Building Brighter Futures
YWCA Grand Island Capital Campaign
A $6.5 million dollar effort to renovate and repurpose the former Starr Elementary to expand childcare and YWCA community programs.
Mission. Impact. Opportunity.
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Our Story
Since 1912, YWCA Grand Island has provided programming and services to empower women, girls and children in our community. We strive to help families and strengthen communities, and during the last year we have served over 140 children in early education and school age programming; and approximately 2,000 total individuals throughout our total programming.
Our program areas include Racial Justice/Civic Engagement; Economic Empowerment for Women; and Health and Safety of women and girls.
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Addressing the Need
As impactful as we’ve been with our outreach and services, the needs of our Grand Island community continue to evolve. One of the most emerging needs is for reliable childcare. The economic impact of this need is significant, as it affects families, businesses, and the broader economy by reducing workforce participation, stalling economic growth, and impacting the future workforce.
Addressing this need is one that we view not only as a social issue, but as an economic imperative, as reliable childcare infrastructure is a cornerstone of a thriving, resilient community.
In seeking to expand our own childcare operations, we recognized issues with our current location which would impede our ability not only to expand, but to continue current services. Due to traffic patterns and loitering behavior, we face safety and security issues for our children and families which must be mitigated.
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Growth Opportunity
To continue our pursuit to meet the needs of our Grand Island community, we have purchased the former Starr Elementary/Wyandotte Learning Center (formerly owned by Grand Island Public Schools) through a public bidding process. With funds raised from this campaign, we plan to renovate and repurpose the space, which will allow us to relocate our operations and expand our services.
This project would allow us to double our capacity for our child development center for ages 0-5, as well as our after school programs. Renovating and restructuring the space will ensure we have the quality, safety, and structural integrity to serve our community now and into the future.
Mary Berlie, President, Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation
“YWCA Grand Island expansion of its childcare program helps meet a huge need in our community. By building accessible, high-quality childcare, we empower parents to work, provide stability for families,and create an environment where children can thrive. Childcare strengthens communities and fuels long-term economic growth.”
Project Overview
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Along with doubling our current childcare center capacity, the new location will also allow us to provide more space for childcare training and to expand our current programs in the following ways for all members of our community:
Happy Healthy Baby will be an in-house store open year-round
Digital Literacy and Allstate Financial will have additional in-house classroom space
MyNight Boutique will also be housed and open year-round
Mission Menstruation will house and therefore deliver additional products
Civic Engagement and Racial Justice will have in-house space to conduct additional classes and programs
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We are raising $6M in private support from our community to complete this project. Your investment ensures we will be able to continue transforming our community for generations to come.
Purchase Cost of Building: $500,000
Renovation Cost -estimated per $175 square foot: $4,300,000
Contractor Fees: $420,000
Architectural & Engineering Fees: $385,000
Furniture and Interior: $300,000
Playground: $200,000
Administration: $125,000
Total Cost: $6,760,000
Amy Bennett, Executive Director, YWCA Grand Island
“This campaign is about the future – yours, mine, and the children of tomorrow.”
FAQs
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Our current facility doesn’t allow us to expand to meeting the community’s needs – specifically to increase our space for childcare and preschool. Additionally, there are safety concerns emerging at our current location that include traffic patterns and increased loitering. This compromises the safety and security of our children and families.
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The renovation will address environmental hazards, including potential concerns such as lead and asbestos, ensuring compliance with safety standards which is a necessity when serving children. Additionally, by renovating we will be able to increase our capacity for childcare service by over 100%; separate that service from our other programs; and house all of our programs more efficiently and effectively.
Specifics include:
Increasing childcare capacity from 115 to 300
Dedicated space for our programs which will operate year-round as accessible storefronts:
Happy Healthy Baby
Mission Menstruation
mYnight boutique
Increased space for our program training needs and classes, such as digital literacy and financial empowerment.
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The total we are raising is $6M. The total renovation cost is $7M. The sale of the current building near Fonner Park will hopefully address the gap.
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We will sell the current building and use the proceeds to help fund the remaining costs of the project or use those funds for investment into future operational needs.
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Many campaigns are conducted through multiple phases, but due to the scope and timing of our project, we aren’t using that approach. Instead, by completing our project in a single phase, we will use the construction materials and equipment more efficiently, which will save time and money. This makes better use of the money we are raising and makes the facility available for our community more quickly.
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No. Operations will continue from our current location and streamline into the new location.
For More Information
Amanda Moritz, Development Coordinator
amoritz@ywca-gi.org
308-384-9922
Gifts may be made payable to: YWCA Grand Island.
