Making Growth Happen in 2025: Financial Strategies for Sustainable Growth

By Keith Seeloff, Partner | Forvis Mazars Group

I know I’m “preaching to the choir” when I say that fulfilling your not-for-profit mission depends on continued growth. But knowing that growth is essential and achieving sustainable growth are two very different matters.

Financial and operational stability play key roles in supporting any growth objectives. After all … if you don’t have a margin, you don’t have a mission! Let’s look at some actionable steps your organization can take to cultivate financial health and position your community for growth in 2025 and beyond.

Plan for the Long Game

Many senior living providers still cling to the one-year budgeting cycle. However, that’s simply too short a planning horizon for a real estate business that sells lifelong contracts. Sustainable growth demands long-term thinking and building a culture around planning. Here are some ideas to get started:

  • Build a foundation for growth. Your community can begin implementing several practical initiatives right now. You could, for example, consider adding an executive to the C-suite and extending your budgeting cycle from one year to five.
  • You can’t lead from behind. Effective growth demands that you get in front of your performance metrics. In other words, you need to lead with a sustainable long-term growth strategy instead of just adapting as you go. Also, give yourself permission to take calculated risks backed by data from planning efforts and feasibility studies.
  • Cultivate leadership talent within your organization. Developing internal talent is just as important as recruiting executives—particularly when you consider the approaching wave of executive retirements. Investing in continuing education, executive coaching and leadership development will help retain and grow the best, most talented people.

Partner for Sustainable Growth

A strong brand, healthy financials and a positive organizational culture will go a long way toward successful growth and expansion. For more ambitious projects, however, you may need to seek out partnerships to secure the necessary financial backing.

Many providers tend to view themselves as rugged individualists; however, the right partnerships can help your organization expand service offerings, fill gaps in skills and enhance your ability to serve diverse economic groups.

Partnerships also offer opportunities to share the risk that comes with new initiatives. For example, you might be able to access more equity and credit support by teaming up with a local community development group or a for-profit senior living provider. The key is to look for partners who mitigate your weaknesses, share your values and bring expertise to areas where your organization may be lacking.

Manage New Development Costs and Financial Pressures

Here’s a scenario that might sound familiar: Your community wants to develop a new brick-and-mortar project or expansion. But when you add up the construction costs, you realize you’ll have to price your new units significantly higher than your current offerings.

A growing challenge for senior living providers is adjusting pricing models to match increased construction and real estate costs. Contrary to popular belief, though, the problem isn’t how much it costs to build something new. Generally, it’s that the senior living field as a whole hasn’t kept pace with entrance fees and increasing home values. Instead, communities are much more likely to compete with each other to have the lowest entrance fees—putting their long-term financial health at risk.

Serve the Middle Market

The middle market represents a large (and growing) segment of the senior population with significant demands for affordable quality housing options. Unfortunately, many senior living providers are concerned about the financial challenges that come with serving middle-income retirees. To overcome this obstacle, your organization might have to step out of its comfort zone and consider innovative initiatives such as these:

  • Rethinking service delivery. A growing number of communities are addressing the needs of the middle market by offering more streamlined services, such as residential-only rentals or a la carte programming. Some are also focusing on home- and community-based services that allow them to extend their mission to a more financially diverse population.
  • Repurposing existing products. As your community adds newer, more luxurious buildings, you may find that your older buildings simply cannot compete. One way to handle this problem is by repurposing and repositioning the older units at a price point that meets middle-market needs.
  • Repositioning older assets. Converting office buildings to residential apartments, for example, can help your organization serve the middle market at a lower price point.

Learn More About Creating a Well-Defined Growth Strategy

Implementing financial strategies for sustainable growth will help your organization ensure that working toward lofty goals won’t come at the expense of stability. For a more in-depth look, view the December growth strategies webinar and panel discussion hosted by Love & Company.

If you’d like to start a conversation about driving growth in a changing market, you can reach me here, or contact Tim Bracken at 410-207-0013 or tbracken@loveandcompany.com.

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