Impact
The development of this new facility is necessary to retain existing Y members, recover memberships lost in recent years, and attract new paid membership units by meeting the latent demand for high quality fitness and child care centers in the Burlington market area – in total, paid membership units are projected to grow by 156% as a result of this project. The increase in revenue is necessary for the Y to continue to operate, retain its 253 current FTEs, and deliver services to the low income community; it will also allow the Y to expand certain services, including child care, for which there is a well-documented and growing need, and create 29 new FTEs.
Gap and Investment
The use of NMTC equity for the Y will help ensure the organization’s sustainability at a time when it is stretching to meet the needs of its community within the constraints of its current facility. Although the Y was successful in its capital campaign to secure philanthropic and grant contributions for this project, raising $2 million more than the original goal, the campaign was a large undertaking for the organization spanning over three years. The NMTC financing provides critical gap financing to permit the Y to expand and attract new, full-paying members. This is vital, as the business model for YMCAs depends on using revenues generated from paid membership to fuel mission-based programming.