Hemorrhaging money, the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario’s Durham Street location in downtown Sudbury serves as the organization's “Achilles’ heel.”
“We are predicting over the next five years somewhere between a $700,000 to $720,000 loss just driven from this facility,” CEO Helen Francis told city council earlier this week.
“Yes, we have a beautiful 20-year-old facility, but many of those key assets within the facility need to be rehabilitated and renovated and in some cases replaced.”
In addition to this loss, they anticipate requiring a capital investment of $5.5 million over the next five years and an annual investment of $600,000 to keep the building, which includes a pool and various other community facilities, in a safe and operable condition.
“We think right now might be the right time for the two biggest partners to get back together to just re-imagine and make sure we’re doing this in the most efficient and effective and well-serving approach for our community.”
The YMCA co-owns the downtown Centre For Life building with the City of Greater Sudbury under a condominium corporation arrangement wherein each partner owns different areas.
Built approximately 20 years ago, the YMCA owns and operates space within the building that includes such facilities as a pool, recreational facilities and space to operate immigrant settlement services, youth programming and a day care.
“It’s certainly a location that not only our long-term residents within Sudbury feel comfortable in, but certainly newcomers to Sudbury are using as well,” Francis said, adding that the facility has maintained its aesthetic appeal.
Although their Durham Street location is in the financial red, Francis clarified that the balance of their operations is either balanced or netting a profit and would be able to offset approximately half of the Durham Street location’s shortfall.
“We just know that we still see a loss on the basis of our long-term sheet, and that is something that is not wise for us to continue to operate the way we are without being as proactive as possible.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is partially to blame for the severity of financial woes, with the organization reporting a $10-million decrease in revenue over the course of the past two years.
As it stands, membership has only reached 60 to 65 per cent of their pre-COVID levels.
While this certainly contributes to the current-day financial situation, Francis clarified that the pandemic only exasperated existing issues within the organization.
“Working together is the best way to have a collective impact and make all of our dollars stretch further and deliver the needs that the community has,” she said. “This is an opportunity as we come out of the pandemic to re-evaluate the needs of our community and make sure we’re utilizing the Centre For Life wisely.”
Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier and Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland invited Francis and her team to make this week’s presentation to city council.
“Not unlike a lot of organizations in the non-profit sector, they’re feeling the effects of COVID, so we have to take the opportunities to have those discussions,” Cormier told Sudbury.com, clarifying that he’s confident the city finds a way to help out, if not financially then by redefining the condominium corporation arrangement or improving the building’s use.
“It’s a critical place in our Centre For Life that welcomes newcomers, helps people on their feet if they’ve been unemployed,” McCausland said. “They have an awesome daycare for kids, youth programming, there’s the older adults centre there as well. That building is critical to downtown Sudbury and Greater Sudbury.”
During this week’s meeting, Mayor Brian Bigger also praised the YMCA as a “wonderful complement to the Junction East (library/art gallery) project that council is moving forward with. … I really think that these facilities in downtown are providing and will provide that variety of programming, and that’s what we need to draw people into the downtown.”
In addition to seeking help from the city in mapping a path toward financial viability, the YMCA is also engaging in public fundraising efforts.
The pandemic-era My Y Is Resilient campaign raised approximately $2 million and future fundraising efforts are currently being planned.
The Federal and provincial governments provided $650,000 toward renovating the Durham Street building’s elevators, and Francis reports Vale donating “a significant amount to allow us to have our gymnasium floor renovated … which allows us to attract a number of different leagues that wouldn’t normally use that space.”
More information on the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario’s fundraising efforts can be found by clicking here.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
