $375,000 general operating award demonstrates RRF's willingness to provide flexible support to trusted national grantees. Organizations with prior RRF relationships or strong multi-year track records in aging advocacy should consider whether a general operating request is appropriate.