How the YMCA Spends Revenue (2022)

If you gave $100 to the YMCA in 2022, how was that $100 spent? The answer depends on whether the donation was made to one of the local chapters (there are about 2,650 in the US) or to the YMCA of the USA (which is legally known as the National Council of YMCA’s of the USA – and is the parent organization in the US – that seeks to strengthen local YMCA”s through grants and program support) or the World Alliance of the YMCA (the parent organization of the 120 countries in the world that have YMCA’s), based in Geneva, Switzerland.  For the purposes of this post, let’s assume the donation was made to the YMCA of the USA (because each of those local chapters is a separate 501 (c) 3 that files its own IRS Form 990 so the question could have 2,650 different answers).

The short answer is that $43 out of every $100 was spent on staff and organization expenses while $65 out of every $100 was spent on grants and fees for services that primarily supported program services (note: the organization spent more than they received in 2022).

The YMCA of the USA is overseen by 26 independent voting members of its governing body although 36 are listed on the 2022 Form 990.  13 of the 36 (36%) are female while 23 of the 36 (64%) are male (note:  The Form 990 does not report gender; determinations were made based on name and google searches and are presented to show if the board is diversified).

In 2022, the YMCA of the USA reported total revenue of $119 million (compared to $145 million in 2021, $118 million in 2020 and  $137 million in 2019) – an 18% decrease from 2021 due primarily to lower contributions (that were partially offset by higher program revenue).   Most revenue came from four sources:

• $36 million (% of revenue):  Contributions, Gifts, and Non-Government Grants
• $72 million (% of revenue):  Programs (Social Responsibility, Youth Development, Healthy Living)
• $ 6 million (% of revenue):  Government Grants
• $ 5 million (% of revenue):  Investment/Gains and Other Sources

Expenses totaled $129 million (not including $2 million in depreciation) and can be categorized as follows:

• $47 million (39% of revenue):  Grants
• $32 million (27% of revenue):  Compensation
• $31 million (26% of revenue):  Fees for Services (primarily training partners and program assistance)
• $10 million (8% of revenue):  Office-Related Expenses
• $ 5 million (4% of revenue):  Travel and Conferences
• $ 3 million (3% of revenue):  Advertising and Promotion
• $ 1 million (1% of revenue):  Other (organization dues, interest, etc)

Using the above information, every $100 in revenue was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 27:  Compensation

-$  8:  Office-Related Expenses

-$  4:  Travel and Conferences

-$  3:  Advertising and Promotion

-$  1:  Other Expenses

-$ 43:  Subtotal Expenses

  $ 57:  Revenue Remaining

-$ 26:  Fees for Services

-$ 39:  Grants

-$ 65: Subtotal: Fees for Services and Grants

-$ 08:  Excess Expenses over Revenue

As illustrated above, the YMCA spent $108 for every $100 in revenue, relying on net assets to cover the shortfall.  $43 out of every $100 was spent on compensation, office, travel and conferences, advertising and other expenses while $26 out of every $100 was spent on fees for outside services (primarily for program support).  $39 out of every $100 was spent on grants, primarily to other YMCA’s for program support.

The 3 largest expenses were grants, compensation and fees for services:  $92 out of every $100 was spent on these 3 expenses in 2022.

The largest expense is for grants. $47 million in 2022 (compared to $23 million in 2021 and $49 million in 2020) or 39% of revenue. $44 million domestically and $3 million overseas. Grants were primarily provided to YMCA”s or affiliated members of the World Alliance of the YMCA. 510 grants greater than $5,000 were awarded to YMCA’s in the US, primarily for program support.

208 employees (compared to 194 in 2021 and 310 in 2020) received $32 million,  which equates to an average compensation of $154,000 (compared to $144,000 in 2021).  However, only 96 employees received more than $100,000 with the most highly compensated employee reported to be Suzanne McCormick, President and CEO who received $739,229 in compensation in 2022.

Fees for services from outside vendors was the third largest expense at $31 million – most of which was spent on service training partners and tech assistance for various programs.

The YMCA of the USA had $152 million in net assets at the end of 2022 (compared to $186 million in 2021 and $130 million in 2020) primarily because the organization spent about $12 million more than they raised and because they posted $22 million in net unrealizable losses on investments in 2022.

In summary, the YMCA of the USA has experienced a yo-yo in revenue over the past 4 years:  $119 million, $145 million, $118 million, and $137 million in 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.  In response, staff cuts were made (there were 208 employees in 2022 and 194 employees in 2021 compared to 310 employees in 2020 and 407 employees in 2019) although average compensation increased (from $113,000 to $154,000) because compensation costs did not decrease as much as staff cuts (compensation decreased from $46 million in 2019 to $37 million in 2020 to $28 million in 2021 and then increased to $32 million in 2022).

$51 million (or $43 out of every $100) was spent on compensation for employees, office-related expenses, travel and conferences, advertising, and other expenses; while $78 million (or $65 out of every $100) was spent on grants and fees for services (primarily training partners and program assistance).

The YMCA of the USA spent $108 for every $100 received which amounted to spending about $12 million more than the organization received in 2022.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2022), click here.