Submitter
Maria-Alicia Serrano, Senior Director of Research, Analytics and Insights
Company
YMCA of the USA
Industry
Nonprofit
Business Challenge
The United States is home to more than 2,600 branches of the YMCA, serving around 20 million members, or one out of every 16 Americans. Every Y serves communities with different needs. In a diverse society, it can sometimes be difficult to discern those needs let alone satisfy them.
Analytics Solution
YMCA of the USA implemented location intelligence to help its branches better engage with the communities they serve. The organization uses geographic information system (GIS) maps to examine social and cultural demographics near each YMCA branch and ultimately, introduce and match programs to member needs. Y-USA’s analytics approach was implemented as a way to better understand how American society was changing, and how those changes should affect YMCA operations on a national, regional, and local level.
Impact
Using its data-driven strategy, Y-USA has:
- Gained an understanding of the needs of communities, sharing programming that works for different constituents for more inclusive services
- Helped individual Y facilities understand and cater to their communities
- Reached more people, spanning generations