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By publicizing its own charitable largesse, theNewtown Athletic Club has gotten the Y to go awayBy Patricia Amend

Jim Worthington, the owner of the Newtown Athletic Club (NAC) in Newtown, Pennsylvania, has always acted as agood corporate citizen—but quietly, without publicity. He makes his club available to charitable groups, donatesmoney to worthy causes, and contributes both his own and his staff’s time to local organizations.He’s done so year after year, because he believed in what he was doing, and without expecting anything inreturn—not even public acknowledgment.'We’ve invested in the local community, without fanfare, because we believe it’s the right thing to do,' he explainssimply, as though every businessperson in the world holds similar beliefs.In the same way, Worthington hasrevamped and expanded his club and its offerings over the years to meet the community’s constantly evolvingneeds. When it opened in 1978, NAC was an 11-court, 15,000-square-foot racquetball facility, but today, it’s animpressive, 100,000-square-foot multipurpose venue with approximately 4,000 memberships, more than half of them for families, representing some 12,000 people.Even though Newtown Township is considered an affluent area, Worthington has always been aware of the factthat some residents can’t afford a membership—$79 per month for individuals, $145 for families—and so, againwithout thinking about either ROI or gratitude, he’s addressed that need as well. 'We’ve had an informal financialassistance program in place for quite some time now,' he indicates. 'Generally, we don’t turn anyone away if theycan’t afford our dues, or have lost their job, or are experiencing some other type of financial hardship.'This club is very much like a community center,' he explains, 'and it’s been that way ever since we beganexpanding in 1981. We originally catered to the singles market, but, as the baby boomers grew older, got married,and began having children, we thought it was crucial that we create programs and environments for families andtheir offspring, including a 34,000-square-foot children’s wing. We were one of the first clubs in the country toallocate that much space to youth programming.'Today,' he points out, 'we offer hundreds of programs for kids, and, with the exception of the swim lessons, don’tassess extra fees for any of them. Everything’s included in the dues.'

Be aware of YMCA plans

Running his business professionally, and responding to the community’s needsgenerously, Worthington was understandably taken aback last year when the town government proposed givingland to the YMCA to build a facility nearby. 'In October, at a town supervisor’s meeting, the person who’s now thechairman of the board of supervisors announced that it had invited the Y to consider building a facility inNewtown,' recalls Linda Mitchell, NAC’s director of public relations, marketing, and charitable giving. 'The ideacame in through the back door—it wasn’t even on the agenda—and everyone was talking about it as though itwere a wonderful thing. 'We were stunned,' says Worthington. 'They actually proposed giving 15-20 acres of landto the Y for free, or leasing the ground to them for $1 a year for 99 years.'Worthington decided that it was time tospeak up—loudly, forcibly: to begin talking not only about the many reasons that NAC opposed the proposal, butalso about the many virtues and real value that NAC conferred on Newtown. NAC’s social conscience,commitment, and impact on the community would remain unsung secrets no longer. Worthington intended toshare his club’s history of good deeds with residents, members, the media, local businesspeople, town supervisors,and even the governor.

Mount an opposition

Following the disturbing, landmark meeting, Worthington and Mitchell decided to enlist as many allies as possible.One of the first steps they took was to contact other companies in the area—e.g., other clubs, childcare centers,

IHRSA - Dec 2002 - Beating Yhttp://www.activecareers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/page.viewpag...1 of 35/26/2009 12:17 PM

daycare providers, and dance, gymnastics, and martial arts studios—that might be affected by the opening of anew Y. They then formed the Newtown Community Center Alliance (NCCA), a coalition of individuals, localleaders, and businesses that opposed the Y initiative for a number of reasons, and that proposed an alternativesolution of its own for Newtown’s growing recreational needs.NCCA’s list of disputed issues included: the giving of township-owned land to the Y; the unfair competition thatthe new Y would pose; its proposed location (next to the largest residential development in the township andacross the street from an elementary school); and the fact that Newtown was already being well-served by theprivate sector—e.g., 16 clubs within a seven-mile radius—as well as by the Township RecreationDepartment.NCCA suggested that, rather than endowing a Y, the township raise funds to build and operate acommunity center for teens and seniors, which could also be used for community events, but wouldn’t have afitness component.

