Twin Cities YMCA lays off 69 employees amid struggling finances

Twin Cities YMCA lays off 69 employees amid struggling finances The YMCA of the North has reported deficits every year since 2020. Leaders say the nonprofit is facing rising expenses and changing consumer behaviors.

The Minnesota Star Tribune September 20, 2024 at 10:41PM The new data, released by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, shows how the pandemic and the economic challenges of the last four years may forever reshape the sector, leaving some nonprofits smaller than they were in 2019 while others are being forced to close their doors for good. Many nonprofits say donations are declining or not keeping pace with rising expenses.

Last year, the YWCA Minneapolis shocked the community by closing its longtime Uptown and downtown fitness centers and pools, with leaders saying then that they were moving away from health and fitness to focus on child care, racial equity and youth programs.

The YWCA laid off 45 employees — about 13% of its workforce — due to the closures and sold it downtown building to St. David's Center for Child and Family Development while the Uptown facility was converted into a workforce development and job training hub .

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YWCA Minneapolis shutting down Uptown, downtown fitness centers, laying off 85 The Midway YMCA was one of two of the first Twin Cities YMCAs to reopen in summer 2020 after COVID-19 closures shuttered the facilities. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune) At the YMCA, which is headquartered in downtown Minneapolis, officials closed fitness centers in downtown St. Paul, Lino Lakes and Prior Lake in 2020 and laid off 146 part-time and full-time staff. Then in 2022, the Y shut down the Marsh in Minnetonka before selling it to the west metro suburb, and nixed plans to build a boutique fitness facility in downtown St. Paul.

At the time, CEO Glen Gunderson said the Y, too, was shifting its focus from traditional buildings — usually a gym — to broader community programs, ranging from well-being and equity to online classes. On Friday, Edgerton said the Y isn't planning any other facility closures or cuts at this time.