The Minneapolis YWCA will close its longstanding fitness centers and pools in Uptown and Downtown to move away from health and fitness and focus on parenting, racial equality and youth programs.
YWCA officials said Thursday that two of the three fitness centers will be closed and sold on Nov. 1, and 112 employees, about a third of the workforce, will be laid off.
YWCA Midtown, located on E. Lake Street near Hiawatha Avenue, will continue to operate a pool and fitness center. Officials said they would “rethink” it as a community hub.
The YWCA closed its Otters and Masters swim teams on Tuesday, with more than 300 adult and youth swimmers scrambling to find new clubs.
The restructuring comes as the nonprofit faces declining membership, staffing shortages and rising costs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Like many nonprofits, we can’t afford to serve everyone,” said Sherry Carsen Watson, CEO of the Minneapolis YWCA, who will lead the Minneapolis YWCA from 2021. , go where it’s needed and where we make the most impact.”
The changes are part of a 10-year strategic plan that the Minneapolis YWCA has spent the last six months putting together, she said. She has one of the broadest programs among YWCA chapters in the country and that program needs to be cut, she added.
“It made sense for us to redouble our efforts in childhood, girls and adolescents. [programs] Carsen Watson said, “And we even got into racial justice and public policy. Now, where are our needs, where are our sweet spots, and where do we want to focus our time, attention and resources?” I understand why,” he said.
She said the health and fitness business “never recovered” after the pandemic and that the YWCA had to decide whether to continue.
“Even before the pandemic, it wasn’t very lucrative for us,” she said. “Many other YWCAs have pivoted away from the so-called ‘swim and gym’ model.”
YWCA Minneapolis could make millions from the sale of two buildings that have operated for decades in prominent locations in the city.
The 80,000-square-foot YWCA Uptown on Hennepin Avenue near W. Lake Street opened in 1987. His 120,000-square-foot YWCA Downtown, located on Nicollet Mall, which also houses administrative offices, first opened in 1929. The current building was built in 1976. Carsen Watson said the administrative staff could be fully remote or look for another office space near downtown.
Because YWCA Minneapolis is tax-exempt, property values are not listed in Hennepin County records. According to its 2022 federal tax return, the nonprofit lists its gross building assets at approximately $27 million.
YWCA Minneapolis has a total of approximately 350 employees. Of the 112 people who will be laid off by October, 12 are full-time employees and the rest are part-timers.
Optimization of YWCA
The pandemic has put financial pressure on many local nonprofits. With an annual budget of $18 million, the Minneapolis YWCA posted a $2 million deficit last year, the largest deficit in recent years, according to federal tax returns.
Carsen Watson said the YWCA’s latest financials for the fiscal year ending June 30 are still being finalized, but ended the year with a slight loss.
He said that while government aid provided during the pandemic has declined, spending has increased over the past three years for a variety of reasons, from rising labor costs for employees to the cost of buying food and renovating buildings. It is said that there is YWCA Minneapolis In 2020 he received a $2.5 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiveness loan.
The Minneapolis YWCA is also struggling to find enough staff during its so-called “great retirement.” Carsen Watson said there are 80 job openings at any one time. This is a familiar situation for many nonprofits in the Twin Cities, facing a growing labor shortage as employees face burnout and seek jobs with higher wages and better hours. .
The fitness industry is being reshaped by the pandemic. YWCA Minneapolis has about 3,000 members, down nearly 60% from 7,200 in 2019. More downtown employees are choosing to work from home, and many new apartments uptown are promoting their own fitness centers, Carzen Watson said.
As a result of these challenges, YWCA chapters across the country are trying to “right-size” and figure out what kind of vision they should have for a post-pandemic world, she said.
The same is true for the Northern YMCA based in the Twin Cities. In 2020, The Y closed fitness centers in downtown St. Paul, Reno Lakes and Prior Lakes. Last year, it closed Marsh in the Western metropolitan area and sold it to the city of Minnetonka, citing declining membership.
Twin Cities Y also canceled plans to build a boutique fitness facility in downtown St. Paul, citing a declining downtown workforce and lack of state aid. Y leaders said at the time that the organization was shifting away from its traditional site focus to broader community programs, including welfare and equity initiatives.
While the general public may associate the Minneapolis YWCA with fitness, Carsen Watson said the non-fitness programs are much bigger. It operates five early childcare centers, a workforce development program to train childcare workers, a racial justice program, and an after-school program for girls and adolescents. The Minneapolis YWCA also drives public policy at the State Capitol.
Carsen Watson said the closures and cuts will allow the Minneapolis YWCA to expand those programs. “We have a history of redirecting and refocusing our efforts to meet the current needs of our communities,” she said.
‘It’s a big loss’
The Minneapolis YWCA informed swimmers last Friday that it was ending its program. While the Masters program is an adult swim group, the Otters is a youth team that allows students to practice swimming year-round outside of the school season.
Rebecca French canceled her YWCA membership this week after hearing that her 12-year-old daughter, Hannah, was ending her five-year otter program.
“It was so sudden,” Hannah French said. “It’s really sad for everyone.”
The news came before the Minneapolis YWCA announced its closure, so several swimmers and parents told The Star Tribune they were puzzled as to why the program was being canceled.
“If that’s what they need to survive [financially], have understood. But they didn’t say it outright,” said Brian Elliott, the parent of the two swimmers, before the YWCA announced the building closure.
Elliot has been a member of the Minneapolis YWCA for 28 years, largely because of the swim program his sons have participated in. There wouldn’t be a Minneapolis-based swim club team currently targeting that age group, he said.
“It’s really important that kids have the opportunity to swim in the lake city of Minneapolis,” he said.
Gus Ludenick, 16, said he and other students would have to find a spot at a suburban swim club or a swim club at the University of Minnesota.
“Nobody expected it,” said South High School student Griffin Larson, who was on the Otters team. “It’s a real hit.”
Kim Ellison, a Minneapolis school board member and masters swimmer, said the program could allow students to use the school’s pool before classes begin. She said she took pleasure in swimming after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Even without a car, she said downtown her YWCA was accessible and close to home.
“I was dependent on it,” she said.
Jimmy Hawk moved to Minneapolis from Iowa a year ago to join the Masters team. Six days a week, he swam laps at the YWCA Minneapolis pool at 6 a.m., he said, not just for training, but for the community, celebrating each other’s wins and losses.
Now the team is scrambling to find another pool. But Hawke said pool space is limited in the Twin Cities and he fears it will be difficult to find an empty lane.
“It was a shocking event. This is a big loss,” Hawke said. “This program was the reason I became a member of his YWCA.”
