Executive Compensation at the YMCA (2020)

The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) is a worldwide (119 countries) organization based in Geneva, Switzerland (World Alliance of the YMCA). Within the United States, there are approximately 2,700 YMCA’s serving 10,000 communities that rely on the YMCA of the USA (that is also known as the National Council of YMCA’s of the USA) that in turn relies on The World Alliance of the YMCA).  In the most simplistic terms, the YMCA is organized as follows:

World Alliance of the YMCA

125 National Associations (including The YMCA of the USA/National Council of YMCA’s of the USA)

Alliances (typically geographic) and Local Chapters (including 2,700 YMCA’s in the USA)

In the USA, each local chapter is a separate 501 (c) (3) that files its own IRS Form 990, as is the YMCA of the USA, a national resource organizaition based in Chicago, Illinois  that seeks to strengthen local YMCA’s through grants and program services.

The YMCA of the USA is overseen by a board of 26 independent voting members. The Form 990 lists 32 board members (because of timing differences), 18 (56%) of whom are male while 14 (44%) are female.

The most recent IRS Form 990 (2020) for the YMCA of the USA reports the following key pieces of information with regards to compensation:

Annual revenue was about $118 million (compared to $140 million in 2019), most of which is derived from programs offered and contributions, gifts, and grants. Expenses totaled $126 million with the two largest expenses being grants ($49 million) followed by compensation ($37 million). Although the organization spent significantly more than they raised, these costs were offset by unrealized gains on assets which resulted in net assets being virtually unchanged at $130 million (compared to $132 million at year-end 2019.

310 employees received $37 million in compensation (compared to 407 employees receiving $46 million in  2019) which equates to an average compensation of $119,000 (compared to $113,000 in 2019). 144 individuals received more than $100,000 in compensation.

The 8 mostly highly compensated employees received $3.4 million (an average of $425,000):

• $793,640:  Kevin Washington, President and CEO
• $648,314:  Paul McEntire, EVP, Chief Operations Officer
• $439,857:  David Byrd, SVP, Movement Advancement
• $432,513:  Rebecca Bowen, EVP, Chief Advancement Officer
• $424,155:  Karyn Kirk, EVP and General Counsel
• $408,272:  Nancy L Owens, SVP and CFO
• $376,060:  Robert Denton, SVP, Chief Government Affairs Officer
• $375,105:  Shawn Borzelleri, SVP, Service Delivery Program Development Officer

Of the 8 most highly compensated employees, 4 are male while 4 are female.

Nearly $700,000 was paid in organizational dues (appears to be to the World Alliance of the YMCA).

60 independent contractors received more than $100,000 each with the five most highly compensated reported to be:

• $2,657,060:  VML, of Kansas City, MO for brand and customer experience
• $1,080,000:  Open Y, of Minneapolis, MN for Digital Transformation of YMCA’s
• $  994,368:  Praesidium, of Arlington, TX for child safety initiative
• $  761,807:  Crowe, of Chicago, IL for accounting and audit services
• $  655,491:  BAV Group, of New York, NY for brand strategy and consumer insights

To find out the executive compensation of an alliance or local YMCA, the specific IRS Form 990 must be consulted.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2020) for the YMCA of the USA, click here.