Most YMCAs are doing extraordinary community work — but their websites, campaigns, and creative don't reflect it. Wallendorf Studio is the agency built specifically for the Y.
Continuous retainer with YMCA of San Diego County
Creative systems across every branch
Embedded partners, not one-off vendors
Web · Salesforce · Creative · Video
Wallendorf Studio is a creative and technology agency based in San Diego. After three years as the embedded agency partner for YMCA of San Diego County, the Y has become the heart of what we do.
We understand nonprofit governance, multi-location operations, Salesforce architecture, membership marketing, and community storytelling. We didn't read about it — we lived inside it.
"When you bring us on, you're not hiring a vendor. You're adding a studio of designers, developers, and storytellers who care deeply about what the YMCA stands for."
We're founder-led and deliberately focused. We take on a limited number of Y partners each year — because depth is the point. What we built at YMCA San Diego is the template we're bringing to YMCAs across the country.
Every YMCA we've worked with has a dedicated internal team — and that team is handling communications, member services, programs, and operations all at once. The first thing to slip is the deep-specialization work. That's not failure. It's resourcing reality.
YMCA of San Diego County brought us on not as a vendor, but as an embedded agency partner. Across two retainer agreements and 16 locations, we built the systems, created the content, and developed the tools that let their team focus on what they do best.
YMCA San Diego's homepage wasn't performing. Navigation was fragmented, key actions — membership sign-up, program registration, branch finder — were buried, and the site wasn't built for mobile, where the majority of traffic lands. Prospective members were arriving and leaving without converting.
The ApproachWe led the full redesign from discovery through launch: UX strategy, visual design, and front-end development. We restructured the information architecture so the three most common actions are front and center on every entry point, with a design system that scales across all 16 branches.
DeliveredEvery January, YMCAs run membership campaigns. Most look the same — stock photography, generic headlines, a discount. YMCA San Diego needed something built to run cohesively across social, print, OOH, email, and paid digital while speaking authentically to 16 distinct communities.
The ApproachWallendorf Studio served as head of creative direction and full execution for the 2026 Join the Y campaign — from initial concept through live deployment across every channel. Built around one human truth: people don't join a gym — they join a community.
DeliveredWorking with Wallendorf has fundamentally changed what we're able to do digitally. They understand the Y — the mission, the complexity, the community. That's not something you can train a vendor on.
Our Salesforce build was a mess before they touched it. Now it actually works for us — our team spends time on members instead of workarounds. The ROI is real and measurable.
The 2026 campaign creative was the best thing our brand has produced. Real people, real branches, real storytelling. Our members felt seen in it — and prospects noticed the difference.
Managing 16 locations of creative used to be a nightmare of inconsistency. Wallendorf built systems that scale. Every branch feels like the same organization — and that matters deeply.
We know hiring an external partner can feel like a big lift for a mission-driven organization with board oversight and tight budgets. We've made the process straightforward on purpose — because we've been on the inside of that decision before.
20–30 minutes understanding your organization, current challenges, and goals. No slides. No sales pressure. Just a direct conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
A proposal built around what your branches actually need — retainer or project-based. No predefined tiers. No features you don't need. Built for your size, budget, and goals.
We work inside your tools, culture, and calendar. You get a dedicated studio — not a rotating cast of freelancers. We become part of how the work gets done.
Book a 20-minute discovery call — no commitment, no pitch deck. Just a real conversation about your Y and where you want to take it.
Whether you're a single-branch YMCA or a regional association, we'd love to understand what you're working with and where you want to go.
You'll hear from us within 24 hours.