Blogs

Join Us for the 2020 Stand Against Racism National Tele-Town Hall

Thursday, April 23, 2020
3:00 – 4:45 p.m. ET

Voting rights, census participation, and civic engagement are, and have always been, essential to racial justice. As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts all aspects of life, it is also exacerbating the impact of systemic and structural racism on communities of color across health, education, justice, and economic sectors. In this moment, our collective efforts to secure full access at the ballot box, to ensure a fair and complete census count, and to stand against racism—whenever and wherever it happens—are more important than ever.

Join us for a national tele-town hall where we will:

• Explore the issues with national leaders in the movement for racial justice and gender equity.
• Learn best practices and build skills for effective civic engagement amidst social distancing.
• Motivate and inspire our nationwide network for the work of racial justice.

In this critical moment for our nation, our collective efforts can root out injustice, transform institutions, and create a world that sees women, girls, and people of color the way we do: Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable.

Speakers include:

• Alejandra Y. Castillo, CEO, YWCA USA
• Cecile Richards, Co-chair, Supermajority
• Vanita Gupta, President & CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
• Valerie Jarrett, Co-Chair, United State of Women & When We All Vote
• Ai-Jen Poo, Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
• Virginia Kase, CEO, League of Women Voters
• Melanie Campbell, President & CEO, National Council on Black Civic Participation

YWCA staff, board members, clients/program participants, community partners, and local policy makers are encouraged to join. Register today!

Below are two additional ways that you can engage with us in this year's Stand Against Racism:

• Use the Advocacy & Media Toolkit - COVID-19 Update for tips on transitioning to virtual Stand Against Racism events and to update your social media plan.

Update your YWCA’s activities on your Stand Against Racism dashboard.

Need help with SAR resources? Feel free to contact us with any questions

COVID-19 Legislative Update

YWCA USA remains actively engaged in efforts to increase financial resources for the nonprofit sector in Congressional stimulus/relief packages. We are currently focused on:

1. Increasing federal grant funding for child care, housing, and domestic violence service providers.
2. Increasing the federal unemployment insurance reimbursement for self-funded nonprofits to 100% of costs.
3. Strengthening charitable giving incentives beyond the $300 deduction for 2020.
4. Designating funding exclusively for nonprofits within the two main loan programs created by the CARES Act.

We’ll keep you posted through the COVID-19 Impact Community on the intranet as legislation advances.

COVID-19 Communications Toolkit

COVID-19 Impact Intranet Community

All YWCA CEO/EDs, Board of Directors, and staff are encouraged to stay connected by joining the COVID-19 Impact Community on the YWCA Intranet. The intranet provides an excellent platform to share information, resources, best practices, and cross-network learning opportunities in one place.

Weekly Association Survey to Assess Immediate Needs and
State of YWCA Network

Every Monday, the Member Services team will send a weekly survey to YWCA local associations to assess the immediate needs of our local associations and the state of the YWCA network.

The survey takes approximately five minutes to complete. Respondents can skip questions that are not relevant to your association or your immediate needs. YWCA USA is working with an evolving list of potential funders and partners, and your survey responses will help to ascertain where best to deploy resources.

We ask each association complete the survey by 5 p.m. ET every Wednesday. If you have any questions or if your ED/CEO is not receiving the survey, please contact the Member Services team.

YWCA in the News

Below are recent articles and videos that highlight the work YWCAs are doing in communities across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Be sure to check them out. #WeDoTheWork #StrongerTogether

• Morning Consult
  Faced with the Coronavirus, Keep Your Eyes on the Census Prize
• NBC News
  Police see rise in domestic violence calls amid coronavirus lockdown
• Associated Press
  States scramble to arrange child care for essential workers
• Ms. Magazine
  The Ms. Q&A: Alejandra Y. Castillo on Combating Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Epidemic
• NowThis News (Facebook Page)
  How to Support Domestic Violence Survivors During COVID-19
• Insider
  Being neighborly may help domestic abuse victims who are in danger during the coronavirus pandemic

YWConnect

As part of our ongoing effort to strengthen communication and collaboration across the YWCA network, please join us for our next quarterly YWConnect on Wednesday, April 29th, 2020, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. We will be sharing exciting news and updates and discussing other upcoming priorities and initiatives.

Google Grant Opportunities: YWeb and Workforce Development Programs

Thanks to the generosity of Google.org, we are pleased to work with YWCA Madison and YWCA McLean County to offer three-year, grant-funded opportunities around digital skills development. The available sub-grants range from a minimum of $20,000 - $35,000 per site per year. The details of the funding, program requirements, and Q&A will be discussed during our upcoming video conference on Wednesday, April 22nd from 3 - 4 p.m. ET. Register for this call by clicking HERE. Registration is required to join the video conference.

