Strong Foundations - YMCA DLG Interim Strategy

STRONG FOUNDATIONS Balancing our mission and our resources Interim Strategy for 2022

Everyone should have a fair chance to discover who they are and what they can become.

YMCA believes in fairness and opportunity. These are essential building blocks for a full and rewarding life: a safe home; acceptance; guidance; friendship; physical and mental health; academic support employment skills; and access to real opportunities.

Many young people have never known these things; other people have lost one or more as they grew up, but we all need them. All of us.

At YMCA, we provide these critical foundations for a fresh, strong start for young people and a better quality of life in the community.

HOUSING Providing a home and personalised support services for a fresh start in life.

SUPPORT & ADVICE Offering a safe space to get support and advice through specialised youth services.

TRAINING & EDUCATION Giving opportunities to gain qualifications, skills and employment.

FAMILY & YOUTH WORK Creating positive outcomes with children and young people in their communities, and support for families.

HEALTH & WELLBEING Delivering mental health and wellbeing services in schools, community settings and online.

Our Mission We stand together with children and young people who are at risk; keeping them safe, supporting their emotional wellbeing, and enabling them to belong, contribute and thrive in their local community.

Values

Vision

We welcome all

An inclusive Christian movement transforming communities so that all young people can belong, contribute and thrive.

We inspire We support We speak out

Strategic principles 2022/23 ▶ Build on success/learning from previous strategies ▶ Missional focus – children & young people ▶ Service priorities: • Supported Housing/Emotional wellbeing • Targeted youth services • Commercial services ▶ Full cost recovery & liquidity of £1.5M ▶ Skilled, diverse & resilient workforce ▶ Strong & collaborative partnerships ▶ High quality & maximum impact

Our 2022 goal is​:

To create a better balance between our mission and (people & financial) resources.

This goal aims to respond to: ▶ the significant growth of the organisation over the past five years​ ▶ the impact on our staff and volunteers of responding to the pandemic, ▶ the increasing social need we are seeing amongst our service users and residents

Five strategic objectives​ What we do

How we do it

We will review our services for children, young people & families so they reflect our missional priorities, risk tolerances & financial operating rules.

We will invest in our people, with a focus on staff wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, reward and recognition, and organisational culture.

We will assess our referral thresholds, so our services are safe for service users and s​ taff, and reflect our ​ vision and values.

We will ensure our resources are better balanced in preparation for a new strategic period.

We will develop a new long-term strategy ​and business plan for the organisation.