There are basically 2 types of villages: “grassroots” (also known as “bottom-up”) and “top-down”.
Nationwide, the majority of villages are “grassroots/bottom-up”—-like the original village, Beacon Hill Village. Bottom-up villages are founded by ordinary people who decide they want to have a village in their community. Bottom-up/grassroots villages are run by a Board of Directors that is elected by and answerable to the village members.
There are also “top-down” villages, which were started by a social service agency, a CCRC or a government agency. Top-down villages are programs of the parent nonprofit, sit on the parent organization’s 501c3, and are controlled and governed by the parent organization’s Board of Directors. Although village members may be asked to be on an “advisory group,” their feedback/requests are not legally binding.
