Cumulus has been chosen by USAging and the National Council on Aging (NCOA), empowering hundreds of community-based grantees nationwide to record, monitor and report on vaccine clinics and vaccinations, service delivery, education/outreach activities, and supportive services. Both organizations will use Cumulus for oversight and monitoring of their national efforts to increase vaccine uptake.
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) recently awarded USAging and NCOA a total of $125 million to rapidly increase the number of older adults and people with disabilities who receive the updated COVID-19 vaccine and annual flu vaccine.
USAging was awarded $75 million by ACL to establish and leverage partnerships and engagement with Centers for Independent Living, Area Agencies on Aging, state No Wrong Door Systems, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, other ACL-funded disability networks, and other community-based organizations that serve older adults and disabled people.
NCOA was awarded $50 million by ACL to build and leverage partnerships with senior centers, community centers, and local community- and faith-based organizations that reach older adults and people with disabilities.
Partnerships – between the two programs and across networks – are a central component of each grant. USAging and NCOA will build on their long history of collaboration to closely coordinate efforts to ensure their activities are complementary, rather than duplicative. Their parallel use of Cumulus is expected to enhance opportunities for collaboration and success.
Cumulus will provide community-based grantees across the country with an easy-to-use, secure and quickly deployed cloud platform to record, monitor and report on their grant-related activities and events. Cumulus is being configured specifically for the national ACL Vaccine Uptake Initiative, including the availability of survey forms in 15 languages and in compliance with Americans with Disability Act standards.
“The numbers say it all. There is a real need to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities get vaccinated. The pandemic has taught us that older adults and people with disabilities, particularly those from historically marginalized and underserved communities, face the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19. Given this and the heightened flu season, the time is now to dedicate all the resources possible to reduce the barriers to vaccination that these communities have experienced.”
-Sandy Markwood, USAging CEO
There’s no time to waste in ensuring everyone gets these lifesaving vaccines. Our local partners in the aging network are trusted messengers in their communities. We will work in partnership with them to ensure all have access to these important vaccines.”
-Ramsey Alwin, NCOA President and CEO
Cumulus’ powerful collaboration and dashboard features will help grantees maximize success for themselves, while positioning USAging and NCOA to streamline their oversight of and reporting on the rapid, national implementation of this crucial initiative.