ATLANTA — A nonprofit fitness facility and a for-profit club have formed a partnership in the Atlanta area. All residents who sign up for a family membership at Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) will have the option of registering for a free, one-year membership to the 25,000-square-foot Gold's Gym Alpharetta. All Marcus JCC members, regardless of their membership level, can also sign up for an additional Gold's Gym membership for $99.

The Gold's Gym is less than a half mile from the campus for the Jewish Federation of Georgia, which does not have a fitness center but serves a large Jewish population in the area. Partnering with Gold's Gym allows JCC members to have access to a fitness center without driving 15 miles into town to work out at another local JCC, says Pam Morton, marketing coordinator.

“It's an unprecedented partnership,” Morton says. “As far as I know, no other JCCs are doing this.”

Because the JCC offers so many programs in the Atlanta area, the partnership with Gold's Gym does not detract from the membership at the two JCC fitness centers in Dunwoody, GA, and Marietta, GA, Morton says. Instead, she views the partnership as a value-added program for the Atlanta JCCs.

In the month of January, 33 members took advantage of the free Gold's Gym membership, and five members signed up for the $99 annual offer. The JCC paid Gold's Gym a lump sum to purchase a block of 100 memberships at a reduced rate, says Tom Kilroy, owner of the club, which has been open for five years.

“Since they're a nonprofit, we tried to come up with a number that would help us break even, but would be something they could afford,” he says. “It's an excellent partnership and is affording the members an additional membership that they weren't able to take advantage of in the past.”

The partnership will benefit Gold's Gym by bringing in more members who may buy additional products and services, Kilroy says. At the same time, they will be exposed to a fitness facility they may not have thought about joining before the partnership with the JCC, he says. The JCC and Gold's Gym of Alpharetta have a one-year agreement, and both organizations plan to reevaluate the partnership at the end of the year.

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