In a Competitive Fitness Industry, the YMCA Pushes to Give More
The fitness industry in the United States has grown exponentially over the last ten years, with the number of gyms and clubs reaching a staggering 38,477 as of this year. The revenue generated by the industry has reached $30 billion/year, growing at a rate of 4% year on year. Some good reasons for this growth in revenue are improved gym processes thanks to automated gym management software, as well as relentless marketing and advertising. Gyms are doing all that they can to make customers feel like they belong in their gym and paying money to stay there.
Outside of the circle of commercial gyms, however, sits the YMCA. This nonprofit facility was built to encourage fitness on the path to having “a healthy moral spirit”. Unlike the others, the YMCA has gone in the opposite direction. They are not giving money to advertisers to grow their membership. Instead, they are putting their money where their hearts have always been; becoming the best charity in America.
Charity In Tough Times
Beyond the popular “swim and gym” it is known for, the YMCA serves millions of people in need every year. In places like Buck County, the YMCA run by Tricia Feinthel regularly serves 60,000 people, giving subsidized memberships, financial aid to struggling adults, babysitting services, and free meals to thousands of children. They are currently on a crusade to raise $20 million to give more financial assistance and improve its facilities to serve people better. So far, they have received $16.5 million.
According to Charity Navigator, the National Council of the YMCAs of the USA was the recipient of gifts, grants, and donations to the tune of $29,159,917, as well as government grants worth $5,206,296. But even with those impressive figures, things are still difficult. Revenue is dropping as certain Y’s experience a decline in memberships, and the facilities available to members require upgrades. However, even as memberships have declined in the YMCA, they have increased everywhere else; with commercial gyms getting 62.5 million memberships in 2018.
History of the YMCA
This charitable ideal comes from the YMCA’s English roots. It was established in London by George Williams in 1844. A farmer who was also a protestant evangelist, Williams pulled the city’s young men off the streets and gave them a refuge of Bible study and prayer. He also had them offer charitable work – giving out clothes or coal to the less fortunate. Williams called his group the Young Men’s Christian Association. This group spread to the United States and has since gone to open 2700 facilities. The YMCA underwent a rebranding and became the Y in 2010.
Each of these facilities puts in the best work possible in order to meet their communities’ needs, from issues of mentorship in the communities to bridging divides where they might exist. Making a difference in their communities seems to be what is most important to them, even in the face of dwindling memberships.
Changing With The Times
However, those memberships are important because of the good the funds raised would do for the community. Therefore, many Ys across the country are working to become more accessible to potential members so that they can also put a charitable tap into the increased stream of people entering the fitness industry.
For instance, Buck County’s Y will be redeveloping its facility in Doylestown from next month to serve better, offering bigger gyms and larger spaces for specialized exercise like yoga and spin studios. Still dependent on charitable donations, the chief development officer of the county’s Y, Debbie Sontupe, says they have been well supported by the community. Their redevelopment campaign has been supported companies like Penn Color, Fred Beans the auto dealership, the Danaher Lynch Family Foundation, NovaCare Rehabilitation, as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The county has given Buck County’s Y as much as $20 million, free of tax, in order to renovate its facilities and to offset existing debts. The CEO of Buck County’s Y, Feinthel, believes that these changes are a marked jump from what the Y is coming from, as it has typically been wary about imitating commercial gyms. But at the end of the day, they make these changes so they can do what is most important; serve the community better.
