YMCAs. member Management Solution. The Financial Benefits of a. Member Solution YMCAs 340_15

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1 YMCAs The Financial Benefits of a Member Management Solution YMCAs

2 Introduction For YMCAs, the goal of driving overall membership by offering new and dynamic programs for a broad group of members, while working under the constraint of budget pressures, can be a daunting task. Servicing the community in the most cost-effective manner can be a challenge when program and staff dollars are at risk. Often, out of date member management software can get in the way of providing new services, as well. Without modern systems, YMCA staff find themselves consumed with managing memberships, registration, on-site check-ins and facility scheduling, rather than focusing on improving programs and community outreach. active Network, a leader in member and recreation management technology, worked with Hobson & Company, a third-party research firm, to explore these challenges and learn how industry leaders are responding. Independent research, consisting of thirteen in-depth interviews with ACTIVE Net customers, found that a modern member management solution addresses YMCA customer constraints across the organization to deliver a quick and compelling return on investment (ROI). The goal of this research study and paper is to highlight examples of universal benefits where the impact of a modern member and recreation management solution is not only strategic and timely, but also measurable, based on key motivating metrics validated with existing customers of ACTIVE Net.

3 Challenges YMca customers interviewed for this research study noted that despite their current management approach, whether using older generation member management technology or a manual solution, key challenges persisted across the organization in areas including operations management, driving participation, capturing data insight and minimizing total cost of ownership. Below is a list of some of the most universal concerns. With ACTIVE Net, any device can be turned into a registration tool. VP Knowledge Management, Large West Coast YMca Operations Management: Often, inefficient operations can actually harm the experience of participants. Customers interviewed for this study cited cumbersome processes in managing registrations, facility rentals, and memberships which impacted the users perception of the organization. YMca staff had difficulties accessing participant and member data for routine general inquiries, and spent much of their time looking for information rather than servicing the participants. Participation: A well-run organization is the first step to improving participation, but there were many challenges cited by the YMca customers interviewed. The lack of an online experience and a social media presence were significant barriers to participation, especially among younger members of the community. Data Insight: The inability to access current and past program and membership data to understand participant interests was cited as a challenge for many of the customers interviewed. Customers craved richer insight around overall facility utilization as well as which classes are successful and have wait lists. Total Costs of Ownership: YMCA branches generally do not have many internal staff resources to manage their recreation technology or the credit card payment process. The need to move their member management solution to the Cloud to remove the costs of maintaining servers was a main concern among those interviewed. They also found the process of maintaining PCI compliance to ensure all credit card information is secure to be costly and time-consuming.

4 ACTIVE Net: Improve Operations Management Improve staff efficiency managing registration and facility bookings: ACTIVE Net facilitates participant registration and facility bookings with a system that allows staff to view up-to-date program information and availability. YMCA managers liked that they have a central view of customers and reservations and can now manage registrations, private lessons, withdrawals and waiting lists. On average, customers were able to decrease the time required to manage registrations and bookings by 20%. Front desk staff was reduced and the remaining staff saved many hours during the day which they could subsequently use to focus on managing program operations. Increase revenue and improve productivity with automated revenue systems: Managers interviewed for the study liked that with ACTIVE Net, all cash handling is integrated so managers can see who is logged in and what transactions are processed, thereby reducing theft. This was especially important for those organizations with cashiers at park entrances and front desk staff who managed cash for miscellaneous POS items such as food and drinks. ACTIVE Net customers saw a 5% reduction in time spent cash handling and a 2% increase in cash payments (reduction of loss) when using ACTIVE Net. ACTIVE Net customers cited a number of specific operations management improvements including: + + Improved staff efficiency by 25% + + 1,200 more online basketball registrations + + Increased memberships by $10K using auto-renewal + + We send out mass s or texts to cancel classes for weather events which has improved the perception of the YMCA. This is something we could never have done with our old system. (Operations Manager, Mid-Sized YMCA) Managing credit cards was an issue for many of the organizations since rerunning expired cards, re-attempts and performing reconciliations at the end of the day was time-consuming. With ACTIVE Net, the auto draft feature updates expired credit cards and the Reattempt Failed Payment feature automatically retries failed accounts, leading to a 2% increase in the overall revenue to the organization. Improve staff efficiency communicating with participants: Many organizations were unable to keep participants informed about upcoming activities, canceled classes and changes to permits because they didn t have the staff to devote the time or their previous system didn t allow for automated communications. YMcas found that with active net, they are now able to send automated s or texts to any identified category of users. For example, if the pool will be closed for maintenance, an organization can send out an automated to all pool pass holders to let them know. Communication that used to be either impossible or extremely time-consuming is accomplished in minutes with ACtive net.

