Set Apart

A smaller association with unique constituency dynamics—50% of the Garden City, Kansas, community is Hispanic—the Garden City Family YMCA is set apart, says CEO Chad Knight.

“We have a very diverse community, and you have to be a true team player to work at our Y,” he says.

“We don’t have the luxury of larger resources, so many people wear many hats. It makes it tricky and tough sometimes, but everyone plays a part.”

“We couldn’t just look at software,” he says. “Taking into account important business drivers, we put it all together and sought a solution we thought would most affect the changes being made at our organization.”

Chad, who has been CEO for 11 years, says since selecting Daxko as a technology partner in 2004, the Y has seen steady success across the board.

“We’re actually looking into opening a second branch,” he says of the $1.4-million-dollar association that is currently home to about 2,000 membership units.

Finding a Fit

With a growing membership base and the necessity of, for example, providing resources and communications in both English and Spanish, engaging members effectively already proves challenging for the Y. And before launching Daxko Operations, says Chad, “We weren’t able to engage members because we couldn’t even process them.”

“We were using an old DOS system, and processing new members was taking at least two days. We were strapped time-wise, productivity-wise, and efficiency-wise,” he says.

“Moving to a new system was a hard transition at first—but then it just became too easy. Daxko was the best fit back in 2004, and it is the best fit now.”

Becoming Stewards

Over its seven-year partnership with Daxko, Garden City has seen a 122% increase in its number of membership units, and a 125% increase in members.

“We’ve seen steady increases in membership, program participation, and fundraising with Daxko because of the speed and efficiency we’ve gained,” he says.

“New members get through our doors quickly, and time is freed up to focus on our mission.”

Y staff rely on regularly generated reports from Daxko Operations, and Chad says, “The reports are tremendous, and we can get them at the click of a button. It’s easier to track program reports, and program staff have everything they need. Staff are better able to follow up with participants, and program participation is up.”

Garden City leans on its facility usage reports to target and better engage members. “Tracking with reports helps us get a true justification of where our dollars should go,” he says.

Moving Forward

In addition to its success with growth, and implementing good practices with reporting, work productivity is up, as well, and the association is better able to track drafts and collections.

In addition, says Chad, using Daxko Operations’ fundraising module “has been a tremendous asset.”

“The fundraising module makes it easier to focus on raising funds, and it means I can be out building and cultivating relationships,” he says. “Plus, it saves us oodles of time.”

Of Daxko’s support team, Chad says, “They are always helpful with step-by-step information. Daxko has us on a good path, and we’re still moving forward.”