Promote your community service

While making the broad philosophical and financial arguments against the Y, Worthington was also intense aboutmaking the case for NAC. 'Some of the town supervisors had suggested that the Y was more community mindedthan we were,' he says, 'but, in fact, four out of the five of them hadn’t been into our club during its 25-yearexistence. So we gave them a tour, and talked about the services that we provide to the community, such as ourteen program, which has won a national award.'Worthington was also candid about what NAC contributed to the township. 'Last year, for instance,' he points out,'we gave over $2 million in cash, goods, and services to more than 600 different organizations.'In response to thecharge that private clubs, such as NAC, were upscale and prohibitively expensive, Worthington noted that, whenall of the fees were accounted for, a one-year membership for a family of five at NAC ($2,193) actually cost lessthan one at a Y in a nearby town ($2,497).'Although the YMCA’s ability to undercut the market is still a significantproblem – in certain communities, the Y is not always the least expensive option nor are they providing the mostfinancial assistance,' said Kevin Buckley, IHRSA’s government relations manager. 'Industry research indicates thattax-paying health clubs have virtually the same percentage of members with household incomes of less than$25,000, as tax-exempt clubs,' he added. 'This is also true for households with incomes of $50,000 andgreater.'Worthington also took a small, but significant step, formalizing NAC’s financial assistance program, and,in so doing, eliminated one of the principal distinctions—i.e., the 'charitable' mission—between what NAC wasalready doing and what the Y said it would do. 'The Y acted as though our program didn’t exist,' says Worthington,'and, when we told the town supervisors that we’d been providing financial assistance to people for years, theywere incredulous.'Taking the argument one step further, Worthington obtained a copy of the financial assistanceprogram utilized by the nearest Y, and discovered that there were some applicants who didn’t qualify. 'I learnedabout one woman, with five children, whose husband earned $18,000 a year, who wasn’t granted assistance,' heremembers. 'I told her to come to our club.'Our program is less stringent than the one offered by the Y in thatcommunity, which is less affluent than our own,' he observes. 'Hundreds of people have applied for assistancehere, and, when we tour prospects, we routinely tell them about this option.'While NAC’s program has establishedguidelines, it’s quite flexible. To instill a sense of ownership and pride in participants, and permit NAC to assist asmany people as possible, most of the candidates are requested to pay the 'affordable' part of their membership(the exact amount is based on a sliding scale and individual circumstances). They’re asked to submit a financialassistance application, along with their 1040 and W-2 forms for the prior year, current pay stubs, and a completedhousehold income and expense form. The requests are reviewed semimonthly by NAC’s financial assistance reviewcommittee, which consists of the club’s owners, general manager, general counsel, and director of charitablegiving.

Reap the rewards

Worthington made use of every avenue and platform available, pleading the fair-competition case in person, andby telephone, mail, and e-mail. He put the clear, unambiguous facts before the board of supervisors, the Newtownchamber of commerce, and the local business association. 'We’re a $7-million-a-year business with 300employees, and pay $300,000 a year in taxes,' he says. 'A new Y could conceivably reduce our gross revenues by7%-10% and, if we were to drop below the $6-million level, that would wipe out our profits.' NAC initiated aletter-writing campaign to educate town supervisors, local business organizations, and the Y’s board of directorsand steering committee, and Worthington and Mitchell contacted local newspapers to discuss the controversy.Thefollowing month, in April, the Y reported that an initial phone survey had revealed a positive interest in theproposed facility, but said that it wanted to conduct an additional $50,000 follow-up investigation—this on top of the $30,000 it had already spent—and solicited donations for the new research. Since then, however, it has beenvirtually silent on the subject of the new Y. The threat, all appearances suggest, may have withered, evaporated,disappeared in the face of Worthington’s, NAC’s, and growing public opposition.'The Y hasn’t made any statementssince last spring, when it announced the results of its survey, but we still attend the town supervisor, businessdevelopment council, and chamber meetings,' reports Mitchell. 'We’re also keeping a watchful eye on township