ST. LOUIS -- The YMCA of Greater St. Louis will use $250,000 in Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits approved by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) to expand its Four Rivers Area Family Facility in Washington, MO.
The expansion will include an 8,500-square-foot, two-story addition that will serve an additional 3,000 to 5,000 people in the organization’s core programs of youth sports, according to a release from Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt’s office.
Debbie Toedebusch, executive director of The Four Rivers Area YMCA, told The Washington Missourian in mid-May that the facility needed room for fitness classes and family programs. Since the Y opened in August 1998, its membership has grown to more than 5,500, even though the facility was originally designed for about 2,600 members, she told the newspaper.
The DED administers the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) that helps not-for-profit organizations raise private-sector funds by providing partial state-tax credits to businesses that make contributions to approved community improvement projects.
Businesses can donate cash, materials, supplies or equipment; technical assistance and professional services; labor; real estate; or stocks and bonds. Credits can equal up to 50 percent of the total amount contributed or up to 70 percent for projects located in most rural areas.
Not-for-profit organizations participating in the NAP program conduct capital campaigns or provide services in the areas of crime prevention, education, job training, physical revitalizations or community services. The program is used by not-for-profit organizations throughout Missouri to make their communities a more desirable place to live and work, as well as pave the way for economic development.