Senior living communities are not alike when it comes to board activities, according to a recent survey released by specialty investment bank Ziegler.
Ziegler’s December CFO Hotline poll covered board meetings and activities, measuring how nearly 260 not-for-profit senior living organizations from around the country manage board-related activities.
The survey looked at both single- and multi-site organizations, finding that 62% of multi-site organizations maintain only a corporate board only. For the 37% of organizations that had both a corporate board and local boards, the majority of decision-making power remained with the corporate board.
When it came to how often boards met, the results varied, with nearly four out of 10 saying they met on a quarterly basis. Multi-site organizations were much more likely to hold quarterly meetings than single-site organizations.
The overwhelming majority—94%—did not compensate board members, excluding reimbursement for travel, trainings, etc. In fact, the average percentage of budgets allocated toward board activities was just 0.37%. Many participants in the study also noted they spend $0 on board activities. Those with the largest budget allocations for board activities also compensated members.
However, many organizations did hold board retreats annually or every few years. About 15% of companies said they do not have board retreats or have not held one in many years.
Surprisingly, half of not-for-profit organizations had local residents on their boards, indicating that the industry has a clear divide in this approach.
The poll also looked at whether board members are involved with industry conferences or trainings.
Just 22% of organizations indicated that their board chair would attend industry conferences “always” or “often.” By comparison, only 14% of non-chair board members attended industry conferences “always” or “often,” according to the survey.