Every year through its National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC), NCOA honors outstanding efforts made by senior centers across the nation to offer innovative, creative, and impactful programs and opportunities. Each program, approach, and strategy is proof of the important work that happens at senior centers. And these serve as models for senior center staff across the country to implement in their communities.
2026 NISC Programs of Excellence
The NISC Programs of Excellence are an opportunity to celebrate, promote, and share the outstanding efforts made by senior centers across the nation to improve the lives of older adults in the community.
By sharing best practices, we elevate the impact and image of senior centers across the country.
2026 Programs of Excellence:
1. Visibility and Communcations
- MiGen Communication Pillars
- Bloom, Brush, and Bravo—Westlake Community Services
- "Be Like Bacon"—Colchester Senior Center
3. Health, Wellness, and Nutrition
- Grown Folks Talk: Sex Education for Older Adults—Woodie Fite Senior Center
- Unleash Your Joy—Colchester Senior Center
- Let's Have a Field Day—West Cobb Senior Center
4. Cross-Generational Connections
- Students Writing Senior Stories—South Morrow County Senior Matters
- Active Living Program—White Birch Center for Active Living
- Intergenerational July 4th BBQ—Edna Burton Senior Center
5. Social and Support Services
- Safe and Sound—Solon Senior Center
- Books and Brews—Edina Senior Center
- Senior Center on the Move—Amherst Center for Senior Services
6. Social Connection and Engagement
- Dementia Friendly Film Series—Whitney Senior Center
- See the World from Our Backyard—Preble County Council on Aging
- Veterans Peer-to-Peer Luncheon—Gathering Place 50 Plus Community Centers
7. Modernizing Senior Centers Innovation
- Parables of the Future: Black Future Fest—Iowa City Senior Center
- Repositioning Aging: Redefining the 60+ Experience—Founders Hall Foundation
"We are thrilled every year to recognize the innovation and creativity of senior centers as they improve the lives of older adults in their communities," said Dianne Stone, NCOA's Associate Director of Network Development and Engagement. "These programs impact the lives of older adults in so many ways and provide example and inspiration for senior centers across the country."
Receiving recognition for our Program of Excellence has brought our Senior Center and organization to the national spotlight. This visibility has fostered new partnerships within the community, enabling us to provide more innovative programming for our members." --Jenny Macias, Senior Friendship Centers
Award categories
1. Visibility and Communications
Recognizes strategies that increase the visibility of senior centers and strengthen how they are understood and valued in their communities. This includes outreach and storytelling, branding and partnerships, reframing aging, and how a center presents itself through ambience and programs.
2. Social and Support Services
Recognizes programs and approaches that address economic security and basic needs, including benefits access, housing, food security, case management, transportation, legal or financial navigation, and systemic strategies that expand reach and access to services.
3. Health, Wellness, and Nutrition
Recognizes programs and approaches that improve older adults’ physical and/or mental well-being. This includes nutrition initiatives that expand or go beyond traditional congregate meals, fitness, disease prevention, mental health supports, and creative or expressive wellness programming
4. Cross-Generational Connections
Recognizes programs and approaches that build meaningful connections across generations through events, ongoing programming, shared learning opportunities, shared spaces, or service-based models.
5. Social Connection and Engagement
Recognizes innovative approaches that strengthen social connection and reduce isolation among older adults. This includes in-person, virtual, and hybrid models, as well as efforts that increase access to technology and build confidence in using digital tools to support participation and connection.
6. Resource Development and Sustainability
Recognizes effective strategies for developing and sustaining financial and in-kind resources that support senior center programs and operations. This includes fundraising, grant development and management, donor engagement, revenue diversification, budgeting and financial planning, and partnerships that help secure funding or shared assets for long-term sustainability.
7. Governance, Operations, and Innovative Management
Recognizes effective leadership, governance, and operational practices that strengthen how senior centers function and evolve. This includes staff and volunteer development, leadership and succession planning, board–staff collaboration, strong administrative systems, and excellence in facility management, safety and accessibility, and the design or operation of modern environments that support high-quality programs and services.
8. Advocacy and Policy
Recognizes efforts that influence policies, systems, and decisions that affect older adults and communities, or that engage older adults, staff, volunteers, and partners in advocacy at the local, state, or national level to strengthen community conditions and improve aging outcomes.
9. Modernizing Senior Centers Innovation Award
Recognizes transformative approaches that position a senior center to remain relevant and responsive to changing generations of older adults. This includes planning, adaptations to programs, operations, spaces, partnerships, or models of service that support long-term relevance and impact.
Eligibility
This competition is open to all NISC Affiliate senior centers. If your senior center is not a NISC Affiliate, learn more about our free Affiliate Membership and how you can join.
Review process
A group of peers, NISC Affiliate members, review all applications and score them based on an established rubric.
Judges look for:
- Programs that are new and innovative or that take a new spin on existing approaches
- Programs that can be replicated by other centers
- Programs that have demonstrated impact and outcomes
More about the Programs of Excellence Awards
Our Programs of Excellence winners share how they brought innovative programs to the older adults in their communities.
Questions about the awards or the selection process? Please email membership@ncoa.org.
