Impact in Canada: By Community, For Community
At HelpAge Canada, we believe every older adult deserves to age with dignity, connection, and purpose. Our work across Canada supports older people who are experiencing poverty, isolation, abuse, or limited access to essential services. We do this by advancing and amplifying the work and impact of local, community-based seniors’ services (CBSS) organizations, collectively called the CBSS sector.
HelpAge Canada's Age Better Grants
Age Better is our flagship Canadian granting program that helps community-based organizations deliver impactful programming for older adults across Canada.
Eligible CBSS organizations to apply for grants of up to $20,000. These flexible grants support local programs that promote social connection, well-being, and equity—with a focus on reducing isolation, combating ageism, and enhancing dignity.
Current granting streams include:
- Ageing Connected: Programming to address social isolation, poverty, and abuse
- Ageing Boldly: Initiatives to combat ageism and support older adults’ rights
HelpAge Canada offers more than funding. We coordinate and convene a shared community of practice for all grantees to support peer learning and collaboration. Since launching in 2020, Age Better grants—through our generous program funding partners—have supported more than 5,600 older adults in over 45 communities across Canada.
What is the Community-Based Seniors' Services Sector?
Community-based seniors’ services (CBSS) organizations form the foundation of ageing support in Canada. These local, often volunteer-led groups provide essential services like transportation, meal delivery, wellness programming, and cultural and social connection enrichment—all helping older people to age with dignity in the right place: their own communities.
Despite their value, CBSS organizations have long lacked visibility, coordinated support, and stable funding. HelpAge Canada is helping to change that. As a backbone and bridge-building organization, we work across provinces and territories to strengthen, connect, and elevate the CBSS sector.
We provide grants, infrastructure, and national platforms like CORE Canada to promote collaboration and amplify the CBSS sector’s voice in policy, public awareness, and service innovation. Our goal is to ensure older adults benefit from consistent, community-rooted services, wherever they live.
CBSS Consultations Across Canada
Since fall 2024, HelpAge Canada has been hosting CBSS consultations with local service providers, sector leaders, and older adult advocates in provinces and territories across the country.
In partnership with local or provincial seniors serving organization hosts, we’ve convened roundtables, listening sessions, and community workshops.  Consultations explore local realities and sector priorities, while working toward shared solutions for ageing well-being across Canada.
It's powerful to finally be heard, and to build a shared vision for how we support older people in our communities.
— CBSS Consultation Participant
CBSS Summits: Building a Unified Stronger Sector
In 2024, HelpAge Canada hosted the inaugural Community-Based Seniors’ Services (CBSS) Sector Summit, bringing together hundreds of community leaders to:
- Share experiences and insights
- Define collective goals
- Co-create a unified voice for the sector
The result: a bold, collaborative vision to strengthen the CBSS sector and reimagine ageing in Canada.
In June 2026, the CBSS Summit will return! We look forward to reconnecting with everyone again, this time, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- Read the 2024 CBSS Sector Summit Report →
- Visit the Events & CBSS Summit page for updates →
Supporting CORE Canada
CORE Canada is a digital platform and twice-monthly newsletter, designed to support, connect, and empower people working and volunteering in the CBSS sector. It’s a free, accessible hub where users can:
- Share resources and tools
- Promote programs and opportunities
- Learn from peers across provinces and territories
- Collaborate and co-create better solutions for older adults
HelpAge Canada proudly serves as the steward of CORE Canada, overseeing the platform and publishing its national newsletter.
If you work or volunteer in the CBSS sector, join our growing CORE community:
Join Us
Your support and donations make these Canadian programs and their life-changing impact possible, especially in underserved communities.
You can support older adults across Canada by helping us:
- Expand Age Better grants to more communities
- Strengthen frontline CBSS organizations
- Build lasting sector-wide impact
- Expand CORE Canada reach
