Opening Up LeadingAge NY Membership to For-Profit Retirement Housing Providers: What You Need to Know

As a result of a 2020 decision by the national LeadingAge Board of Directors, LeadingAge state affiliates have the opportunity to accept for-profit members within a construct that works for each state. At the recommendation of the LeadingAge NY Retirement Housing Cabinet and Board of Directors, the full membership will be called upon at the Annual Meeting to approve an amendment to our guiding bylaws allowing for-profit Retirement Housing providers to join the association. This amendment would pertain ONLY to Retirement Housing. For-profit providers in any other service lines represented by LeadingAge NY would not be allowed in membership.

Why does the Retirement Housing Cabinet support this change?

• Retirement Housing Cabinet members are already sharing resources and referrals among their local networks of Retirement Housing providers, regardless of their tax status. Competition is not a barrier to these providers working together, and, in fact, they feel that this combined network is stronger.
• There is no other association representing the state’s Retirement Housing providers. Opening up membership to for-profit Retirement Housing providers may help us retain former members who have sold to a for-profit organization.
• By expanding the pool of potential Retirement Housing provider members, we can increase association revenue to support our continued advocacy for all service lines.
• There are minimal legislative and political issues for the Retirement Housing service line, and those that do arise apply to both for-profits and not-for-profits. This sector of LeadingAge NY’s membership will be stronger with a larger voice.

What else should you know before casting your vote?

• This change would NOT allow for-profit providers from other service lines to join LeadingAge NY. It would apply ONLY to for-profit Retirement Housing providers.
• This change would NOT allow LeadingAge NY to accept publicly traded for-profit Retirement Housing provider members. Our immediate targets would be the for-profit Retirement Housing providers with whom not-for-profit providers are already working in their local networks.
• Current membership standards would remain in place for any for-profit Retirement Housing provider seeking to join the association.

Background on this issue

• LeadingAge NY represents over 400 not-for-profit and public providers of senior housing, aging services, and long-term and post-acute care, as well as provider-sponsored Managed Long-Term Care plans. Of our members, approximately 134 are not-for-profit senior housing providers, with more than 60 of those providing market-rate Retirement Housing for older adults.
• The Retirement Housing Cabinet is currently comprised of 14 individuals representing 12 member organizations from across the state.
• LeadingAge NY’s membership is governed by its bylaws and by its alignment agreement with LeadingAge. Until 2020, LeadingAge’s alignment agreements with its state affiliates generally limited full membership to not-for-profit and government-sponsored long-term care and housing providers. In 2020, however, the national LeadingAge Board voted to allow for-profits to be members of LeadingAge – meaning states can now accept for-profit members, either as full members of the association or as subscriber members, which limits participation in association governance.
• Following the LeadingAge Board’s decision, the LeadingAge NY Retirement Housing Cabinet recommended that the association explore opening up membership to for-profit Retirement Housing providers. The Cabinet reaffirmed this decision in 2023, and the LeadingAge NY Board of Directors agreed at its 2023 retreat to explore this opportunity and put the issue to a full membership vote.
• The LeadingAge NY Bylaws Task Force must now propose an amendment to the association’s bylaws for the full membership to consider at the Annual Meeting.

More details on this opportunity will be shared with you in the spring. In the meantime, please feel free to contact Annalyse Komoroske Denio (akomoroskedenio@leadingageny.org), Jeff Diamond (jdiamond@leadingageny.org), or Kristen Myers (kmyers@leadingageny.org) if you have any questions.