The Capital Area Agency On Aging

The Capital Area Agency On Aging, doing business as Span Center, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Richmond, Virginia that operates as a federal grant recipient, not a federal contractor. The organization receives grant funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Department of Health and Human Services to deliver aging services, senior employment programs, intergenerational mentoring, and caregiver support across Central Virginia and subordinate service areas.

Span Center's federal footprint is heavily weighted toward grant sub-awards rather than direct prime awards (64% sub versus 36% prime across 42 recent awards). The organization acts as a sub-recipient under prime grants from the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, the National Council on the Aging, Virginia Commonwealth University, and USAging. The most significant recent prime award is a $514,863 Project Grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service's Office of Grants Management under the AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program (CFDA 94.011), effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029. This award increases baseline funding by $180,000 and expands the geographic service area to include Chesterfield and Hanover Counties and the Chickahominy Tribal Lands in Virginia. Under this grant, Span Center engages volunteer seniors aged 55 and older to provide one-on-one mentoring, tutoring, and educational support to children with special needs or academic disadvantage in schools and community settings, typically serving approximately 20 hours per week.

Customer concentration centers on HHS Administration for Community Living (18 awards) and the Corporation for National and Community Service and its Office of Grants Management (8 and 7 awards respectively), which together account for 88% of recent awards. Sub-award work under Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services prime grants focuses on home-delivered meals programs partnered with FeedMore, the Virginia Lifespan Respite Voucher Program, Senior Connections care coordination and information-and-referral services, long-term care ombudsman advocacy, and Senior Community Service Employment Program support. A sub-award from the National Council on the Aging focuses on expanding benefits enrollment and access to federal and state benefit programs for low-income older adults and persons with disabilities, particularly around Medicare affordability. Recent awards also include transportation mobility management and contracted transportation services through FTA 5310 sub-awards and vaccination outreach to underserved aging and disability populations. Activity has accelerated substantially, rising from two awards in 2021 to twenty in 2024, with obligated dollars across all recent awards totaling $15.1 million. The organization maintains a statutory match of 10% and a budgetary match of 10.43% on current AmeriCorps awards.