Nonprofit Spotlight: YMCA of Honolulu - Oʻahu Business Journal | Nonprofit Business Profile

At a Glance

• Founded: 1869; incorporated under the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1882
• Headquarters: 1441 Pali Highway, Honolulu, HI 96813 (Nuʻuanu Branch / Association Office)
• Legal status: Independent, local 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Federal Tax ID 99-0073533)
• Locations: Nine branches across Oʻahu — Atherton, Central (with short-term residences), Kaimukī-Waiʻalae, Kalihi, Leeward, Mililani (West Oʻahu), Nuʻuanu, Waiʻanae Coast, and Windward — plus Camp H.R. Erdman, a 20-acre resident camp on the North Shore
• FY2024 total revenue: $46.6 million (audited), up from $33.1 million in FY2023
• President & CEO: Walter F. Thoemmes III (effective March 3, 2026)
• Reach: More than 50,000 people served annually, with programs delivered at 115+ community sites statewide

Organizational Overview

The YMCA of Honolulu traces its roots to 1869, when a small group of civic leaders brought the YMCA model from London to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi to serve young sailors, new immigrants, and youth in a rapidly changing Honolulu. Formally incorporated in 1882, the organization has grown into one of Hawaiʻi's largest nonprofits, guided by a mission "to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all."

The Y's history includes a landmark moment in American civil rights: in 1917, five community leaders combined the separate Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Filipino YMCA associations into a single, unified Nuʻuanu branch open to everyone — recognized as one of the most notable early achievements in racial integration among YMCAs nationwide. The organization marked its 150th anniversary in 2019 and today operates nine branches and a North Shore resident camp while delivering programs in schools and community sites across Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Maui.

Business Model and Finances

As a 501(c)(3), the YMCA of Honolulu funds its operations through a mix of program service fees (memberships, childcare, camps, and aquatics), government grants and contracts, philanthropic contributions, and investment income, supplemented by an endowment. According to the organization's most recently available audited financial statements, for the fiscal year ended in 2024:

• Total revenue, gains, and other support: $46.6 million ($35.7 million without donor restrictions and $10.9 million with donor restrictions), up from $33.1 million in FY2023
• Program service fees: $20.9 million, up from $19.7 million in FY2023
• Government grants: $10.4 million, up sharply from $6.2 million in FY2023
• Contributions and bequests: $381,386, plus additional restricted contributions tied to capital projects

That growth reflects both steady expansion of core membership and childcare programming and a surge in philanthropic support for the organization's largest capital undertaking in decades: a roughly $60 million campaign to redevelop its historic Nuʻuanu flagship branch. The design phase, estimated at $4.5 million, is largely funded, with $3 million already secured; of the $60 million construction phase, more than $22 million had been secured heading into fiscal year 2027. Major gifts driving the campaign include a $5 million commitment from the David C. Ai Charitable Trust and a combined $425,000 from the Central Pacific Bank Foundation, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, and Arnold and Thuy Martines.

Leadership

The YMCA of Honolulu is entering a new leadership era. Walter F. Thoemmes III was named President and CEO effective March 3, 2026, following a national search that drew more than 340 applicants. Thoemmes joins after 31 years at Kamehameha Schools, where he spent the past decade leading commercial real estate development and master community planning. He succeeds Interim President and CEO Lisa Ontai, who had served in the role since July 2025 and previously spent more than a decade as the organization's Vice President of Marketing and Mission Advancement. Ontai stepped in after Greg Waibel, CEO from 2021 to 2025, departed to become Chief Operating Officer of YMCA of the USA.

The Board of Directors is chaired by Arnold Martines, President and COO of Central Pacific Bank, with Steven C. Ai (President and CEO of City Mill Co., Ltd.) as Vice Chair, Linda Gee as Secretary, and Claudia Crist as Treasurer; board members include ʻIolani Palace President and CEO Paula Akana. The executive team includes Belinda Johnson (Vice President of Finance and Accounting), Leigh Ann Landreth (Vice President of Membership and Healthy Lifestyles), Kevin Patterson (Vice President of People and Culture), Jen Townsend (Vice President of Youth Development), and Kerri Bosworth Van Duyne (Vice President of Development). The association employs close to 975 staff statewide.

Programs and Community Role

The Y's work spans three core impact areas — Healthy Living, Youth Development, and Social Responsibility — delivered through its branches and a wide network of community partnerships:

• Healthy Living: Fitness, aquatics, and swim instruction at branches with pools, along with wellness programming for kūpuna (seniors) and families.
• Youth Development: Before- and after-school care at roughly 60 public and private schools, summer day camps, and the resident program at Camp H.R. Erdman on the North Shore.
• Social Responsibility: Substance abuse treatment and prevention services at 28 school campuses across Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Kauaʻi; teen mental health counseling at 26 middle and high schools; and Early Learning Centers and preschools, including programs serving houseless families.
• Housing: The Central Y offers short-term accommodations, one of the few affordable lodging options of its kind on Oʻahu.
• Nuʻuanu Y Reimagined: A two-phase redevelopment of the historic flagship branch — Phase 1 building a multi-level community hub for health, fitness, aquatics, and youth and kūpuna programming, and Phase 2 adding affordable housing to the site in partnership with the City and housing organizations. Groundbreaking is targeted for 2027.

Why It Matters for Oʻahu's Economy and Community

With nearly 975 employees and programs touching more than 50,000 people a year, the YMCA of Honolulu is both a significant employer and a piece of the island's social safety net — providing childcare that lets parents work, mental health and substance-abuse services that support schools and families, and affordable lodging and recreation that would otherwise be out of reach for many residents. Its roughly $60 million Nuʻuanu redevelopment, backed by major local philanthropy and financial institutions, also represents one of the larger nonprofit capital investments underway on Oʻahu, with construction spending expected to ripple through the local building industry once groundbreaking begins in 2027.

Contact Information

• Address: 1441 Pali Highway, Honolulu, HI 96813
• Phone: (808) 531-3558
• Website: ymcahonolulu.org
• Email: donate@ymcahonolulu.org

This profile is part of Oʻahu Business Journal's ongoing nonprofit spotlight series highlighting the organizations shaping Oʻahu's civic and cultural landscape.