“Do not grow weary of doing good.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:13
Last week, I attended the quarterly meeting of our endowment investment committee. Carol Kowalski is doing a really good job facilitating the tremendous work of the volunteers serving on this committee. It is incredible to have such a high-level group of volunteers devoted to building an additional source of revenue for our association. Within just a few months, the committee has created a very strong return on the corpus initially invested, a tribute to their expertise. Over the past two and a half years, Carol has met with many long-time members who have a deep connection to our Y in an effort to cultivate their intentions to invest in our Y. She has secured many intentions for the YMCA endowment and over time, the corpus that the endowment investment committee will have to work with will reach into the millions. It is exciting to think about how the work Carol and the committee are doing will profoundly impact the future sustainability of our Y.
Though the work Carol is leading is a longer-term play for our association, it is a very important component of our sustainability strategy. Throughout the pandemic, we have been continuously exploring additional strategies to build upon our membership model. Currently, membership dollars are closing in on 40% of pre-COVID numbers and, at this point, we are projecting we will reach 60% by yearend. Initially, we projected membership would reach 75% by that time, but the impact of the virus continues to be formidable, slowing the return of our members back into our centers. Nevertheless, Brian Flattum and the operations team continue to devise new strategies to engage our members. Brian and his team have designed an operational roadmap that will expand services beginning July 1, which is the date the Governor has projected we will fully open our businesses. The plan increases our hours of operation as well as adds additional services our members have been wanting (such as Child Watch). Brian and the operations team have put our centers in a good position to best meet the increase in membership.
On June 11, during our Staying Connected call, Michael Marquez and the YMCA360 team will launch our association’s commitment to the new virtual platform. More and more Ys from around the country have joined the platform, which gives participants a unique opportunity to capitalize on the best the Y has to offer. Michael and his team of Bruce Caudill, Kim Schulz, Kenny Aye, and Annie Doyle will rally our association around the potential Y360 has, introducing a unique blend of an on-demand library of national and local services and an exciting schedule of live-streamed services from our own association as well as other associations. We have received guidance from the other Ys who launched before us, sharing that our success with this platform lies a great deal on how effectively we promote it. We see Y360 as an opportunity to strengthen our membership model by expanding the delivery of our services. The participating Ys are expressing excitement for the enthusiasm with which the platform is being received by their members; their excitement gives us hope as well.
There is one question we have yet to answer, though: Is there a capital investment we should consider that could generate an additional source of revenue? The Names Family Y will require significant capital to complete; at this point, it is more than we have available. For the Gordon Family Y sports field project, we have received strong interest from prospective donors, making that project more feasible for us. A few years ago, we conducted a market study to test the demand for outdoor fields. The results strongly indicated that having outdoor space would increase our membership base. We will meetwith these donors soon and are hopeful we can secure their commitment, thus enabling us to proceed with the project.
Whether it is the addition of staff to support the expansion of our operations, the rollout of a new virtual platform, or building outdoor space, the amount of funds we will utilize will be relatively conservative given we are able to secure donations for the field project. One question I have not answered yet is: Do we consider building an early learning center on the Mel Korum Family Y campus, replacing the two mobile units we are currently using. The project would cost $4 million to complete, which is the exact amount we received from the Payment Protection Plan. A number of people believe such an investment is too risky at this time, given the uncertainty in membership and our need for a safety net. I look at the success of our early learning center in University Place, which has reached capacity in four months, and see the same opportunity in Puyallup (where we currently have a waiting list). Ultimately, it is our board of director’s decision, but our approach continues to focus on exploring strategies that will enable us to expand our capacity as a YMCA.
I recognize the hill we are climbing remains steep, but your hard work is making a difference for our community, and for our association. You are the true heroes of our Y; you are amazing. Thank you for staying the course.
#StayStrong #StayWithUs