Pittsfield YMCA Planning Major Changes In Operations
CEO Randy Kinnas outlined the new strategic plan on Thursday in a meeting with community leaders. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Y is completely revamping that way it operates.
The Pittsfield Family YMCA presented a new strategic plan Thursday that calls for dramatically changing how they handle finances, recruit and retain employees and leaders, change the perspective the community has, collaborate with other agencies and embark on a capital project on its facilities.
"The status quo is not an option," CEO Randy Kinnas said at a presentation in their auditorium.
The organization treaded water for two years following the 2008 economic recession and was in "crisis mode" just trying to keep up with the bills.
But in the last two years, officials found themselves in the black and began the process of developing a new strategic plan for future stability.
This time, instead of simply asking the board of directors, they went out into the community to get the widest range of opinions they could. The organization interviewed 31 community leaders and ran surveys that yielded more than 200 results. They gained almost 100 pages of opinions on the organization and what they read was a tough pill to swallow.
"A lot of the data was difficult to hear," Kinnas said.
Kinnas said the majority of the responses said the Y was only "a gym and swim" filled with "creepy people" who make it so others didn't feel welcome. For an organization who focuses on trying to build community, the residents didn't feel the Y didn't have a community feel at all.
But they didn't know about the scholarships they provide, the early education services, the youth sports or the stories of how the housing aspect has helped people among an array of programs the Pittsfield Family Y offers.
"The Y is not just a gym and swim. We impact lives," Kinnas said after telling a story of a man who came into the housing program after falling on hard times, was later hired to work there and is now in nursing school.
He added that, "we're seen but not known."
That's going to change.
The Y is going to be revamping its programing to create a "Y without walls." The organization will going out into the community to partner with other organizations and run programs outside as well as inside the facility.
It'll be taking a "lead role" in seeking out programs and services that can benefit the community as well as finding other groups to partner with to bring those services to the people. The Y is revamping marketing plans as well to let the community know that it isn't the "gym and swim" everybody thinks and that it has a lot more to offer.
The surveys also showed the need for youth programming and the Y will be incorporating new initiatives for that age bracket. But, they will continue trying to reach every age group.
"We heard loud and clear that youth and teen programming is a need," Kinnas said. "And we want to stick to our mission 'for all.'"
Going out to meet the communities needs rather than bringing them in could even mean moving out of the building they've been in for 120 years. Kinnas said the historic North Street location will need capital improvements on the inside and the organization will be planning for that. But they would consider moving into a different location.
"Our first goal is staying in this building," Kinnas said. "But if something comes up, we'll entertain that thought with the focus of staying downtown."
Revamping the building or building new will also help making people feel more welcomed there.
The Y also has 44 rooms in its transitional housing program, which could be eliminated or changed. The Board of Directors will be considering if the housing program is still needed or if it should be a different type. The housing contract expires in 2017, so any changes to that are being considered now.
"We need to decide what we are going to do with that. We're going to find out if there is still a need," Kinnas said.
And with all of the potential changes, the group is going to focus on staff development and changing the staff structure to make sure they have and train the best employees they can. This too will help the programs run more efficiently and deliver better service, he said.
But all of these changes are going to require a significant amount of money. The group will be changing that, too. Already it has given up putting on the annual Wing Fling because it didn't meet new goals but officials are looking to bring in professionals to handle the annual campaign, special fundraising events and apply for grant funding.
"The plan requires a significant investment of resources," Kinnas said. "We want to have someone dedicated to our annual campaign and dedicated to grant writing."
Those five areas — financial stability, talent management, communication, facilities and collaboration — have been identified in the new plan and from now until 2015, the organization will be developing detailed changes to implement what they want.
In all, Kinnas said they don't want to become something they're not, they just want to become better and stick to their mission statement of "by focusing on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, we strive to strengthen our community to create a quality of life for all to thrive."
Tags: community program, family programming, nonprofits, YMCA,
