Brainerd, Minn. – The Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation (BLACF) announced today that they have activated
the Brainerd Lakes Area Response Fund to help support the recovery and reopening efforts of the Brainerd Family
YMCA following Tuesday’s incident. One of the walls of the Brainerd Family YMCA was damaged during an automobile
accident, leaving a large hole in one of their daycare rooms. The entire Brainerd Family YMCA is closed until further
notice.
Since 1889 the Brainerd Family YMCA has been helping individuals and families build a healthy spirit, mind & body.
Through the years they continue to step up and meet needs and now they need our help.
BLACF Staff and Board Members are ready to respond to emergencies in our area and meet immediate community
needs 365 days a year with the BLA Response Fund. And while we are not yet 100% certain of what the Brainerd
Family YMCA’s long-term needs are going to be, we do know that there is an immediate need; addressing physical,
emotional, and financial needs of staff and daycare families while in this transition, understanding the building
damage and what needs to happen to reopen all YMCA services.
By activating the BLA Response Fund and accepting gifts on behalf of the Brainerd Family YMCA, your community
foundation is able to take some of the administrative burden off of one of our non-profit partners during this time of
crisis and allow them to continue to address their immediate priorities to get back to providing essential services
including daycare to the 45 children and their families who desperately need it. Our Community Foundation team has
experience with disaster recovery, and we are ready to fill gaps where needed.
If you would like to make a gift to support the Brainerd Family YMCA, you may do so by visiting
www.communitygiving.org/donate and select, “the “Brainerd Lakes Area Response Fund” from
the drop-down menu. Any gifts that come in today forward will be segmented and set aside for the YMCA’s recovery.
If you have any questions on how your community foundation is responding or on how you can help us be where we
need to be – when we need to be there, you may call our offices at 218-824-5633 or send us an email at
[email protected] and our staff will be ready to assist. For now, thank you for everything you are doing for
your neighbors in need and please keep the YMCA staff, their members, and their daycare families in your thoughts.
BLACF attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of supporting your favorite charities and causes. BLACF
was founded in 1998 and celebrating their 25th anniversary and is excited for not only the growth in fund assets that
the foundation hosts – over $19.26 million, but even more proud of the $9 million in grant funding provided to
nonprofit organizations from BLACF and in-partnership with its fundholders and donors. Those dollars are truly
transforming lives and changing our communities! The BLACF is governed by a local board of directors and is a partner
of CommunityGiving, which is a collaborative of community foundations creating efficiencies that maximize donor
impact. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers over 1,000 funds, totaling nearly $210 million. Learn more at
CommunityGiving.org/blacf.