Investing in Our Future!
When you give to the Y, you invest in our youth, our community, our future. Every day the Y uses your gift to make a meaningful and enduring impact in the lives of our youth, families and seniors who look to us for a secure environment to learn, grow, and thrive.
Mothers like Sharon Hunt, turn to the Y to find strong mentors and good friends for their children.
Sharon started bringing her two sons to the Springfield Y when they were just young boys. Her love
of the Y led her to working in the Downtown Youth and Child Watch Centers. She has been watching over our littlest members for nearly 12 years. Her son, Gary, is currently attending Notre Dame University on an academic scholarship.
“My boys started in the Y swimming program until they couldn’t take any more classes. They did karate, soccer and basketball. Their father died when they were young and the Y gave them structure and rules. It gave them a backbone. The Y gave them mentors to look up to and talk to. It kept them on a narrow path! The people I work with have always been there to help me and my kids. My son would tell you the Y is something really great. It kept him out of trouble. The Y gave him something to do, a way to meet up with friends and a way to meet new people. Gary has worked in the Youth Center and Child Watch, too. He even worked for a Y camp in Chicago and loved it.”
How Do I Give?
We count on the generosity of our members, friends and partners to keep our doors open to whoever needs a place to go to help them be more healthy, confident, connected and secure. At the Springfield YMCA, one in four people who walk through our doors receive some amount of financial assistance to help pay for membership or programs. We are proud of this, but need your help to continue to serve our community. If you would like more information on our annual community report, please view our annual report, or contact Jane Frech, Director of Financial Development at 217-544-9846, ext. 116 or jfrech@springfieldymca.org.
Strong Kids Initiative
Every spring, the Y kicks off its annual giving campaign: The Strong Kids Initiative. When you give to Strong Kids, you build people up and move families forward. In 2011, the Y provided over $285,000 of assistance to individuals and families for memberships and programs at the Y.
One hundred percent of all dollars raised during the May 2 to June 6, 2012, giving drive will go to our Strong Kids scholarship program. Give online today or call Jane to set up an annual payment plan.
Throughout the year, the Y has many fun events to raise funds for our Strong Kids
Scholarships:
2012 Strong Kids Brochure and Pledge Form!
Annual Golf For Kids: Friday, September 7, 2012
Annual Online Auction: November 23-December 5, 2012
We love to hear stories of how the Y has made an impact on your life. Please share your story with us!
Capital Initiative
We are excited to have raised the funds needed to open the wonderful Gus and Flora Kerasotes YMCA. We are excited to add the Kerasotes branch to our downtown location, so all our members are able to use either facility to suit their personal needs. Our community outreach is broader, and we have a greater ability to support more individuals and families as they pursue their health and wellness goals.
We are in the final, important phase of capital campaign fundraising: securing support to ensure the long-term stability of the new Y. Like most families, the Y has a mortgage. The less money we must commit to our mortgage, the more funding we commit to our programs and community activism.
The Y is a good investment for your charitable dollar. When you give to the Y, you give to the leading nonprofit for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility in our community and country. To date the campaign has experienced broad-based support from the community including many individuals, corporations, small businesses, Y members and friends. Any gift over $500 may be paid over a five-year period, and any gift is tax-deductible as the Y is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Any gift of $500 or more receives an engraved brick on the walkway leading to the main entrance of the Kerasotes Y and may be paid over a five-year period.
We appreciate your thoughtful consideration of a gift to our capital campaign. Please join our giving community. If you have any questions about a donation, please call Jane Frech, 217-544-9846, ext. 116 or jfrech@springfieldymca.org
Endowment and Planned Giving
In a world where the latest craze comes and goes so quickly, the Y lasts. The Springfield Y has been serving our community for over 135 years. It is values based, economically sound, professionally managed, responsive to our public, and capable of embracing and adapting change.
The Y is a gift we have received, and one we must bequeath to future generations.
Many friends of the Y are helping to extend its influence beyond their own lifetimes with gifts of assets they have accumulated to the Y’s permanent endowment. Endowed gifts may be directed to support the overall work of the Y or may be designated to support a specific Y program, branch or future growth. The Springfield Y’s Endowment Fund is managed by professional investment advisors under the direction of our dedicated and knowledgeable Board of Trustees. We work to be the very best stewards of the funds entrusted to us to advance the mission of the Y.
Our nation’s tax laws provide incentives to encourage philanthropy, in recognition of the singular role charitable organizations such as the Y play in meeting important needs in our society. The Y is a nonprofit 501c3 organization and registered with the State of Illinois. We have a current Certificate of Good Standing on file with the Secretary of State.
There are many ways to give to the Y:
Gifts of stock, real estate, cash or securities
Wills and Revocable Living Trusts
Charitable Trusts
Life Insurance
Beneficiary Designations
For more information on the Y Endowment Fund and Planned Giving options, please contact Jane Frech, Director of Financial Development, at 217-544-9846, ext. 116 or jfrech@springfieldymca.org.