Frequently Asked Questions

The Goal

Mission statement:

The YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, individuals, families, and the Island community by helping all people realize their fullest potential through development of body, mind and spirit.


• A welcoming place for families, young people, seniors, summer residents, year-rounders.
• A community center where groups can meet, youth can hold events, generations can interact in fun, positive ways.
• A facility with: a competition-length and warm-water therapy pool, a wellness center, a bowling alley, a teen center, gymnasium, climbing wall, meeting rooms, a snack area.
• Social programs designed to fill gaps in services to benefit the whole Island.
• A policy of inclusion. No one is turned away because of race, religion, fitness level or ability to pay.


Facts about the National Y of the USA

• While the roots of the Y are in Christian priniciples, the organization today has no religious affiliation and welcomes all races, religions, nationalities and economic levels
• Ys are owned and run by community boards that specifically target and fill local needs.
• Ys are fully recognized 501(c)3 charities whose programs, including adult fitness, are tax exempt because they benefit the community.
• Ys are not franchises. They are completely owned and run by community boards that specifically target and fill local needs.
The national Y does not dictate policies to local boards. There is no national member on the Y board. All control rests at the local level.
• Ys are not "fitness centers". Their focus is on wellness -- of body, mind and spirit.
• Ys, in general, get about 25 percent of their operating funds from grants and donations to supplement membership fees for those who cannot afford to pay.
• Ys’charitable status rests on affordability.
• Local Ys do not receive money from the Y of the USA. They do receive free consultation and the benefits of 150 years of experience.

Capital Campaign and Sustainability in the Future

• Estimated need: At least $10-$15 million to complete the building. Subject to revision as the shape of the building and the programs it will house are identified.
• In addition, funds are sought for an endowment to maintain the building.
• Once built, the facility will be self-supporting through membership, grants and program fees, and supplemented by the endowment.
• Annual fundraising will be limited to raising money to provide scholarships for those unable to pay membership.

Community Support and Benefits

• Two community surveys have shown the majority of year-round and seasonal residents want a Y. A professional study done in the spring of 2005 found that 16.7 percent of Vineyard residents would join a Y; most Ys expect a membership base of only 41/2 percent.
• 96 per cent of last summer’s Founders Campaign donations came from year-round Island residents.
• The Y is creating full- and part-time jobs; future programs will mean employment for teens.
• The Y serves people through community service programs for all ages.
• The Y has formed collaborations with other organizations, including the schools, Community Services, the Boys and Girls Club, the affordable housing movement, and others.
• The Y will provide a continuum of care, helping people be healthy and offering a place for rehabilitation programs to help regain health.


The “Y Without Walls”

Currently we have multiple “Y Without Walls” programs serving youth from kindergarten to the age of 20.
Treasure our Island:
• After-school program serves hundreds of children each semester.
• Includes an academic component, with classes in creative writing, model rocketry, cooking and baking, a babysitting clinic, a variety of art, music and theatre classes.
• Offers part-time work to dozens of adults for their roles in leading these classes.
• A five-year plan: The Y, in collaboration with Island school districts, is recipient of a five-year federal grant of $950,000 to further develop these programs, with the goal to make this a sustained program.

Youth Initiative

• Designed to help teens turn their talents, energies and idealism into fun, productive and ongoing resources for the community.
• Drop-in teen center, located at Cottagers’ Corner in Oak Bluffs, is staffed by the Y’s teen director, aided by part time employees and volunteers.

Project ABLE
*Holistic approach to improving the health of young girls age 11-14.

Also, Yoga Classes for adults, Portuguese Language classes and dance and language...

The Timeline

1995: Group of citizens proposes an aquatic center on the Island.

1998: Feasibility study says existing facilities do not meet Island’s year-round aquatic needs.

2003: Aquatic center plans shift to incorporate a full YMCA Community Recreational Center after study shows this would allow the project to be self-sustaining. Volunteer board obtains status as a provisional YMCA, an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit charity.

2003: Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School District agrees to lease land near the high school for 60 years to the Y project.

2003: Community survey shows majority of residents support a Y plan, and 80 percent of respondents would use it.

2003-2004: “Y Without Walls” programs begin filling gaps in existing services through after school programs for youth grades I-8 and a Youth Initiative for teens 14-20.

Summer 2004: Founder’s Campaign raises $500,000, to fund Y Without Walls and lay groundwork for a capital campaign. xecutive director John Clese becomes first full-time paid staff person.

Spring 2005: Y-sponsored teen center opens in Oak Bluffs – first teen center in 20 years on the Island.

Summer 2005: Silent phase of the capital campaign begins to raise money for a Y building and endowment.

2007: Continued fundraising and a full range of programs offered.

2008: Building Construction begins!

2009: Building completion, WE ALL MOVE IN!