Nonprofits who serve individuals with disabilities will now have a broader footprint and a combined budget of $48 million
By Mary Beth Roach
The recent merger of ARISE Inc. and Exceptional Family Resources has leaders at the Syracuse-based organizations optimistic that combining the two agencies will allow them to more efficiently manage potentially reduced resources, expand access to government and funding opportunities, and increase public awareness.
Although the merger was announced in September 2024, it was just approved by the NYS Attorney General’s Office several weeks ago, according to Bruce Drake, chief executive officer.
ARISE-EFR, as it is presently being called, offers advocacy services and programs for individuals with disabilities, enabling them to have a greater sense of independence and participation in their community.
The two entities together have “a much larger area where we can inform and really help our communities to understand what it means to empower people with disabilities instead of just supporting people with disabilities. It’s really helping people to stand up for themselves and create that advocacy environment,” said Nina Lutz, chief program officer for the Living Center. ARISE is the designated Independent Living Center for Onondaga, Oswego, Madison and Cayuga counties.
The agency’s website, ariseinc.org, shows that it offers at least 30 programs, including accessibility, disability and aging services; advocacy; developmental and intellectual disability services; and recreation and art.
ARISE Inc. and EFR were both established in Syracuse in the 1970s, so this collaboration brings together nearly 100 years of service, along with a staff of 1,407 serving 24 counties, from Plattsburgh to Binghamton.
Drake pointed out that ARISE-EFR is also an approved facilitator for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program across all 62 counties in New York state. “In this role, ARISE-EFR supports Medicaid-eligible individuals to successfully navigate and access CDPAP, a home care program that empowers participants to recruit, hire, train, supervise and manage their own personal assistants to support daily living and personal care needs,” he explained.
Through programs funded and overseen by the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, “ARISE-EFR delivers services that empower people with developmental disabilities to live fuller, more independent lives,” Drake said.
While the organization provides some of its services throughout the state, he said that 85% to 90% of what they do is focused in Onondaga and Oswego counties, with some in Cayuga. Staff are in both the ARISE building on James Street and the EFR site on LeMoyne Avenue in Syracuse, as well as in Oswego, Fulton and Auburn.
The idea of bringing the two agencies together was borne from conversations between Drake, who had been with EFR, and Tania Anderson, then-CEO of ARISE.
“We started talking about how much more difficult things are becoming,” he explained. “There’s limited resources, there’s limited staff.”
Further discussions followed with the agencies’ boards about staff, finances, cultures and whether a merger made sense and then, too, with various funding organizations and program partners.
And now, while the merger might be complete and approved on paper, there are still a lot of moving parts to the process, such as rebranding and more staff training.
“With all the things going on with the merger, we wanted to wait to get a feel for who we are as a combined organization before picking a name,” Drake said. “We’re working with a consultant to come up with a new name that will represent who we are now as one big organization.” And while some of the names of the ARISE’s well-established programs, like ARISE and Ski and ARISE at the Farm, might change, Drake said their mission will remain the same.
Staff training continues to ensure that employees are aware of the extent of programming available to clients or potential clients. Hosting what Drake calls, “lunch and learn,” presentations on different programs are offered to employees. That about half of the organization’s board and staff are people who identify as having disability adds perspective and passion, he said.
Aside from the merger, the organization, so like many other nonprofits, is grappling with a degree of uncertainty about funding and how that impacts programming and staff retention and recruitment. ARISE-EFR’s 2026 budget is about $48 million, with most of it coming from Medicaid dollars and about $6 million to $7 million in grants.
“Funding remains the greatest uncertainty, but it is not the only challenge,” Drake said. “In recent months, we’ve seen enrollment caps placed on some programs, limiting the number of people we’re able to support. At the same time, broader systemic shifts — such as the transition to a single statewide fiscal intermediary within the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, along with federal changes affecting eligibility for certain services — are reshaping the landscape in which we operate.”
That uncertainty is only made more challenging with an increase in requests for services, as Lutz’s Independent Living Centers program is seeing.
Some people who are seeking services from grants connected to the government are concerned about reporting requirements, Lutz said.
As she explained, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid, but as she further said, “many of the programs in the department I oversee do not require Medicaid eligibility to receive support, so anyone who has a disability qualifies to receive assistance, regardless of their status. However, if people are afraid, they may not connect with us and go without needed support.”
And Lutz said they are taking in dozens of calls over the course of a month regarding affordable and accessible housing, which is made more difficult with the ongoing housing crisis.
As Drake, Lutz and their teams continue to navigate through the merger, Drake said their goal is to be the best service provider and employer in the area.
“Those are things that we focus on,” he said.