Membership FAQ for Website

What is Young Men's Business League?

YMBL is a 501(c)4 social service organization founded in 1913. Through our mission of Connect, Lead, & Serve, YMBL cultivates today's young professionals into tomorrow's community leaders.

YMBL provides opportunities for members to connect with other businessmen and our extensive alumni network through networking functions, social events, YMBL's annual signature events, and volunteerism.

YMBL also provides members with personal, professional, and leadership development opportunities by serving on various committees, serving on the board of directors, and chairing signature events.

Lastly, YMBL provides members with opportunities to serve our community through volunteerism at Austin Sunshine Camps, which is YMBL's sole philanthropic endeavor. Each year, YMBL provides roughly one-third of the Sunshine Camps’'s annual budget through revenue generated from YMBL's special events and annual fundraising campaign.

What is Austin Sunshine Camps?

Austin Sunshine Camps is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded by Young Men's Business League in 1928 with facilities in the heart of Zilker Park and along the shoreline of Lake Travis. Since its inception, ASC has served more than 52,000 of Austin's low income youth at the only free, week long, overnight summer camp in Central Texas. Through its signature summer camp and year-round programming, ASC engages and empowers youth through education and outdoor experiences such as hiking, canoeing, swimming, high and low ropes courses, arts and crafts, and STEAM activities, all at no cost to their families.

What is the process to become a YMBL Man?

YMBL recruits new members twice a year, in the fall and the spring. New members will either join the Fall or Spring new member cohorts. During each recruitment season, YMBL will host recruitment events to promote our organization and our philanthropy, Austin Sunshine Camps.

Please e-mail membership@austinymbl.org to be added to our recruitment listserv.

What are the duties of a YMBL Man?

As stated in our bylaws, each year, every YMBL Man fulfills the following duties in order to earn and retain active membership with Young Men's Business League.

•  Raise at least $500 to send one kid to the Austin Sunshine Camps
• Attend Austin Sunshine Camp events
• Volunteer or participate in the YMBL events
• Pay renewal dues of $300 annually
• Submit a background check annually 

What happens if a member doesn't fulfill his annual membership requirements?

If an active member doesn't fulfill his annual membership requirements, they are subject to removal from the organization.

How much are annual membership dues?

Active membership dues are $300 per year.

What is a service team?

Service Teams are designed to make a large organization feel smaller. Every new cohort is divided into Service Teams. Service Teams are the same group of guys you fundraise with and come out to volunteer at the camps with. Made up of around 25 members, each team includes new members as well as seasoned YMBL men.

Which service team am I on?

Contact Jasen Wallace & he will let you know.

What is fundraising season?

This is when we come together to raise as much money as possible to send as many kids as possible to the Austin Sunshine Camps. ASC has capacity to serve 1,350 campers each summer and it costs around $500 for us to send one kid for one week long camp session. The fundraising campaign lasts around 6 weeks and all members are expected to raise enough money to send AT LEAST one kid to camp. YMBL provides an online fundraising platform for members to create a fundraising page for donors to make contributions directly to ASC. Whether it is a social media post, a phone call to a friend, an email or a pub crawl, we provide the tools and tactics for members to spread the word about how we can help these deserving children look forward to coming to camp.

What are the events throughout the year I can volunteer for?

Visit our events page to look for upcoming volunteer opportunities. Also, every year, we do the following:

• Austin Sunshine Camps: Summer Camp Events
• Sunshine Run
  
• Austin Under 40 Awards
• YMBL Classic (annual golf tournament)
• Spring Fling & Fall Fling
• Winter Holiday Party
• Sporting Clays

There are also a number of social and appreciation events that are held throughout the year. We are always looking for volunteers to help out with them.

What's the best way for a new member to get involved?

YMBL is a vast, dynamic organization with many moving parts and opportunities to get plugged in and support the organization's initiatives. While it's helpful to have an idea for what you're looking to get out of your membership (i.e. networking, volunteerism, sharpening skills, etc.), we recommend members identify activities or events that are of most interest to them and reach out to the board member responsible for leading the initiative. For example, if you're an avid golfer, you may want to reach out to the chairs of our annual golf tournament. If you're ever looking for assistance, you can always feel free to reach out to any member of the board and they can help point you in the right direction.

Who do I contact if I have questions?

If you have questions on something that is not handled in this FAQ e-mail membership@austinymbl.org.

If you need to contact a member that you don't have contact info for, we have a membership directory here. This can be matched with the list of active board members here.

Who do I speak to for technical difficulties with my account?

Email webmaster (at) this domain.