Bay Area YMCAs

Neil Nicoll. Neil Nicoll was hired as president and CEO of YMCA of the USA in May 2006 and is the 13th person to lead the YMCA movement in the United States. He joined Y-USA following 14 years as president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Seattle. He previously was the president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Worcester (Mass.)… See full bio.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.

Story: This is the story of Sharon Watts, the mother of a child who has been attending the Safe Haven Program: My name is Sharron Watts and my daughter has been coming to the Safe Haven Program for 4 years now. Her name is Imani Bishop and she attends Claire Lilienthal Middle School. I live in Bayview Hunter’s Point and I work in the Western Addition. Because I couldn’t afford afterschool care for Imani, I had been looking for a free program that would assist Imani with her homework and provide some type of activities for her to participate in. After looking at a number of afterschool programs within the Western Addition including the afterschool program at her school, the Safe Haven at the Buchanan YMCA seemed to be the best fit for me. The Safe Haven provided the type of structure that I was looking for, they helped her with her homework for as long as she needed it for the day, she received incentives for different activities, they have computers and they even had recreational activities. Another positive aspect about that program is that they stayed open until 7pm and if there were errands that I needed to run, I knew I could leave Imani there and she wouldn’t care because she was having fun at the Safe Haven. Lastly, last year the director of the program wrote a letter of recommendation for Imani to receive a scholarship for High School. That really touches my heart because she took time out of her schedule to write a letter that would potentially help me and my family out financially. I truly appreciate all the help from the staff because it’s like a family down there. They really care for the children. Once my other children become of age, I will send them there too. (Source: http://www.ymcasf.org/who_we_are/success_stories)

Evidence of Impact Summary:

This is a non-profit early childhood development program which has historically provided services in areas that are very difficult and dangerous to serve. The areas of service are impacted with high levels of unemployment and crime. The YMCA uses a Montessori classroom framework and the children thrive in this environment. The YMCA program design and site management staff is praised as the primary drivers of this success.
See expert comments.

Organization Strengths Summary:

Experts compliment the Bay Area YMCAs for operations strength and overall program quality. Some experts particularly praise the YMCA's impact on parents and their children alike.
See expert comments.

Areas for Improvement Summary:

Experts observe a variety of areas for improvement but no clear themes emerge. Issues with fundraising, staff retention, programming expansion, and collaboration are, however, mentioned.
See expert comments.

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Neil Nicoll was hired as president and CEO of YMCA of the USA in May 2006 and is the 13th person to lead the YMCA movement in the United States. He joined Y-USA following 14 years as president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Seattle. He previously was the president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Worcester (Mass.) for 12 years, executive director of the Prince Georges County branch of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., for six years and executive director the Dorchester branch of the YMCA of Greater Boston for three years. Neil got his start in the YMCA movement in 1968 as a program director at the Howard County branch of the YMCA of Greater Baltimore. A nationally recognized YMCA leader, Neil was the first chair of the YMCA Activate America Steering Committee. He served two terms on the Y-USA board (1988-92 and 2004-06) and was chair of the North American Urban Group from 2003-05. He also has been a strong advocate for the YMCA National Diversity Initiative and the Abundant Assets Alliance. He chaired the US-Japan Liaison Committee from 1998-2005 and the Springfield College YMCA Advisory Council in 1981 and ’82, and was a member of the Association of Professional Directors Executive Committee from 1987-90. During his tenure in Seattle, Neil chaired the YMCA of Washington Public Policy Committee, the Seattle University Nonprofit Executive Master’s Degree Program Visiting Committee and the Washington Council of Youth Agencies. He also served on the Mayor’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee for the Family and Education Levy in 2004. Neil earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Eastern Nazarene College (Quincy, Mass.) and a master’s degree in education from Springfield College. He also holds an Executive Management Certificate from Clark University (Worcester, Mass.) and has attended the Harvard Business School Nonprofit Management Program. Neil plays golf and reads for pleasure. He and his wife Anita have two grown daughters, Kimberley and Kerri.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.