Madison Area YMCA Raises More Than $1.4 Million in – Patch.com

Pictured celebrating having met an anonymous donor’s homestretch gift challenge to support the Madison Area YMCA’s Family Center Expansion campaign are Board Chair Scot Guempel, Competitive Aquatics Director and Head Coach Jon Siegel, President & CEO Diane Mann, Board Member Allie Shearman and Associate Sports Director Aaron Goodwin.

More than 170 community donors raised more than $1M this year to help the Madison Area YMCA achieve an all-or-nothing $400,000 challenge gift to support its Family Center Expansion. “We are thrilled to have met the challenge and receive this generous gift, but we’re even more inspired by how our community generously responded to the Homestretch Gift Challenge by donating $1.1M over the last seven months,” said Madison Area YMCA CEO Diane Mann. Overall, the campaign has raised more than $9M to date, with another $1.5M remaining to raise, she said.

An anonymous donor offered the generous gift challenge this spring to help raise funds for the Y’s new Aquatics Center with its eight-lane pool and new basketball gym. “Our community rallied to this challenge with many dedicated donors taking action to help us achieve this important goal,” Ms. Mann said. “Our expanded indoor space will provide greatly needed year-round aquatics, fitness, sports and wellness space to accommodate more people safely and in larger spaces than ever before.”

Board Chair Scot Guempel thanked the community for its commitment to the project. “Our donors have shown their support for this long-awaited expansion project and we hope others will join them in the coming months,” he said. “These generous gifts and any additional contributions will significantly bolster construction cash flow, delay borrowing to close any funding gap, and ultimately hold down the overall costs of the project helping to assure the Y’s long-term financial health and sustainability” he added.

The “Our Community Our Future” community fundraising campaign is helping expand the Family Center and the Y’s program capacity to meet the growing needs of children, teens and adults with expanded indoor space for the future – shown to be at such a premium these last few months. The facility expansion project includes a new Aquatics center with an 8-lane competitive pool and spectator section, a full-court/two side court basketball gymnasium and spectator areas, expanded fitness and wellness space, increased on-site parking, and a new, second entrance and lobby.

Just as the generosity of community members of the past made the current facility possible, several options exist for donors to leave a legacy that will serve our generation and the next. Gifts of any size are appreciated including gifts of appreciated securities and from charitable trusts. Special year-end opportunities in the Mosaic Path to the Future recognition program include nameplates: $1,000+ Bronze level; $2,500+ Silver level; $5,000+ Gold level and $10,000+ Platinum level. Additional naming opportunities are also available including honoring friends and family or saying thank you to a front-line hero with a lasting donation in their name through our Paving the Way Campaign. The engraved pavers will be used to create the walkway to the new, second entrance to the Madison Area YMCA’s Family Center.

For more information and to donate, please visit www.madisonareaymca.org/Family… or email capitalcampaign@madisonymca.org.

As a mission-driven charitable organization and community wellness center, the Madison Area YMCA is dedicated to nurturing the potential of our youth, providing a safe space for teens, improving the community’s health and well-being, and giving back by providing support to our neighbors.