Dear Editor,
The Muncie Family YMCA welcomes anyone to apply for membership to our organization. More than 7,000 individuals from all walks of life belong to the Muncie Family YMCA. Corporate CEOs work out next to homeless men. Kids from Southside play basketball on the same team as kids from Yorktown. Preschoolers of all colors play together in the same classroom.
The YMCA is a not-for-profit organization. Almost all of our revenue comes from member dues or program fees. (The Muncie Family YMCA receives less than two percent of its operating revenue from the United Way.) Last year the Muncie Family YMCA provided over $135,000 in financial assistance so that low-income families would not be turned away. (Thanks go to hundreds of generous individuals in our community who make donations each year in our Invest in Youth Campaign.)
How would you define family when it comes to payment of dues? Here are some examples of the requests we have had at the YMCA:
Mother and her ex-husband with their children
Mother and grandmother with children from extended families
Mother and boyfriend with children from both adults
Mother with her child and a neighbor's child for whom she provides care
Blended families with children from all four adults
Four college students sharing the same household
All are examples of "families" that are welcomed at the YMCA, but how do you determine fairly which qualify for reduced family rates? In an effort to be non-judgmental and have a simple verification method, the Muncie Family YMCA has used IRS guidelines. If the U.S. government classifies a group of individuals as a family, then that is what we use. In addition, almost everyone has a "1040" they can use as verification.
The YMCA is responsive to community needs. As an example, the Board of Directors of the Muncie Family YMCA has made several changes in the past five years to modify our membership structure so as to benefit significant segments of our population. When policy changes are made, volunteers who live and work in our community do them.
Martin Fink
President & CEO
Muncie Family YMCA
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