Care Growth vs A Place for Mom for senior living operators

Both bring families to your door. This page is about what happens after that: who owns the lead, how each one charges, and which fits your community.

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A Place for Mom is a referral service. Families use it for free, it gives them a list of communities, and the community pays a fee when a referred family moves in. Care Growth is a marketing partner. We build and run your website, search, ads and Google Business Profile, our team works every lead, and you keep all of it. We also charge a fee per move-in, with a 30-day move-out refund.

What is different after the family calls?

Difference
Who owns the pipeline.	The website, listings, ads and every lead are yours.	The family starts with their advisor, who gives them a list of communities. [1]
Shared leads.	A family who inquires is yours alone.	The family receives a list of options, so the same inquiry can go to several communities. [1]
How you pay.	A fee per move-in. Cheaper, with more ownership of what you pay for.	The community pays when a referred family moves in. Trade press puts it at about a month’s fees. [1, 2]
Where families come from.	Families come in every month from search, maps and ads.	Families who contact A Place for Mom and are matched to your community by an advisor. [1, 4]
Network.	One community or group at a time, working for you.	Over 15,000 senior living communities and home care agencies, by their own count. [1]
30-day move-out clause.	If a resident we brought in moves out within 30 days, we give that fee back.	Ask them for current terms.

Bracketed numbers point to the sources at the bottom of the page. A Place for Mom does not publish its fee, so ask them for current terms.

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When a referral service makes sense

You need move-ins soon and cannot fund marketing up front. A Place for Mom is paid by the community when a referred family moves in, and its guidance is free to families, so there is nothing to spend until a resident arrives. [1]

You want reach you could not buy on your own. The company says its network is the largest of its kind in the US, with over 15,000 communities and home care agencies, and families who call it are already looking. [1]

You have open rooms and a team that can tour quickly. The same family may be touring other communities on the same list, so the community that answers first and tours well tends to win.

When owning your marketing makes sense

You want the family relationship and the data. With Care Growth the website, the Google Business Profile, the ads and every inquiry belong to you, and our lead handling team calls, qualifies and books the tour onto your calendar. Nobody else gets that family.

You want families every month, not when a referral happens to land. Paid ads, search and maps bring in families on a schedule you can plan around, and you see the cost per move-in in one place.

You run more than one building. For a senior living group, a per-move-in fee on a shared referral adds up across sites, while an owned system compounds. An assisted living community with one building can get there too. We charge a fee per move-in as well, and if that resident moves out within 30 days we give it back.

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Questions operators ask about A Place for Mom

How does A Place for Mom charge senior living communities?

Its own site says it is paid by participating communities when a family it refers moves in, and that its service is free to families. Senior Housing News describes the fee as about a month’s fees for a successful placement. Ask them for current terms.

Does Care Growth also charge a fee per move-in?

Yes. We charge a fee per move-in, and if a resident we brought in moves out within 30 days we give that fee back. The difference is what you own at the end: the website, the listings, the ads and every lead stay yours.

Can a community use both?

Yes, and many do. The question is which one you depend on. A referral network can fill a room this month. Owned marketing is what brings families in next month without a new fee on every one of them.

Who owns the lead when a family comes through Care Growth?

You do. The family found your website, your Google Business Profile or your ad, and our lead handling team works that inquiry for you alone. Nothing is shared with another community.

Is A Place for Mom a bad choice for operators?

No. It is a legitimate option that puts a community in front of families who are already looking, and it costs nothing until a family moves in. This page is about which model fits your community, not whether one is wrong.

What does a free audit cover?

A 20-minute call where we look at where your inquiries come from today, how fast they get answered, and what owning that pipeline would look like for your community. Start on the contact page.

Get a free growth audit All the questions operators ask

Sources

Want to see what owning your pipeline would look like?

Book a free 20-minute audit. We’ll look at where your inquiries come from today and what we would change.

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