Gro Dev

Have you registered for Gro's 2-Part Webinar Series!? We're diving in this Thursday, September 5th, 2-3pm EST! Explore Emerging YMCA Design Trends Discover Strategies for Meeting Your Target Market's Expectations Learn How to Stretch Your Investment Enhance Your Existing Center And More! Registration Links Below: Part 1 - Thursday, September 5th: https://lnkd.in/eetB-n6e Part 2 - Thursday, September 12th: https://lnkd.in/esWZe_34 Please Note: After registration, you will receive a confirmation email containing all pertinent information to join the meeting.

Join Gro for this 2-Part Webinar Series as we share powerful insights from our experience in completing over 400 design projects over the last five years. We'll explore key topics such as emerging YMCA design trends, strategies for meeting your target market’s expectations, and how to stretch your investment to enhance more of your existing center. While new buildings often capture the spotlight, not everyone has $30 million and a prime piece of land at their disposal. With over 2,600 YMCA centers across the United States, operators are well aware that these facilities need reinvestment to stay relevant and continue serving our communities. The pressing question is often: "Where do we begin?" Register For The Webinar Series Here:  Part 1: https://lnkd.in/eetB-n6e Part 2: https://lnkd.in/esWZe_34 Please Note: After registration, you will receive a confirmation email containing all pertinent information to join the meeting. #YMCA #ImpactDesign #DesignTrends #DesignStrategies #CommunityCenters #Gro #GroDev

Reimagining BIG in East Buffalo! John Ehrbar, the YMCA Buffalo Niagara President & CEO, beautifully states; “For years, there has been a high demand to do more in East Buffalo. We’re listening and we believe that action needs to be taken. We’re confident that in these new and reimagined spaces, the YMCA will have the ability to do, and be, more for City of Buffalo residents.” A huge congrats YMCA Buffalo Niagara! We are beyond grateful for the opportunity afforded us to join your incredible team around the ideation and formation of this reimagined Y. It brings us great pleasure as we stand firm in our vision to advocate for the modernization of Ys as catalysts and anchors for renewal and community development - which is now afoot in Buffalo’s East Side. #YMCABuffaloNiagara #Reimagine #SocialImpact #CommunityDevelopment #YMCA #Gro #GroDev https://lnkd.in/euiKGWGY

Exciting New Groundbreaking for Edmond, OK YMCA! Really Will Co-Locate Body, MIND! and Spirit! Stacie Peterson, the City of Edmond councilperson who serves on the project oversight committee, highlights how “the power of partnerships cannot be overstated.” Kelly Kay, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, goes on to underline how “this partnership with the City of Edmond and the Metropolitan Library System allows us to expand our reach and impact within the Edmond community.” Huge shout-out to the YMCA team in Oklahoma as this vision begins to come to life, we know how much dedication and effort precedes this exciting private-public partnership. Such a wonderful collaboration that beautifully combines funding from the municipal library system and YMCA funders. This $31.5 million facility will be a shining light, an example for all, and a massive contribution to the Edmond community! Also a big shout-out to Scott Mitchell, Lacy Kendrick, CFRE, Mike Roark, and the City of Edmond! #YMCAEdmond #SocialImpact #Groundbreaking #PublicPrivatePartnerships #YMCA #CoLocation #Gro #GroDev 

Can we rejuvenate and revitalize our community hubs - with an eye on budget? One of the most impactful – and economical – ways to reinvent a community hub is with a thoughtful initiative for transforming existing spaces for a higher, better use. Take the example of the Y in Hanover Pennsylvania. Dated, 1980s vintage spaces - including the lobby (now commons!), kids’ adventure center, admin areas, community rooms, circulation areas and adjacent outdoor areas - were renovated, revived and retooled - and on the cheap. Gro’s Team Lead for Interiors and Branded Environments, Victor L., explains what these lower-cost projects mean to non-profit, purpose-focused clients and their communities. “It's about the feeling, the messages, and intentions we're setting,” Lewis says. “It's all about being in an impactfully designed and comfortable community-centered environment where people can be and belong." The Hanover project was incredibly affordable. This is achieved in part through Gro's Procurement Program, leveraging national volume relationships with materials suppliers. Relative to structural projects, that can cost in the millions, these are amounts that can forego the need for a capital campaign. It can be a line-item in the budget, implemented in a relatively short time for a high impact on membership recruitment and retention while improving operational efficiencies and safety. To join this movement and reimagine/renew your interiors, simply direct message Gro’s Victor L. here. To connect regarding Gro's Procurement Program, direct message Gro’s Kathleen Womack. #Gro #GroDev #Interiors #Reinvent #Renew #Reimagine #LowCost #HighImpact #YMCA #BrandedEnvironments and #YMCAdesign

