Background

The YMCA is a worldwide organization with a 150-year history of serving communities. The YMCA of Southeast Missouri (SEMO) was established in 1995 and opened its first facility in 1998. In early 2009, it opened a modern new facility which includes an indoor pool, fitness center, indoor walking track and gymnasium. Renovations also began to upgrade the previously existing facility. The YMCA of SEMO currently offers 50 programs and events annually and has grown the club to approximately 5,400 members.

The YMCA of SEMO has not only invested in the facilities themselves, but has also incorporated technology that helps its facilities run smoothly. In 2007, it switched from YWare to Active Network’s hosted, web-based YMCA software solution. Since making the upgrade, YMCA of SEMO has gained better insight into every member and activity within the YMCA, as well as become more organized by automating daily functions.

Challenge

Prior to enlisting Active’s services, YMCA SEMO used internal YMCA software to manage operations. YWare was DOS® based, hard to learn and offered very limited support. To become a member or enter a program, people would have to visit the YMCA in person and fill out a paper application that could take 1-2 weeks to process. Staff spent valuable time on tedious data entry and, after all that work, had no real visibility into facility usage, member retention or revenue.

“We were working with an old, inflexible system,” commented Jeff Partridge, executive director of the YMCA of Southeast Missouri. “We expected our membership to triple when we opened the new facility and knew the YWare would not be able to accommodate that much growth.” YMCA SEMO needed a technology solution that would automate manual processes and centralize data. With a unified system that provided robust reporting tools, the organization could track member information and finances, gaining a deeper understanding of each element of the business and allowing them to better serve their community.

Solution

YMCA SEMO’s finance committee began researching technology solutions in 2007 and Jeff spoke with quite a few vendors at that year’s YMCA National Assembly conference. With the conversations underway, YMCA SEMO soon narrowed down their choices and invited their top vendors to perform onsite demos. Active Network ultimately was chosen because it offered the most affordable solution that included all of the tools the YMCA was looking for— member tracking, online automation, facility access control, and detailed financial tracking. As part of Active’s non-profit software, SEMO selected the Membership Management, League Scheduling, Activity Registration, Point-of-Sale and Child Care Management modules.

Implementation

The YMCA of SEMO chose to be trained on the new system virtually. Jeff and his staff participated in several conference calls and web sessions over multiple days, learning the ins and outs of the software. “It went well,” Jeff noted. “Active did a great job of training us thoroughly and quickly. We knew we had to get trained up fast because it wouldn’t be long before we had an influx of new members and we wanted to be ready.”

The YMCA sent out letters to their members, advising them of the software upgrade. The letters explained that the changes were being made to protect their membership and offer them more convenient options. With such clear communication, the members understood and were very positive—they were soon in the habit of bringing their membership cards to be scanned and were pleased with the more efficient administrative processes.

Results

The YMCA of SEMO’s new facility opened in February 2009 and in less than 18 months, membership grew from 1700 to 5400 people. The staff was trained and ready—they easily absorbed this increase with the help of automated systems. Here are a few of the best results that the YMCA has seen:

• Web-based technology shines through. Anyone can log in at anytime, anywhere—staff could help members simultaneously from any available computer. This kept lines short and members happy, especially during busy seasons.
• Revenue collection improves. Up to 70% of members now use the online membership payment option, which includes automatic renewal billing. YMCA SEMO can now collect revenue automatically and easily, without needing staff to follow up on lost or late payments.
• Reporting makes a difference. With unlimited reporting options, YMCA SEMO can track virtually anything. Stats on facility usage, membership retention, payment history and revenue streams pull accurate information in real-time. Jeff and his staff have insight into their YMCA that they’ve never had before.
• Support gets personal. When the YMCA had questions, they simply called Active’s support line to get answers. The support team is manned by real people who are product experts, ensuring that YMCA SEMO would have experienced knowledge available to them whenever they needed it.

“The biggest benefit has been how much time we’ve saved,” mentioned Jeff. “The membership registration process is instant, league rosters don’t have to be manually typed out, and our team doesn’t have to spend hours of time on data entry and filing.”

By taking a proactive approach to upgrading their YMCA software, YMCA SEMO has been able to grow its operations affordably and efficiently. There is more to come— YMCA SEMO is working on expanding its e-marketing efforts to communicate better with members, even participating in Active’s free webinars to get email tips and tricks. Jeff and his staff offer their members the best services and facilities possible, which explains the dramatic growth this YMCA has seen and will continue to see in the future.

“The biggest benefit has been how much time we’ve saved. The membership registration process is instant, league rosters don’t have to be manually typed out, and our team doesn’t have to spend hours of time on data entry and filing.”

Jeff Partridge
Executive Director, YMCA of Southeast Missouri