Kresge Match

YMCA of Honolulu Successfully Completes Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant

to Build and Enhance YMCA Facilities

Honolulu, HI, January 31, 2008 — The YMCA of Honolulu received the best year-end gift they can ever remember – a $750,000 check from The Kresge Foundation.

This gift was the result of the successful completion of a “Challenge Grant” by the Michigan-based Kresge Foundation granted to the YMCA of Honolulu in 2005. This Challenge Grant was designed to help the YMCA increase their base of donors and complete the final project in their capital campaign’s first phase: the new Leeward YMCA which opened in early 2007. The YMCA committed to The Kresge Foundation to raise an agreed level of funds from individuals, corporations and foundations in order to complete their Challenge Grant Match. It was essentially, an “all or nothing” challenge.

The YMCA of Honolulu has just completed the first phase of a capital campaign which included the
construction of two branches (Leeward and Kalihi) and the renovation of Camp Erdman facilities. To date, the YMCA of Honolulu capital campaign has raised over $21 million in total commitments.

The Kresge Foundation is a national foundation with $3 billion in assets. Through its grant making programs, The Kresge Foundation seeks to strengthen nonprofit organizations by catalyzing their growth, connecting them to their stakeholders, and challenging greater support through grants.

Larry Bush, President & CEO of the YMCA of Honolulu, stated, “The successful completion of this challenge grant is a result of the support of hundreds of YMCA of Honolulu members and funders in the community. This was a prestigious grant that few nonprofits receive or complete. To me, it validates the commitment our community has for the YMCA to grow and continue to be a leading organization on Oahu.”

Lynn and Jeff Watanabe, Co-Chairs of the YMCA Major Gifts Committee, believe The Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant was instrumental in engaging new donors and enabling the YMCA to expand its programs to more of Oahu’s children and families.

To tour any of the YMCA facilities and see the impact of The Kresge Foundation work, contact Monica Grant, Vice President of Resource Development, at 541-5473 or by email at mgrant@ymcahonolulu.org.


About the YMCA of Honolulu
For more than 138 years, the YMCA of Honolulu has been a place where friends and neighbors come together to build strong communities. Each year the YMCA of Honolulu serves thousands of children, teens and adults in a wide variety of in programs, including before and after school, youth sports, teen leadership programs, substance abuse counseling and treatment programs and health and wellness. The YMCA of Honolulu serves more people on Oahu than any other direct-service, non-profit organization.

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Press Contact:

Susan Nakamura
Director of Marketing & Communications
YMCA of Honolulu
snakamura@ymcahonolulu.org
808-541-5467