In February 1866, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of New York's executive committee privately dispersed a report that was prepared by Cephas Brainerd and Robert McBurney entitled, "A Memorandum Respecting New-York as a Field for Moral and Christian Effort Among Young Men." This memorandum joined the key message of the YMCA to info and figures that had been drawn from the census, tax knowledge, and licensing reviews.