NILES — Starting Jan. 1, 2020, the YMCA of Michiana and the YMCA of Southwest Michigan associations will merge together to form one larger association.

The merge combines the following branches: Niles-Buchanan YMCA and Benton Harbor-St. Joseph YMCA, — which together make up the YMCA of Southwest Michigan — and Riverview Family YMCA in South Bend and Camp Eberhart near Three Rivers, Michigan — which together make up the YMCA of Michiana.

The future merger was announced Wednesday, after three executive boards associated with the YMCA of Michiana and the YMCA of Southwest Michigan voted over the past few weeks to combine.

The association will serve approximately 20,000 members and participants and employ 500 people through an operating budget of about $11 million, said Mark Weber, interim CEO of the two current associations and future CEO of the new association.

The merge is meant to expand programming both inside and outside each YMCA facility for both members and non-members, he said. It also allows YMCA members to attend the other three.

“It’s about community, and it’s about our programs,” he said. “Some of the changes they are putting in place with this merger are to ensure that Niles, Buchanan, St. Joe, Benton Harbor, South Bend [and] Mishawaka do not lose focus on community.”

Weber said the future association’s programming mission could reflect the community-oriented programs the Niles-Buchanan YMCA has put on, such as Summer My Way.

“I think from a programming standpoint, this is our flagship, if you think about it,” he said of the Niles site. “I’ve been here seven years, and [COO] Denise Peters and I have really focused on community collaboration, and it all started here in Niles.”

The Benton Harbor-St. Joseph YMCA has already begun implementing community programming, he said. With the future merger, the Riverview Family YMCA could begin implementing the same sort of activities with more ease thanks to a larger budget and stronger organization all partnerships.

Weber said the merge will not create any job losses but could expand job and volunteer opportunities through increased programming across all branches.

The merge is expected to redirect $250,000 to $500,000 a year toward programs by combining administrative staff. Weber said the participating YMCAs have been anticipating the merger, and each made decisions to hire and not hire administrative officials so that no jobs would be lost.

“Instead of having two CEOs, you have one CEO,” he said. “Instead of two COOs, you have one. You take those savings, and it allows you to apply them to programming. We are a nonprofit, so we don’t make a profit. The revenue we generate goes back into our programming for the community.”

He said the national YMCA organization found that a budget of $10 to $15 million is ideal for a YMCA association to best function. When Weber joined the staff seven years ago, the Niles-Buchanan YMCA budget was only $2.5 million.

An increased budget allows for better allocation of money and the ability to hire top talent, Weber said.

Like other associations, each YMCA branch will be independently operated. That means someone could still donate to a branch’s particular project, like its “Changing Lives and Improving Health” capital campaign.

Costs not funded by donors, like everyday operations, will be covered by the combined $11 million budget.

While the merge will cut the two smaller associations’ 28 combined board positions, Weber said advisory boards of seven to 10 members for each branch will be created.

“Their whole focus is about community,” he said. “What’s the Y doing in the community? Should we be doing more? They will be advising not only the management team but the board as well.”

As the YMCAs prepare for Jan. 1, their boards are working to create a single set of bylaws from the current two. The YMCA of Michiana and the YMCA of Southwest Michigan are currently under a management agreement.

The merger announcement comes as the Niles-Buchanan YMCA prepares to break ground on a $3 million capital campaign project this fall. A new gym and multi-purpose teen and youth rooms are expected to be created.