SSAFE Chapter Application

Start a SSAFE Chapter

Help your nonprofit senior living community connect with a growing national network of residents working toward a more sustainable future.

SSAFE Chapters bring together residents who are interested in sustainability, climate solutions, environmental stewardship, education, and community engagement. Chapters participate in national meetings, collaborate with peers across the country, and share ideas that help accelerate local action.

Membership Benefits

National Meetings and Learning Opportunities

• Participate in monthly General Meetings featuring speakers, and discussions relevant to sustainability in senior living communities.
• Participate in monthly Greening Our Campuses meetings to ask questions, share projects, review case studies, and learn from peers across the country.
• Participate in workgroups and workshops focused on specific sustainability topics and practical implementation strategies.

Peer Connections and Shared Learning

• Meet residents from communities across the country who share similar interests and goals.
• Exchange ideas, referrals, lessons learned, and project strategies with peers facing similar challenges.
• Learn from successful projects already implemented in other communities.

Resources and Communications

• Receive quarterly newsletters featuring chapter success stories, organizational updates, and sustainability resources.
• Access case studies, presentations, recordings, and planning resources developed by SSAFE members and partners.

What Does a SSAFE Chapter Look Like?

SSAFE chapters are organized in a variety of ways and may relate differently to existing campus groups. Applicants are encouraged to consider how their organizational structure can most effectively connect with the broader SSAFE organization at the national level. View an organizational chart for SSAFE.

SSAFE encourages communities to develop structures that fit their own culture while maintaining strong connections to the broader national organization.

Potential chapter structures may include:

• The SSAFE Chapter serves as a larger umbrella committee, connecting sustainability-related committees within the community to SSAFE National. In this model, the SSAFE Chapter may include more members than any individual sustainability committee. To avoid redundancy, the larger chapter may meet quarterly or semi-annually to provide SSAFE-related updates and strengthen coordination across groups.
  
  
• A sustainability or environmental committee may also function as the SSAFE Chapter. In this model, the existing committee may already serve as the community’s overarching sustainability group. The committee becomes a hybrid sustainability/SSAFE Chapter where regular meeting agendas include SSAFE National updates, reports from workgroup representatives, and efforts to encourage resident participation and SSAFE membership.

How Chapters Connect with SSAFE National

Chapters are encouraged to identify residents who can participate in areas such as:

• General Meetings featuring informative guest speakers and discussions relevant to sustainability in senior living communities
• Greening Our Campuses group to learn about emerging sustainability topics, review case studies, and hear in-depth updates from SSAFE Chapters during the Campus Spotlight presentations
• Energy Workgroup
• Reducing Plastics Workgroup
• Climate Friendly Dining Workgroup
• Landscaping for Biodiversity Workgroup
• Advocacy Advisory Group
• Leadership opportunities through the SSAFE Board of Directors
• Development and Fundraising Committee

Expectations of SSAFE Chapters

Chapter Leadership

Chapters are encouraged to identify a resident who can serve as the primary contact between the chapter and SSAFE national leadership. The Chapter Representative will be invited to monthly SSAFE Board of Director meetings as an observer.

Participation

SSAFE Chapters are encouraged to:

• Recruit residents to participate in SSAFE meetings and workgroups
• Identify residents who can serve as points of contact for sustainability topics aligned with local interests
• Share projects, ideas, and lessons learned with the broader SSAFE network
• Participate in national discussions and collaborative learning opportunities

Participation levels vary widely among chapters, and SSAFE strives to meet communities where they are.

Organizational Collaboration

Applicants should consider how sustainability-related groups, resident organizations, and existing committees within their community may connect with the SSAFE Chapter structure.

During the application process, communities may be asked to describe:

• Existing sustainability-related committees or organizations
• Relationships with resident associations or governance structures
• How the chapter envisions connecting with SSAFE nationally
• Areas where residents may participate in SSAFE workgroups or initiatives

Financial Support

SSAFE is funded primarily through donations from residents, chapters, and supporters.

While individual membership in SSAFE is free, chapters are encouraged to participate in annual fundraising efforts to support the organization’s operations and programming.

The current SSAFE annual operating budget for 2026 is approximately $200,000. To understand a reasonable fundraising target once the chapter is established, divide the annual budget by the current number of chapters. There is also:

• A $250 application fee
• A one-time onboarding fee of $1,000 due within three months of chapter acceptance

Communities Best Positioned for Success

Communities that thrive within SSAFE:

• Are nonprofit senior living communities
• Have residents already engaged in sustainability or climate-related efforts
• Have a core group of residents interested in leadership and participation
• Have an administration that supports resident involvement in community decision-making
• Value collaboration, peer learning, and long-term sustainability planning

Application Process:

Read the following steps before completing the online application form.

1. Register with SSAFE (FREE): At any time during the application process, ask all interested residents to register with SSAFE to receive our digital quarterly newsletter and occasional action alerts by clicking here to add your contact information. When individual residents register with SSAFE, it shows interest ahead of chapter approval. Once your chapter is approved, all registrations will be converted to full SSAFE members allowing each member to receive monthly meeting invitations.
2. Online Application: Fill out the SSAFE Chapter Application form online, see form to the right.
3. Application Fee: Paid staff and SSAFE Board volunteers will carefully consider each application. Because the application will use administrative hours, SSAFE asks for a $250 non-refundable application fee. Submit a payment using the Donation options. (Clicking this link will open a new browser tab.)
4. Committee Review: Once your application has been submitted, it will be reviewed by the SSAFE Expansion Committee. A decision will be made and communicated to the applicant within 4 weeks.
5. Committee Zoom Meeting: If the Expansion Committee would like to proceed with your application, they will contact you to arrange for a Zoom meeting with 2 or 3 resident representatives from your community.
6. Ambassador Visit: One or two SSAFE Ambassadors will arrange to visit your community to meet representatives and administration in person, tour the community, and answer any additional questions. SSAFE encourages you to visit a SSAFE Chapter community to learn more and gain a deeper understanding of SSAFE’s mission but it is not required for admission.
7. SSAFE Board Final Review: The SSAFE Board of Directors will review the application and the committee proposal to make a final determination of acceptance.
8. On-Boarding Donation: On-boarding a new chapter requires many hours of staff administrative work. If your organization is accepted, SSAFE asks for a $1000 onboarding donation (single paper check) within 3 months of your chapters acceptance. The onboarding check should be mailed to the address on our Donation page.
9. Onboarding: The SSAFE Executive Director will schedule a “Next Steps” meeting with the chapter representative. This meeting will cover several key topics, including plans for a community-wide “What is SSAFE?” Zoom presentation and guidance on how to access and navigate SSAFE’s resources, meetings, and ongoing activities.