Q & A with YMCA CEO Shaun Elliott
POTTSTOWN » Shaun Elliott, the CEO of Philadelphia-Freedom Valley YMCA, responded to a set of questions emailed to him on March 30.
Here are the questions we asked and how he answered them.
Question: Is it true that the Pottstown YMCA has conducted no site-specific fundraiser since 2007? If not, when was the last fundraiser? If true, why has there been no community fundraiser been held (i.e. golf outing, Stepping Out as was done in the past)? The 2016 IRS form 990 for 2016 indicates 16 fundraising events that year. Were any of them to benefit Pottstown? Answer: We run an annual campaign each year. You can see each year’s total fundraising for the Pottstown branch under the “Contributions” in the 5 year financial history. The total is $1,190,786 over the last 5 years, with last year’s total at $284,881.
Question: According to the “Pottstown YMCA 5-Year Financials” spread sheet provided to the task force charged with making recommendations, the Pottstown site has an operating deficit of about $700,000 annually. Not spelled out in those materials, however, is that the administrative overhead and Intra Y fund charges, according to the internal Pottstown spread sheet, adds up to $676,061 in the 2017 budget. Don Smale told me he asked you that question at Tuesday’s task force meeting and you confirmed that the chargeback to Pottstown is about $700,000 per year. Is this accurate? What does Pottstown receive from the regional Y in exchange for paying that fee?
Answer: There are a number of costs allocated to all branches for IT (computer systems, software, network), human resources, accounting and finance, facilities, day camp, child care. You can see all of the amounts in the 5 year financial history
Question: According to the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA’s IRS Form 990, the regional YMCA earned $5.3 million in revenues versus expenses. How does this not conflict with the YMCA’s status as a “non-profit” organization?
Answer: The Y has to operate at a surplus in order to cover the capital costs of its buildings which includes capital/infrastructure like new roofs, HVAC, pool systems, major repairs, etc. Each year varies but the Y needs about $4 million per year to maintain all of its facilities. The average age of our buildings is 27 years. Any amounts over the capital needs go to new initiatives/facilities like we did with Camp Speers (overnight camp for kids) a few years ago.
Question: Was any of the $19.4 million in cashon-hand the 990 shows as being available in 2016 used to help address some of the capital needs at the Pottstown building? If so, how much?
Answer: The cash-onhand money to which you refer is going to the new Willow Grove facility that is replacing the Abington and Hatboro branches that we are closing. The site work for this facility has just been completed and construction is to start. We are running a capital campaign for this new facility as the cost is well over the $19 million cashon-hand. You may wish to note that we carry $48 million in debt that is part of the source of our capital for our Y, along with fundraising and any surplus.
Question: The 990 form also indicates total net assets and fund balances at $110 million in 2016, a $6 million increase over the previous year. Is any of that fund available to help address some of the capital needs at the Pottstown building? How much, if any, has been used to address capital needs at the Pottstown building?
Answer: Fund balances are an accounting terminology used on the balance sheet of organizations including the Y. The fund balances and net assets represent an accumulation of operations over the years that include the original cost of buildings less depreciation plus any capital investment in the facilities less debt and are not actual cash.
Question: How many people from Pottstown or the original Pottstown YMCA board are on the current board of directors?
Answer: We have nine members on our Board of Directors who were from the former Freedom Valley YMCA, including one from Pottstown.
Question: Who is the Y board member from Pottstown?
Answer: Mark Exley is the board member. His board term expires this month.