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Looking for information on not-for-profit long term care homes, housing and community services for seniors? Let us help guide you in understanding the system in Ontario so you can make the decisions that are right for you.

Why Choose Not-for-Profit?

In long term care, not-for-profit means that any extra dollars that may be available are put back into the organization to enhance and expand programs and services for residents/clients. This is important for you to know and keep in mind as you begin to explore and investigate various care and service options.

Not-for-profits have a very rich history of supporting seniors in communities across the province. They have been leaders in providing culturally-sensitive care, creating homes, housing projects and community services to meet the specific religious, ethnic, and cultural needs of the people in their communities. 

Service clubs may be the catalyst behind a not-for-profit, or it may be that the municipal government is the managing body (in fact, every municipality in the province is required to maintain a not-for-profit home for the aged, and they are also mandated to oversee many other housing and social service agencies for the benefit of local citizens).

Not-for-profits are truly developed by local people for local people.

The providers that are members of OANHSS represent a dynamic and innovative not-for-profit social services sector that is at the heart of our cities, towns and villages. They are dedicated to providing the services that help people make the very most of their lives. Every year, over 140,000 seniors in Ontario benefit from the care and support provided by OANHSS members.

There are many things that set not-for-profits apart:

• Direct accountability - local people, either appointed or elected, sit on the boards and committees of management that govern not-for-profits, and their books are open to the public.

• Re-investment in care - not-for-profits re-invest millions in donations and municipal contributions in new services and improvements to care homes.

• Strong volunteer base - tens of thousands of people - young and old - volunteer their time to help others and to support the trained professionals caring for seniors in not-for-profits.

• Spectrum of services - together, OANHSS members provide the broadest range of housing, support services and home care for seniors in the province.

The unwritten rule that generally exists for not-for-profits is to expand the services they provide and to expect that all programs will be of the highest quality, responding to local needs in supportive environments. The focus is to reflect their communities’ wishes with the services they undertake.