Reimagining & Reengineering
Spurred by the Stonewall Uprising 40 years ago, SAGE was created by loving, caring activists in order to support and celebrate our elder pioneers.
These are the roots from which we continue to grow.
SAGE is boldly innovating to include everyone.
We are thrilled to launch our new strategic direction in which we are committing to dramatically scaling our impact for LGBTQ+ elders everywhere by reimagining and reengineering how we do our work.
To achieve this, SAGE is boldly reimagining how we operate and move in the world. We are:
- de-centralizing and differentiating our organizational structure
- innovating how we do our work with new business and revenue models
- expanding our leadership by welcoming new leaders
- getting closer to the communities we serve
- partnering with more diverse communities
- centering and sharing our knowledge and expertise
SAGE will continue to advocate at the local, state, and federal level to ensure that LGBTQ+ elders get the supports and systems they need to thrive.
Getting Closer to Those We Serve
With this new strategic direction, SAGE will be able to reach and support many more LGBTQ+ elders, especially those who are historically marginalized, such as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), transgender, non-binary, and rural LGBTQ+ elders.
This is how we get there.
To bring this vision to life, we are creating:
- two new semi-autonomous divisions with two new Executive Director roles. One division (SAGEServes) focuses on our historical NYC and related service programs and the other division (SAGEVenture) focuses on our new social enterprise models
- a new, expanded, and flexible approach to partnerships
- a new SAGE Center of Excellence
This division for NYC and related service programs provides high quality, inclusive programs and services for LGBTQ+ elders focused on New York services and replicated programs. We create ever-growing opportunities to serve our community’s older people and support their unique needs. SAGEServes ensures that every LGBTQ+ elder has the opportunity to age how they choose, no matter who they are.
SAGE’s NYC Centers and care management programs and services, our replicated programs and services, and our current national programs (SAGE Hotline, SAGEConnect, SAGECents, etc.) will still be available to the older LGBTQ+ community. Over time, we will add new programs and grow and improve on existing efforts. Take a look at our new SAGEServes website>>
At SAGEVenture, we’re creating new, innovative programs, products, and offerings with forward looking sustainable funding models. This new division is inspired by the daring, pioneering spirit of LGBTQ+ elders who ventured to question the status quo and fight for their rights—for all our rights. We stand on the shoulders of giants. That’s why we’ll never stop searching for new, better ways to advance SAGE’s mission, while reinvesting profits to create a virtuous circle of change.
Under SAGEVenture, SAGE will continue to provide high-quality LGBTQ+ cultural competency training and credentialing through our SAGECare program. Over time, we will incubate and launch new social enterprises that offer financially sustainable models to advance SAGE’s mission. Take a look at our new SAGEVenture website>>
LGBTQ+ older people are diverse and live in every region of our country, from urban neighborhoods to rural counties—and everywhere in between. SAGE’s new partnership model offers the flexibility for us to partner with a wide variety of diverse partners and the communities they serve in new and strategic ways. Together, we can exchange ideas, explore public policy changes, and inspire each other to better support and empower older LGBTQ+ people everywhere. Learn more at sageusa.org/SAGECollab.
The SAGE Center of Excellence (CoE) informs and catalyzes SAGE’s work and the LGBTQ+-inclusive efforts of our sector by leaning into SAGE’s role as the world’s largest repository and disseminator of knowledge on LGBTQ+ aging issues. By consolidating, organizing, and ramping up SAGE’s data, research, and evaluation efforts, we’ll dramatically accelerate our ability to learn from what we do and share those learnings with others. Part of the CoE is the Equity Innovation Lab, a new microgrant program that funds community-based initiatives and entrepreneurial projects designed to benefit particularly marginalized LGBTQ+ elder communities and share learnings. Learn more at sageusa.org/excellence.
