e: There is a direct line between the national organization and the local organization. There are no intermediary (e.g. regional) governing bodies.
Each chapter, such as the Huntington YMCA, are required by the national YMCA's constitution to pay annual dues to the national organization, to refrain from discrimination in offering services to anyone in need, and to support the mission of the YMCA as defined by the national organization. That mission is "To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all" (http://www.ymca.com/index.jsp). Decisions at the level of the national organization are made by its board of directors. Minutes of the board's meetings are mailed (and emailed) to the directors of all of the local chapters, and any decisions that would affect the local chapters would be conveyed by mail or phone calls. However, there is little need for continual communication about governance between the national organization and the local chapters because of the high degree of autonomy that the local chapters enjoy.
Beyond this, the local YMCA has essentially absolute discretion in choosing which programs to offer, how to staff the local programs and the style of operation of the local chapter. The Huntington YMCA takes advantage of the degree of freedom to provide the type of services the staff members believe that the community needs. This long-time volunteer at the chapter offers this assessment of how well the system works.
I've worked for other organizations that have a national office and local chapters - including the PTA and the Humane Society. And not that they're not great organizations with i
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