YMCA Exempt Charity

In the third appellate decision in ten years of litigation, a commercial fitness center failed in a claim that the operation of a fitness center by a YMCA violated the prohibition against subsidizing a commercial business unrelated to the YMCA's charitable purpose. Selfspot, Inc. v. Butler County Family YMCA, No. 1308 D.C. 2008 (Pa. Cmwlth. Jan. 5, 2010) (en banc). The appellate court agreed with the conclusion of the trial court after five days of hearings that the YMCA's fitness center was not operated as a commercial business and was indeed related to the YMCA's charitable purpose to promote the health and welfare of the community. In a thorough opinion, the Commonwealth Court reviewed the extensive evidence and testimony that the YMCA's fitness center was not operated as a separate facility but was one of a number of facilities available to any member of the YMCA. The YMCA subsidized some memberships for persons of limited means and made the facilities available,