How does a not-for-profit senior living community differ from a for-profit community?
- Ownership
Nonprofit communities are owned by a specific affiliation, such as a religious denomination, community-based organization or fraternal group, and governed by a volunteer board of directors. A for-profit community is owned by a corporation and its investors.
A nonprofit senior living community is often driven by the mission and vision of its affiliation.
- Finances
Nonprofit communities take any surplus income generated and invest it back into the facility to improve or expand the quality care and services they provide. Profits are reinvested, not distributed to shareholders.
Also, nonprofit communities may establish resident assistance funds to help those who outlive their financial resources.
- Social Responsibility
Nonprofit communities are known for placing a strong emphasis on social responsibility, most likely due to their mission and vision being tied back to their affiliation with a community organization or church.
For example, Eskaton is a nonprofit community-based organization serving seniors in the greater Sacramento area. Along with providing senior housing and care options, it also strives to improve the lives of seniors in the surrounding community. The last fiscal year, Eskaton made nearly 74,000 telephone calls to check in on seniors who are isolated and homebound and took more than 2,000 calls from the public requesting information from its free senior resource specialist.
- Philanthropy
Nonprofits are often built based on volunteer and philanthropy efforts, and therefore, continue to drive those efforts forward within the senior living community. Many nonprofit senior living communities organize volunteer opportunities for its residents and staff to join in on, whether those are within the senior community or serving others in the surrounding area.
At Eskaton, volunteer efforts range from reading to area school children to helping lead classes within the senior community. In fact, 3,500 volunteers donated 72,000 hours of service at Eskaton communities and programs last year.
Volunteers also help drive the efforts of the Eskaton Foundation, which raises funds to support innovate programs that enhance the quality of life for seniors -- whether they live in an Eskaton community or not.