5 ACTIVE Net: Improve Participation Increased participation due to online registration and facility reservation: With participants increasingly becoming more tech savvy, having an online registration component for activities and facility usage was an important factor mentioned by the YMCAs interviewed for this study. Rather than having to fill out paperwork or register in person, most participants preferred to use ACTIVE Net s self-service feature to register on their own, whenever, wherever they wanted. ACTIVE Net allows participants to view and book programs and facilities online. All activities, programs and facilities are housed in a single system. As a result, the customers interviewed saw an average of a 5% improvement in overall participant registrations for facilities and registrations. Increase participation using social media: The YMCA managers mentioned that the use of ACTIVE Net s Communication tool would greatly impact their community reach and enable them to compete with private organizations through the use of social media. ACTIVE Net s Communication tool allows for targeting of specific segments of the population. s are collected to better communicate with entire populations, and a user can share information with friends using many social media integration tools (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.). ACTIVE Net customers cited a number of specific participation improvements, including: + + Online registrations increased from 10-15% to 60% + + Better customer service and excellent online experiences will help with member retention. ACTIVE Net has made it an easier, smoother experience. (SVP Technology, Large Mid- West YMCA) + + We published our 5K event on the ACTIVE.com site and there were more participants as a result. Publishing on Twitter and Facebook has helped us reach people we never would have been able to touch before and represents an additional revenue stream for us. (SVP Technology, Large Mid- West YMCA) Some features of ACTIVE Net s Communication tool include: + + marketing campaigns to distribute information to members + + Personalized push notifications for automatic membership renewal + + Recruitment of former participants based on past participation or interest lists + + Integration with Active.com Using the social media features produced at least a 1% impact on additional registrations for the customers interviewed.

6 ACTIVE Net: Improve Data Insight and Reduce Total Cost of Ownership Improve activity/program/facility revenue with better data insight: Gaining access and insight into current facility usage, programs and activities, in order to ensure the right activities are reaching as much of the community as possible, was considered difficult with many organizations previous member management reporting systems. They found that using ACTIVE Net s automated reports allowed them to make better-informed decisions. The YMCA managers have access to numerous reports including revenue by program, wait lists, reservations, deposits, payments and refunds. They are able to review realtime reporting to help increase utilization rates. On average, customers were able to adjust programs and policies to increase revenue by 2% as a result of this better data insight. Reduce costs to manage IT infrastructure: ACTIVE Net is a SaaS model that is managed through one user-friendly system. Customers access the system via the Internet or mobile device, and updates are pushed automatically, saving customers the time and cost of managing their own member management software. Customers reported a 25% time-savings in managing their current IT solution and a 100% reduction in the cost of database and webservers. ACTIVE Net customers cited a number of specific data insight and reduced TCO benefits, including: + + We use the reports to understand our programming better. We now understand which programs consistently have wait lists (and subsequently open up another class), which ones are not popular (and discontinue them) and we review trends. (Operations Manager, Mid-size YMCA) + + Saved two IT FTEs 50% of time doing updates on client-servers + + Saved $14K by eliminating the cost of new servers every three years + + Saved $30K - $40K/year on PCI compliance costs Reduce PCI Compliance costs: For any organization accepting credit cards, PCI Compliance is a requirement. To be at the minimum PCI Compliance level, an organization must adhere to twelve major steps. Customers noted that it is time-consuming, difficult and expensive to meet these standards on their own. It was much easier to use ACTIVE Net since it is PCI Level 1 compliant. The PCI infrastructure is 100% owned by ACTIVE Network and reduces overall compliance costs by 75% by saving time to run credit card transactions and draft reports, and by eliminating the cost of upgrading all computers to be in compliance.

7 How it All Adds Up The value of ACTIVE s member and recreation management solution is immediate and demonstrable. A sample YMCA with $16m in revenue managed by ACTIVE Net, fifteen registration and facility staff, twenty membership management staff, processing $4,000,000 annually through credit cards and spending $30,000 per year on PCI can realize annual benefits over $1,000,000 per year from an investment in ACTIVE Net. For this sample YMCA, the three-year investment totaling $2,480,000 generates a positive return in 7.9 months. The three-year net present value (NPV) and return on investment (ROI) are strong at $1,133,000 and 93%, respectively. The key financial metrics for the sample organization were calculated by standard methods and are shown below. The NPV calculation assumes a 10% cost of capital. The chart below shows the extent to which each benefit contributes to the total value of the ACTIVE Net solution. For the sample YMCA, the benefits reach broadly across the organization. 2.8% reduce risk and exposure of processing credit cards 2.9% improve staff efficiency managing membership 3.0% increase participation using social media 3.2% improve staff efficiency communicating with participants 4.4% reduce PCI compliance cost 6.5% improve staff efficiency managing registrations and facility bookings get started Learn more about active Net 0.8% others 15.2% increase participant registrations due to online booking for facilities and registrations % increase revenue and improve productivity with automated revenue systems 30.4% improve activity/ program/facility revenue with better data insight YMCA.Sales@ACTIVEnetwork.com activenetwork.com/ymca About ACTIVE Net: ACTIVE Network is the leader in Activity and Participant Management and data solutions powering over 47,000 customers worldwide with SaaS technology that streamlines activity and event administration. Our enterprise-level ACTIVEWorks cloud platform, combined with our business intelligence tools, make managing and operating all types of activities, events and organizations smarter and more efficient. ACTIVE Network was founded in 1999 and has offices worldwide. For more information, visit: activenetwork.com or follow us on About Hobson & Co.: Hobson & Company helps technology vendors and purchasers uncover, quantify and validate the key sources of value driving the adoption of new and emerging technologies. Our focus on robust validation has helped many technology purchasers more objectively evaluate the underlying business case of a new technology, while better understanding which vendors best deliver against the key value drivers. Our well-researched, yet easy-to-use ROI and TCO tools have also helped many technology companies better position and justify their unique value proposition. For more information, please visit