We Turn Ten, And We’re Only Leaning Further In… As we cross this momentous threshold of the tenth year of our existence, it is from the heart, and the strength of the full team of Gro (present and past), that we wish to make known our deep gratitude for this decade of ever being invited in. Into purposeful initiatives, building for a better - both movement-wide, and one community at a time – from rural to urban. We believe in the power of place.  We believe we’re better together.  We’re ten years in - and we’re only more inspired by the pace, progress, and productivity of our collective works, and likewise encouraged by the possibilities before us – all of us. #Gro #GroDev #10YearAnniversary #SocialImpact #PurposeDriven

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, a crucial time to recognize and address the unique mental health challenges faced by minority communities. This month serves as a powerful reminder of the disparities that exist in accessing mental health care and the importance of promoting inclusivity in support services. As we strive to inform, inspire, and reimagine the built environment of community-based, purpose-centered organizations like the Y...let’s amplify awareness, foster understanding, and advocate for the diverse needs of all individuals. For our part at Gro, we are committed to stimulating more regular inclusion of mental health and community health suites and services inboard of our Nation’s 2,600+ centers and camps - with many in place already, and much more to come. #MentalHealth #Inclusion #Equity #YMCA #Gro #GroDev

Latest year’s savings with the nation's leading paint supplier nets YMCAs $850K. Among the benefits of working in a defined category of non-profits – in our case, with cause-driven, for-purpose organizations – is we get to know the material suppliers that work well with these organizations and their facilities.  Another benefit is being able to negotiate preferred pricing for scaled use across a portfolio of 2500+ centers. A great case in point is Sherwin-Williams. For the many non-profits with which we work, either renovating existing facilities or building new community centers, there’s a lot of wall area needing love - in the case of YMCAs, it’s 125 million square feet. As these places for community are finished and modernized, they can save a lot when they purchase at nationally negotiated prices through Gro’s procurement program. How much? According to Gro’s director of procurement, Kathleen Womack, “Our negotiated YMCA contract reflects a 40% savings on retail paint and all product pricing.” Now in its fifth year, the engagement with Sherwin-Williams represents one of sixty (plus) national suppliers within the program. “But it’s more than that. We also negotiate longer warranties and optimal delivery schedules. And from Sherwin-Williams’ standpoint, we’re a known and appreciated customer to work with”, Womack states. Procurement might not be the sexiest thing in facility development, but it’s relationships with suppliers like Sherwin-Williams that help us design vibrant places of impact and achieve cost-containment goals. It’s summer, let’s call it a season of wins! For more information about the Gro Procurement Program and to start benefiting from these and other savings, simply direct message Gro’s Kathleen Womack here, via Linkedin. #SherwinWilliams #Procurement #Savings #Gro #GroDev #YMCA

We’re wanting to add our congratulations to Team YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg (including especially CEO David Jezek and COO Tim Staley) as your visionary and productive initiative to activate surplus Y-owned acreage for hosting new, needed housing clears a critical gate in approvals.  Such approval is reflective of many things, including the productive act of stimulating much-needed housing creation, community development itself, and the making of an 11-acre Y campus a bit of a village. And we all know it takes villages!  Carry on in more good. - Your friends and fans at Gro #YMCAStPete #SocialImpact #TakesAVillage #Gro #GroDev https://lnkd.in/eWbiCubU

As the Declaration of Independence so beautifully states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Let us reflect on the values that define our nation—freedom, unity, and resilience. This marks more than a commemoration of history; it’s a reminder of the enduring spirit that propels us forward. We honor the courage of those who came before us, and recommit ourselves to building a future where opportunity and justice are accessible to all. Happy Independence Day to everyone! #IndependenceDay #July4th #Gro #GroDev #Justice #LibertyForAll