“Do not be afraid, you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace, you will not be humiliated.” – Isaiah 54:4
This past weekend, I was reviewing the latest update of the Washington State Road to Recovery dashboard. Yes, I look at the dashboard, and read the local and national news reporting the most recent trends with respect to the virus. THE LATEST NEWS IS FAVORABLE:
- Trend in hospital admission rate: in our region, it was declining by more than the 10% metric (16%)
- Percent ICU occupancy: in our region, it has fallen below the 90% metric (84%)
- Percent positivity: in our region, it is below the 10% metric (9%)
- Trend in case rate: in our region, there is a 4% increase
Satisfying three of the four metrics enables us to continue in phase 2. Unfortunately, Kitsap County remains in phase 1. The restrictions (25% capacity and the mask mandate) are still tight and limit use, but as Brian Flattum (Vice President and Chief Operating Officer) will say, “at least we have something to work with.”
This positive news is highlighted by the growing number of people receiving the vaccine. It has clearly been the topic of conversation in our community centers; you can feel the excitement, and THE RELIEF, from the community (it is palpable) by the reflection of much higher use of our centers, as well as a reported increase in membership account activations and new joins. (Yes, new members are coming in – how great is that!) At this point, I cannot report the actual numbers because we are still transitioning to our new membership software (though we are actually through the most difficult period). Bruce Caudill (Vice President and Chief Information Officer) and his team worked long hours to field the hundreds of questions from frontline staff to facilitate as positive an experience as possible, and Tara Bywater (Association Member Experience and Operations Director) and her team worked furiously to “catch up,” making over 1,200 manual adjustments to member accounts. Many staff spent long hours working on this transition, and it was not easy. Thank you all for your commitment to seeing this through; IT WAS A MONUMENTAL EFFORT. Because of everyone’s effort, we have a new software platform that is going to put us in a position to do things we have never before been able to do, and we will be much more sophisticated in our ability to operate as an organization. This is very significant for our Y.
We will know the current membership numbers early this week, but by all accounts, the numbers are increasing. We believe the starting point for February was 15,100 units, but that is not exactly clear due to the timing of the transition. Nevertheless, we do know the numbers we need to propel us forward are closer to 23,000 units, a number that seems far away given the safety guidelines and the community’s comfort level. Last week, Brian and I had some intense conversations about the rate of membership growth and what we felt was necessary, but also practical. Brian makes sure he and I are in alignment, as we have throughout the pandemic. In fact, Brian has done an excellent job keeping our entire association aligned and focused on one goal: to rebuild our Y. Brian has been a difference-maker for our Y. On this occasion, the discussion got fiery. We had reached a place where practical collided with necessity.
This is not to say that Brian wants to be practical – quite the contrary. He leans toward being more aggressive, but the big question is: will being aggressive translate to the needed increase? Being aggressive means more services, which means added cost, but it is not just the expense, it is the question of what the guidelines will allow us to do. We are already pushing the limits of our community centers. Do we expand the hours of operation? Brian and I have been discussing the opportunity to develop our outdoor services to improve upon on the tents we used, which were somewhat effective when they were the only option. The restaurant industry is “doubling down” by investing in outdoor premises. Brian is planning to develop a couple of pilot sites for the spring. I, for one, believe outdoor activities are here to stay, and it is incumbent upon us to move forward on developing a prototype that will be effective in our climate.
This is a very challenging time for us; we are racing against the elements. If we only increase our membership incrementally, we will run a significant deficit by year-end. We celebrated when Toko Thompson (Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) reported that we did not have to borrow a single dollar in 2020, but we understood it was the great work of Jessie Palmer (Senior Association Development Director) to secure two grants in November and December that helped put us in that position. Our financial development team of Carol Kowalski (Director of Planned Giving), Jessie, Toby Roberts (Director of Philanthropy), and Kristy Kunkle (Donor Database Manager) has taken this as a call to action to “fill the gap” for our Y. They are really rising to the occasion, and we are closing in on $600,000 raised to date. There are a number of staff from around the association who have been leaning in to help the cause, including Steve Triller (Executive Director, Tom Taylor Family YMCA), Harold Shea (Executive Director, Haselwood and Bremerton Family YMCAs), and Scotty Jackson (Executive Director, YMCA Camp Seymour), just to mention a few. The financial development team is working to develop a comprehensive strategy that will rally our community to support our Y in this time. We paused on hiring another full-time director of philanthropy, choosing to move forward with just the part-time positions of data entry specialist (to support Kristy) and grant writer (to support Jessie). We are also moving forward with the contracted position, which will coordinate the integration of Raiser’s Edge donor information into Salesforce. We are excited to announce that Sarah Homan has agreed to take on this responsibility. With Sarah’s history of working in financial development, she is perfectly suited to lead this effort. We are projecting this project will require six months to complete. It will be extremely beneficial and much more efficient to have our fundraising software integrated into our membership software, not to mention the cost savings.
Child Care and the Early Learning Center are the third arm of our revenue-producing efforts. The Early Learning Center is tracking ahead of our initial projections, as is school-aged enrollment. Staying in step with the school districts has not been easy, but the team has been amazing in its ability to adapt. The numbers should grow as the schools continue to reopen and the community’s confidence grows. The character of the childcare team has earned respect and confidence from school districts and families. This is no small point; by staying the course and serving youth and families throughout this crisis, the team has made a powerful statement: “WE ARE HERE AND WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY.” Thank you, team Child Care; your effort has been heroic.
I am extremely proud of what our Y has accomplished. We have been able to do it by staying focused on one goal – rebuilding our engine – enabling us to play a significant role in rebuilding our community. It was inspiring to hear Susan Buell (Association Director of Health Initiatives) and Janele Nelson (Association Mission Director) share about the impact the Community Café is having in the lives of vulnerable populations. The Café is connecting people from Ys across the state of Washington, an example of the enormous possibilities that can be generated through the use of the virtual platform. Last week, Ronn McMahon (CEO of the YMCA of Greater Wichita) shared that over 25,000 people in the Wichita service area were using the YMCA360 app after launching it only three weeks earlier. Ronn shared how people were excited to take advantage of the access to services from over 30 Ys across the country. He added, “This is just the beginning.” Members in Atlanta will want to take classes offered by our world-class arts team, or from our gymnastics team, or from our outdoor environmental education experts. Connecting Ys across the country and capitalizing on our collective strengths will be a big advantage for us. It is just another part of our overall strategy to rebuild our Y. With Salesforce now operational, it will not be too much longer that we, too, can launch YMCA360.
I am very confident about the direction we are heading. I do believe more and more people will want to access our services. In addition, as more and more people receive the vaccine, metrics will continue to trend favorably, even with the possibility of a variant strain of the virus. As a team, we will continue to grapple with predicting our future. This is necessary. Recently, Steve Triller recommended the book “Think Again” by Adam Grant to me. I started it and got excited right away. The author talks about the culture needed in these uncertain times, one of curiosity and unlearning. This quote jumped off the page: “Argue as if you are right, but listen as if you are wrong.” He challenges us to rethink everything, be humble in our convictions, and welcome challenges to our convictions. Thank you, Steve, for the recommendation, and thank you, Brian, for challenging my convictions. As Adam Grant contends, we need to be courageous now more than ever. I look around and I see plenty of that. Thank you all for your courage; because of your determination, I know we will reach the mountaintop.
#StayStrong #StayWithUs