Overview
The Age-Friendly Business Certification program recognizes local businesses that go above and beyond to serve older adults, and provides guidance and training opportunities* for businesses that strive to become age-friendly.
We promote and connect these age-friendly businesses to older adults in the community through our Age-Friendly Certified business directory and online map of Age-Friendly Businesses*.
*coming soon
Directory of Age-Friendly Certified Businesses
- Community for Positive Aging (formerly Hollywood Senior Center)
- Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)
- Impact NW
Steps to becoming Age-Friendly Certified
- Sign up to receive the checklist and companion guide
Get on our email list to receive the basics on what kinds of things we look for in an age-friendly business. - Review the resources and, if needed, make some improvements
Take a look and think about how your business or organization is right now. It may already meet some of the goals! Our resource guide can help point you to low and no-cost solutions for making improvements to your business, and programs that can support improvement projects that may be out of reach without help. - Fill out the checklist and request a meeting with us
Submit the checklist to us with your meeting request. We will meet with you and may visit your business to verify you meet our criteria. - Final approval, marketing, and recognition
We will respond to your submission and, if appropriate, certify your business as age-friendly. You will receive physical and digital materials to display to promote your designation. In the event that we are unable to certify your business at this time, we want to help! We will provide specific information and instructions on how to improve your business to become certifiable. - Renew every two years
We will remind you to recertify to maintain your age-friendly certified status.
History and Status
Recognizing the changing needs of our community, Multnomah County joined the AARP Age-Friendly Network in 2014. In harmony with our DCHS North Star, participation represents a belief that the places where we live are more livable, and better able to support people of all ages, when we commit to improving the quality of life for the very young, the very old, and everyone in between.
In November 2023, our team learned that the local Age-Friendly Business Certification Program has been inactive since the partner running it, Elders in Action, closed in 2019. We met with partner staff from PSU’s Institute on Aging and former Elders in Action staff, and discussed the possibility of Multnomah County restarting the program.
We then conducted research on similar programs nationally and engaged with those we could, to inform our program model. Our team carefully reviewed all examples of possible certification criteria, and identified those that best apply based on Multnomah County's older adult population and their needs.
Restarting this program would strengthen our commitment to making Multnomah County more age-friendly, reinforcing the other important work we do. ADVSD would take the lead among our team of coordinating partner organizations, including PSU's Institute on Aging and AARP Oregon, in running the program as part of our broader age-friendly area strategy.
Our team is working with network partners and community partner organizations to plan the launch of the program.
Program Goals
Identify and certify businesses which are age-friendly ready
Promote age-friendly businesses to the local community
Connect businesses to older adults in the community
Maintain and expand to county wide area
According to the Older Oregonians story map published by Oregon's Legislative Policy and Research Office, there were an estimated 118,287 adults age 65+ living in Multnomah County in 2022. By 2030, there will be an estimated 143,817 adults age 65+ (an increase of 25,530 people or 22%). By 2050 the 65+ population is expected to further grow to 210,205, a staggering 78% increase from 2022. Forecasts were produced by PSU's Population Research Center.
This program, previously run by Elders in Action, recognizes businesses and service providers that make an extra effort to serve older adults in Multnomah County. The initiative assists local providers and businesses in identifying and advertising age-friendly features that attract, serve, and retain customers as they age.
Over time, this project also aims to help identify communities for membership, social participation, entertainment, volunteering, and employment, so that Multnomah County can become a better place for older adults to stay active, be healthy, and live productive lives within their communities.
