An often-overlooked aspect of choosing a retirement community is the residents’ role in governance. How do the residents as a whole or individually have a voice in communicating their concerns and opinions to the governing body?
At Homestead Village, we have worked diligently to create a governing model that gives our residents—our most important stakeholders—a strong voice in the governance of the organization.
- Our by-laws allow four residents to serve on our 15-member volunteer board. Homestead Village began allowing residents to serve on the board in 2001 and has now increased the number of resident board members from two to four.
- Our residents are encouraged to nominate new board members; consequently, most new board members are nominated by our residents.
- The Homestead Village board holds an annual meeting that all residents are invited to attend. The board reports on the performance of the organization and seeks feedback from residents.
- As an official representative of the board, Homestead Village’s president attends Resident Council and Resident Association meetings in order to understand current issues and address them if possible. All residents of Homestead Village are members of the Resident Association, which meets quarterly. The Resident Council meets monthly and is the governing body of the Resident Association.
- The president of Homestead Village holds coffees with the residents on a monthly basis as an informal communication tool to improve the quality of services and address issues in a timely manner.
- The board holds periodic resident-board liaison meetings to improve communications and share budgeting information with residents.
- The board of directors sanctions a bi-annual resident satisfaction survey to receive clear, direct feedback from a large percentage of residents.
Non-profit boards are charged with three critical duties:
- Provide professional and impartial oversight of a fiscal and ethical nature
- Ensure that the organization has a strategic direction for future success
- Hire and hold accountable the professional management team charged with effectively executing the mission of the organization
With so many governance initiatives in place, Homestead Village is at the forefront of providing our residents, both individually and collectively, a clear voice in the governance of the organization.
For a list of current board members and leaders, do not hesitate to contact us.