Family Eldercare's Capital Campaign to raise $7 million for our new Program Center at Rathgeber Village is in full swing! We reached our halfway mark of $3.1M this fall when we received commitments from Travis County and the City of Austin for $250,000 each. With 100% support from our Board and Campaign Steering Committee we are now asking the larger community to invest in Family Eldercare's future by giving a legacy gift for the new building or to our endowment fund.

The need for a new Program Center is crucial as the most dramatic growth in the elder population in Texas will take place in Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties, where the number of older adults is expected to increase from 98,807 to 171,690 by 2015¹. To meet the oncoming elder boom, Family Eldercare will need to double its current staff as well as expand our programs.

Dick and Sara Rathgeber have very generously pledged a two acre lot to Family Eldercare in Rathgeber Village in the Mueller redevelopment. Meeting this half way goal is important because we have now met the conditions of our land donation. Site development has begun, bringing in utilities, a road and a detention pond, allowing Family Eldercare to hopefully break ground toward the end of 2008.

To request Family Eldercare's Campaign Case Statement please Click Here
Click Here for the Capital Campaign Summary

The "graying" of America has been happening quietly over the past decade and will continue over the next generation.  Projections for the future of the elder population include staggering projections such as:

•  Women, minorities, and the "oldest old" (people ages 85+) - groups that have historically had the highest poverty rates - comprise the largest and fastest growing elderly populations. Austin, long considered to be a city of young people, ranked third among major metropolitan areas nationwide in the growth rate of its elderly population during the 1990's. Between 2000 and 2005, the Austin-San Marcos MSA's elderly population experienced more growth (20.6%) than any other MSA in Texas and will experience the largest growth (460%) from 2000 to 2040.
•  All ten counties in Central Texas are experiencing an increase in the number of people ages 65 and older. Baby Boomers account for the youngest part of this senior wave. By 2015, all members of this generation will be over 50 years old, and the oldest Boomers will begin to reach 65.
•  Accompanying this elder boom is a growing shift from institutional to community care. The number of older adults in Travis County needing assistance with daily activities will increase by 42% from 14,850 in 2005 to 21,139 in 2015.[1] Family caregivers provide 80% of the care for people needing assistance with daily activities,[2] with one in five Travis County households caring for elderly relatives in 2001.[3]
•  While most (89%) older adults live in their own homes, many need access to essential services and support to help them continue to live independently.[4]

[2] US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (November 8, 2000)

[3] Aging Services Environmental Scan Community Assessment of Older Adults in Travis County, 2001

[4] Living Independently: Travis County's older adults speak on their needs and the challenges of maintaining their independence, report sponsored by St. David's Community Health Foundation and the Mitte Foundation and conducted by the Aging Services Council (July 2005)