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FOR
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY

OUR NONPROFIT SERVICES SHOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO SALES TAX

As part of the YMCA’s commitment to healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility, we support all efforts to remove barriers to lifelong health and wellness. Ohio is one of only three states that tax nonprofit fitness memberships. YMCAs are nonprofit, tax exempt organizations.

Like nonprofit hospitals, YMCAs provide immense community benefit:

• In 2022, YMCAs contributed over $16 million in financial assistance to those who could not afford memberships.

• Over 16,000 volunteers donated over $3.8 million worth of time.

YMCAs are not taxed on other programs and services, such as summer camp and fitness classes. Only memberships. The dollars YMCAs collect from members and remit for sales tax could be used to provide more financial assistance to those who cannot afford to be a member, help more Ohioans prevent and treat chronic diseases like diabetes, provide high quality early childhood education, and feed kids in need of consistent, healthy meals.

Ohio YMCAs ask to return to full tax exempt status, as they should be as 501(c)(3)s. Taxing memberships is inequitable and runs contrary to the organizations’ charitable purpose. A YMCA should not have to tax a member to use a treadmill when the Y does not pay tax to purchase the treadmill.

YMCAs ARE CAUSE-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS

Across Ohio, YMCAs are the cornerstone of many local communities. At the Y, families come together, volunteers give countless hours, and children thrive, all regardless of income. We impact many lives in a myriad of ways. Critical to our mission work is our charitable status. We not only provide programs vital to strong communities, such as early learning and school age programs, but also give back.

Income is not a determinant to become a Y member. We give scholarships to thousands of Ohioans each year. In 2022, Ohio Ys gave over $16 million in scholarships to community members, and 16,000 Ohioans volunteered thousands of hours of their time because they believe in the Y.

Please support our mission and protect our charitable, taxexempt status

SUPPORTING ONE CHARITY OVER ANOTHER

While we support tax incentives that encourage charitable giving, specific income tax check offs that favor one charity over another set a poor precedent and leave Ohio’s nonprofits on uneven footing with one another.

We support our colleagues in charitable work, and partner with many of them to further their missions as well as our own. Yet, if the state overtly supports one charity over another with the option of a tax donation check off on personal income tax forms, every other charity would be disadvantaged. We ask the state not to hurt one charity to help another.

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