YMCA Lincolnshire absorbs another charity

Lincolnshire YMCA has absorbed another charity as part of “bold and forward-thinking” merger.

YMCA trustees and the trustees from Community Lincs have announced their intention to merge the two Lincolnshire charities.

The proposed merger will take place in October following a period of consultation. It will see Community Lincs becoming a distinct service and sub-brand of YMCA Lincolnshire.

Services currently delivered by Community Lincs will remain unaffected and it will retain its office in Sleaford, along with all its staff members.

Those who use the charities’ services will not experience any changes to their current service. The merger will create opportunities across existing and future service provision in Lincolnshire.

YMCA previously merged with another charity, Nomad Trust, in 2013.

In a joint statement Chair of Community Lincs’ Board of Trustees, Lorraine Bellis, and Chairman of YMCA Lincolnshire, Ian Sackree, said: “Our intention to merge has followed a period of due diligence and very careful mapping of the strategic objectives of both our charities.

“Our governance Boards are clear that by joining together, Community Lincs and YMCA Lincolnshire will have the opportunity to increase our service provision and continue to deliver creative, ambitious and impactful services to benefit people and communities across the county.”

Chief Executive of Community Lincs, Gail Jackson, added: “This is a bold and forward-thinking decision for Community Lincs, our ambition is to reach more people and support more communities across both rural and urban areas of our county.

“Merging with a like-minded charity, YMCA Lincolnshire, demonstrates our mutual ambition to develop and deliver excellent needs-led services which can provide the best possible outcomes to the individuals and communities we work with. I am also delighted to be joining the senior team at YMCA Lincolnshire as the Deputy Chief Executive.”