Most people assume charity challenges begin and end with funding — but the reality is far more complex.
In this conversation, we explore how OneYMCA makes tough commercial decisions to protect long-term social impact, including stepping away from loss-making gyms and selling nurseries that no longer delivered the level of impact expected.
Inside this clip, we discuss:
✔️ Why funding alone doesn’t guarantee sustainability
✔️ How OneYMCA “upsells” impact to commissioners to secure long-term funding
✔️ Why their gyms struggled to compete with private-equity-backed fitness chains
✔️ The true purpose of YMCA gyms: community impact, not profit
✔️ How charities balance people and pounds in every decision
✔️ Why some services are designed to lose money — and why that’s okay
✔️ When a charity must make the hard call to stop a service altogether
This is a powerful lesson for:
➡️ Charity leaders
➡️ SME founders and directors
➡️ Social enterprise operators
➡️ Anyone balancing mission, money, and long-term impact.