The Los Angeles-area chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is splitting from the national organization, the latest in a string of departures that could impact the national group’s bottom line.
The chapter, which covers Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, announced its decision Thursday to separate and form its own organization. Chapters in San Diego and Orange County, California announced similar plans late last year, as did chapters in New York City and New Jersey.
The departures come after the Alzheimer’s Association voted last fall to consolidate into one national organization that will centrally manage the funds and programs for people living with the disease throughout the United States.
Currently, local chapters are affiliated with the umbrella national group and help fund its operations and research. But they are independent nonprofits that keep about 60 percent of the money they raise and largely set their own priorities on how to spend it. Under the new structure, the Chicago-based national headquarters will be the only legal entity of the Alzheimer’s Association.
The Los Angeles-area chapter decided to go out on its own because of concerns that the consolidation would take away local flexibility and make it harder to provide services tailored to the diverse population of Southern California, said Susan Galeas, president and CEO of the new organization, known as Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles.