We probably receive 1-3 calls a month inquiring about opening a new Club, usually from folks from Bellingham’s south side (Happy Valley, Chuckanut, Fairhaven), or east county (Kendall, Maple Falls, Deming, Everson, Sumas, Acme, Nooksack Tribe), and/or Sudden Valley, Northshore, Lake Samish, Birch Bay, Custer, North Bellingham, and Lummi Nation…and even in Point Roberts and the San Juans!  So, what does it take to get a new Boys & Girls Club in your community?

To begin with, it takes 6 basic components:

1. Kids…the demonstration of need in the community. We serve kids in grades K-12. We do not offer pre-school or adult programs. A minimum annual membership is about 100 kids. Our current Clubs range in membership from 80 kids (Lummi Island) to 365 (Lynden), to 450 (Blaine), to 1,110 (Ferndale) and 3,750 (Bellingham). These numbers include kids from our daily Clubhouse program, county-wide athletics (basketball, tackle and flag football, baseball and softball) and outreach.
2. Location…we must have an acceptable place to operate. We are a facility-based program. The location must be “kid friendly’ and meet all safety and code requirements. It must meet all BGCA (Boys & Girls Clubs of America) programmatic requirements, and graphic standards requirements including signage.
3. Money…there must be a solid, consistent, long-term identified revenue stream; all funds are controlled by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County. We are one organization, but with unit accounting—so, each Club’s budget is monitored and accounted separately. There is no mixing of funds—for example, everything raised in Blaine, stays in Blaine. Everything expended by Blaine is charged to Blaine. All Clubs pay their share of administrative costs and receive shared revenues back.
4. Staff….Boys & Girls Clubs are staff operated. For full time Clubs, there must be a Branch Director and other paid staff (as supported by the Branch budget), hired and supervised by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County. Our staff is supplemented by volunteers.
5. Branch Board….a Local Branch Advisory Board must be established that supports the program and raises the necessary funds to support the operating budget each year. The #1 requirement of a Branch Director is Board development.
6. The approval of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and our Regional Service Director Lloyd Tolle; and the Corporate Board of  Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County

Other Information:

Ø       The Boys & Girls Clubs do not simply place a Club in a community. The community comes to the Boys & Girls Clubs and requests services, with a long term support plan in mind.

Ø       The community must understand what a Boys & Girls Club is, and is not; and must buy into our governance, philosophy, program, structure, mission, goals, procedures and branding. We are a program center, open certain hours per week, offering varied programs in five core areas designed to build character and life skills.  We are a safe place, supervised by a paid staff of trained and caring adults (about 2/3 of the operating budget is staff related costs of wages, benefits, taxes and training). We have an open door policy- kids may arrive and leave on their own during our open hours. How, when and with whom a child arrives and leaves is a matter between parent/guardian and child. We are not day care or babysitting, and we are not a community center. We are a private non-profit membership organization ($30.00 a year per child), available to all kids, with a special emphasis on those who need us most.

Ø       A small part time Club operation costs about $40,000-$85,000 annually (such as our Lummi Island Extension).  A small, basic full time operation costs about $180,000-$250,000 annually (such as our Blaine and Lynden Units). A full service, full time Club’s annual budget is in the $400,000 to $800,000 range (such as our Ferndale and Bellingham Units). This is annual operating only—it does not include capital expenditures. We recommend raising at least one year of operating revenues in advance prior to opening any site. We are ONLY interested in a long term commitment; we do not want to get into the scenario of opening a new Unit or Extension only to close it later due to lack of funding or a suitable/available location.

Ø       The cost of constructing a new modern facility is about $225 psf, not including the land. A small Club (no gym) is about 2,500-6,000 sf. A medium Club (mini-gym or single gym) is about 12,000-18,000 sf. A full sized Club is about 20,000-35,000 sf. Renovated or remodeled existing facilities may be less costly up front but usually not as utilitarian. However, BGCA has hundreds of Clubs in schools, housing authority buildings, community centers, on Native land, churches, and former store fronts.

Ø       The Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County is currently NOT in an expansion mode. We have NO FUNDS for start-up, or subsidization. All Clubs must be self-sustaining. However, we do consider new locations, if there is a collaborative partner in place such as a governmental entity (city/county), school district, Tribe, or Housing Authority that will provide a suitable location and ongoing funding. One other scenario would be a significant benefactor, such as an individual or foundation that would provide both start-up and ongoing funding. (Note: Starting a Branch is relatively easy. It’s the $250,000 it costs to operate year after year after year that’s the hard part!)

If you feel the above criteria are “doable,” give me a call and I will attend an informational community meeting that you organize. Thanks for your interest in “The Positive Place for Kids.” For more information, visit our website at www.whatcomclubs.organd the Boys & Girls Clubs of America website at www.bgca.org.

Sincerely,

Lynn James Templeton,

Executive Director/CEO

Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County  360-738-3808