This presentation would be especially helpful to the local Associations who were registered to attend the Charlotte Network meeting since this presentation was already given to the San Diego Network meeting attendees.

If you are not able to make the call listed above, please know that we will be recording the meeting and sharing the video on the intranet for you to view later at your convenience.

Reach out to June Jimenez, Vice President, Social Innovation, Impact and Investment with any questions or concerns.

Small Grant Opportunity: The Allstate Foundation + NNEDV

Small grants ($4,500) will be awarded to U.S. nonprofit organizations providing services to domestic violence survivors that have been impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This opportunity is open to local, nonprofit domestic violence organizations based in the United States (including all states, territories, and tribal lands) whose budgets do not exceed $750,000 per year. Priority will be given to small nonprofit organizations who demonstrate the greatest need.

The application will be available through a SurveyMonkey link that can be accessed here or at NNEDV.org/EmergencyGrants.

Funding for the grant program is made possible by The Allstate Foundation with oversight and implementation of the grant program by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV).

#VAWA4ALL Day of Action: Thank You for Making Your Voices Heard

On April 7, 2020, YWCA led a national call to action urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2019 (S. 2843). This day marked over one year since the U.S. House of Representatives passed VAWA with strong bipartisan support, signaling to the Senate its support and need for immediate action. But the Senate has failed to act.

Thanks to all of the advocates, we saw national engagement from over 30 Members of Congress, 25 local YWCA associations, and dozens of national partners using the hashtag #VAWA4ALL. We also drove over 100 messages to Senate offices calling Senators to cosponsor and swiftly pass VAWA (S. 2843). Your voice is your power, and we thank you for your support and advocacy on behalf of survivors.

From Sustainability to Survivability: Managing Uncertainty Amid Crisis Webinar Recording

On Tuesday, we hosted the From Sustainability to Survivability: Managing Uncertainty Amid Crisis webinar with Steve Zimmerman of Spectrum Nonprofit Group. For many YWCA leaders, thoughts today are not on sustainability but survivability and, as always, it is at these times that our constituents need us most. However, there are steps leaders can take to increase the likelihood of success amid these challenging times. Session objectives included understanding your cash position and assessing damage to your revenue stream, using a framework for strategic decision-making, and how to communicate with stakeholders.

If you weren’t able to join the webinar, you can use this link to watch the recording. Resources and templates presented during the webinar can be downloaded from the file pod.

2020 Leadership & Capacity Building Institute (LCBI) Has Been Cancelled

Due to the ongoing increase of COVID-19 outbreaks in communities across the country, we regret to inform you that the 2020 Leadership and Capacity Building Institute (LCBI), scheduled to take place June 17-20, 2020 in Chicago, IL is canceled.

While this decision comes at a time of local, national, and global uncertainty, we remain committed to finding innovative ways to provide the tools and resources critical to your work as you support your communities. Additionally, by using various online platforms, we will provide ways for the network to stay connected until we can safely host another in-person gathering.

Organize Your Butterflies Podcast: She’s Ready! Shaping the Future of Women Leaders Today, Not Tomorrow

Stop waiting on your life to begin! On this episode of Organize Your Butterflies, learn how women can excel in shaping their futures now rather than later. Host Alejandra Y. Castillo, CEO, YWCA USA is joined by Cecilia Muñoz, Vice President, Public Interest Technology and Local Initiatives at New America and author of the forthcoming book, “More than Ready: Be Strong and Be You…and other lessons for women of color on the rise.” They discuss how women of color often are not perceived as “ready” in the eyes of mainstream America, and how this misconception often leads to compensating by working really hard, as well as other strategies to cope with internal self-doubt. Join them as they gear up for the excellent moment of now! For more insight and how to purchase “More than Ready”, follow Cecilia on Twitter @cecmunoz.

Organize Your Butterflies is available wherever you subscribe to podcasts, including: APPLE PODCASTS | GOOGLE PLAY | STITCHER | SPOTIFY | TUNEIN | RSS

Subscribe to YWCA: We Do the Work, A Monthly Update

In January, YWCA USA released the first issue of YWCA: We Do the Work, A Monthly Update. Through this electronic newsletter, we hope to elevate and increase awareness of the YWCA brand, increase clarity about YWCA’s work to drive real change, and increase support of our mission to eliminate racism and empower women.

YWCA Employment Opportunities

Check out these featured employment opportunities and all of the YWCA job openings around the country listed in our jobs center.

• Vice President, Marketing and Communications - Washington, D.C.

Important dates for your calendar

• April 22: Google Grant Opportunities Webinar
• April 23 – 26: Stand Against Racism
• April 23: Stand Against Racism National Tele-Town Hall
• April 29: YWConnect Virtual Town Hall
• May 5: #GivingTuesdayNow