Established 1896
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit owned by the Grand Lodge of California, IOOF, holding two retirement communities in trust for the members of the Order and the residents who call them home.
Our purpose
The Odd Fellows Home of California exists to fulfill a promise our predecessors made in 1896 — that the Order would always care for its aging members. That promise is older than the state highway system, older than the automobile, older than the discovery of antibiotics. Through every generation since, the Order has renewed it.
Today the OFHC is a California-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation. We own and operate two continuing care retirement communities — Saratoga Retirement Community in Santa Clara County and The Meadows of Napa Valley in Wine Country. Our Board of Directors is elected by the Grand Lodge of California and the Rebekah Assembly, with at-large members drawn from law, accounting, medicine, and finance. Our duty is to the members of the Order who place their trust in us, to the residents who live in our communities, and to those who will live there twenty-five, fifty, and a hundred years from now.
Our communities
Santa Clara County
Founded in 1912 on a thirty-seven-acre Mediterranean campus at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Saratoga has been the Order's flagship retirement home for over a century. A $101.7 million master-plan expansion, now underway, is modernizing the historic campus for the next generation of residents.
Napa Valley
Acquired in 1992 and developed into a full continuing-care retirement community over two decades of phased construction, The Meadows offers a resort-style campus nestled in the heart of Wine Country. Three onsite restaurants, a full continuum of healthcare, and one of the most beautiful settings in California.
A history older than the state itself, almost
The story begins in 1886 with three Odd Fellows and a dream of a thriving agricultural colony along the Feather River. The colony foundered, and in 1895 the founders donated its half-finished hotel to the Order. Within a year, the IOOF had completed the building as the first Odd Fellows Home in California — opening with sixty-nine residents in 1896. Through fires, financial crises, and the rebuilding of an entire facility in Saratoga in 1913, the Order has never broken faith with its elder members.
Stewardship
In 2025, the OFHC entered a new chapter of operational stewardship with Transforming Age, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in the Pacific Northwest. With seven decades of history, fifty-five communities across the country, and a mission aligned with our own, Transforming Age now manages the day-to-day operation of both campuses on behalf of the Board.
Our communities have always required stewards of long horizons — boards and managers who think in decades, not quarters. We believe Transforming Age is the right partner for the next generation of residents.
For Odd Fellows and Rebekahs in need
The Member Assistance Program is available to California Odd Fellows and Rebekahs facing financial hardship. It is a need-based fund, applicant identities are kept confidential, and it most commonly assists members with the necessities of housing and healthcare. On a case-by-case basis, the fund will consider other applications based on the level of financial need.
For members of the Order
Fifteen voting directors and two non-voting resident representatives serve the Odd Fellows Home of California — elected by the Grand Lodge, the Rebekah Assembly, and (for resident members) the communities themselves.