A Message from the CEO
Dear Martha,
Following in the footsteps of our esteemed foremothers, we have been on a mission to improve the lives of women for more than 158 years, and we have done so in ways that are responsive to the needs of our individual communities and our society at large. As such, empowering girls has been an integral part of this work for YWCAs across the country and throughout the world. That's why we're focusing this year's Stand Against Racism campaign on the unique and intersectional issues facing girls of color, such as racial profiling in schools, healthcare, and access to safe play.
Take a look at these harrowing facts, which paint the dire situation that many girls of color face in the United States:
- White girls are most likely to be involved with sports at age 6 or younger (53%), while only 29% of African-American girls and 32% of Latina girls begin playing sports that early.
- Girls of color face harsher punishments in school. For example, black girls are suspended six times as often as white girls.
- Muslim girls - especially those who wear the hijab - are often targets of racially charged harassment and bullying in schools and left out from athletic activities that fail to accommodate modest clothing choices.
- Black and Latina girls are more than twice as likely as white girls to become pregnant during adolescence. Native teen birth rates are one-and-a-half times higher than the white teen birth rate.
While racial justice for girls of color is a focus of many of your programs and initiatives, this is the first time in recent history we have had a national campaign dedicated to addressing their challenges specifically. I hope that each of you will join me and YWCA USA in standing up and speaking out against the sexism and racism that haunt girls of color as they navigate home, school, play, and social situations. Together, we can stop the cycles of injustice, poverty, violence, and resource disparities and make real change for girls of color. By investing in girls, we are effectively helping the next generation of women to make strides in some of the most pressing issues such as the wage and achievement gaps, mass incarceration, and access to healthcare. Register today for Stand Against Racism!
Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Development and Fundraising
YWCA USA is thrilled to welcome Tycely Williams as our new Vice President of Development. She comes to us with a wealth of experience from her work as the Chief Development Officer of the American Red Cross, National Capital Region, and the Association Director of Major Gifts at YMCA Metropolitan Washington. You can reach Tycely at twilliams@ywca.org and 202.835.2355.
We are especially excited for Tycely to bring her expertise to the collaborative fundraising program. If you missed the recent YWConnect covering this topic, you can view it on Webinars On Demand. We have also answered many of your questions on this FAQ sheet.
Mission Impact Updates
Federal Advocacy Update: The FY 2017 Budget Process Has Begun!
The annual federal budget process kicked off on February 9 when President Obama released his FY 2017 federal funding proposal. YWCA USA supports this iteration of the federal budget, read more in a blog by the YWCA USA advocacy department.
Stand Against Racism
Registration is now open for Stand Against Racism, to be held from Thursday, April 28 through Sunday, May 1. This year, our theme is “On A Mission for Girls of Color!” As you prepare your event, we encourage you to incorporate the theme-related materials found in your toolkit and use them to raise awareness about the impacts of institutional racism on girls of color. If you missed our special webinar on February 11, click the following links to access the PPT or video recording.
Your digital toolkit contains instructional and promotional items that can be downloaded and printed on your own equipment or at a local print shop. Additional printing instructions can be found at the top of your toolkit page once you register. Stand Against Racism buttons, wristbands, and t-shirts are only available for purchase through the online store. Orders placed on or before April 11 are guaranteed delivery by April 28. Orders placed after April 11 may not be available by April 28.
Global Updates
World YWCA released a short video of highlights from the World Council Quadrennial meeting in Bangkok in October 2015.
The 60th session of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW60) took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City from March 14-24, 2016. As you may know, YWCA USA was recently granted consultative status with the UN and therefore able to have our own delegation to CSW for the first time. YWCA USA staff, members of the Global Relations Committee, and World Service Council were joined at the UNCSW60 by 10 local association representatives.
As we have done in the past, we hosted a reception on Sunday evening prior to the start of the CSW for all YWCA representatives attending CSW from around the world. We had a great turnout with many remarkable women. A photo slideshow is available on our website!
More information about the CSW is available online. For those interested in being more involved in our global work, please contact Kelli Shewmaker at kshewmaker@ywca.org.
Coming in April: 2016 Biennial Self-Assessment
The 2016 Biennial Self-Assessment and Document Collection process will be released the first week in April and, after this year, will be completed every other year. The process involves association leaders assessing compliance with YWCA membership requirements through an online survey and uploading requested association documents to an online folder. New this year will be the ability to submit your documents via ShareFile which will address the challenges local leaders have had submitting different types and sizes of documents in the past. Dates to note: On April 6, at 2:00 p.m. ET, join us for a webinar about this year's process; click here to register. The submission deadline for the self-assessment is May 31.
2016 Leadership & Capacity Building Institute Recap
A record 266 attendees representing 136 local associations gathered in Palm Springs in February for the 2016 YWCA Leadership and Capacity Building Institute. According to feedback from participants, top offerings included:
- A keynote address by Jan Masaoka, which challenged us to think differently about how we approach our work.
- The inaugural Young Women's Leadership Pre-Institute
- Geographic network meetings where local leaders shared ideas and programs through Pecha Kuchas.
Your overwhelmingly positive feedback will be utilized to plan for the next LCBI in 2018! As a reminder, the next time we will all be together is the YWCA Conference in Washington, DC, in 2017.
YWCA USA in the News
With the start of our brand awareness campaign in late January, we have had increased visibility in the media. Check it out on our Recent Media Coverage page.
YWire Upgrade!
In the coming months we will be making some improvements to YWire. Please take a few moments to complete this brief survey so that we can capture and incorporate your feedback.
Her Dream Deferred
YWCA USA is proud to co-sponsor the African American Policy Forum's #HerDreamDeferred: A Week on the Status of Black Women and Girls. Events will take place each day next week, March 28 - April 1, including a webinar on Monday focused on the criminalization of black girls. All are encouraged to attend and may find this information especially helpful as you plan for Stand Against Racism. A full list of events is available here, so please sign up soon!
New in the Resource Library
30 new resources have been posted to the Resource Library. New research and data reports are also available (Debt and the Racial Wealth Gap, How to Bridge That Stubborn Pay Gap, and 2015 State of the Sector Review, from Association of Fundraising Professionals) as well as best practices samples such as AFP Fundraising Checklist and Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice.
Other new postings include presentations from the YWCA USA Leadership and Capacity Building Institute such as: Beyond the Cause: The Art and Science of Advocacy; YWCA Racial Justice Coalition Building Example; YWCA Social Justice Glossary; HR Department: Benchmarks and Analysis; and a YWCA Trauma Informed Care Service Example.
New Mission Impact Information
Many of you have asked about external facing Mission Impact Framework language - we are pleased to share that we have new Our Mission in Action pages on the updated website. Feel free to take and adapt this language for your own materials. Additionally, we have created an intranet page where you can access all existing Mission Impact Framework materials.
MS Publisher
Do you create program brochures and flyers in MS Publisher? Are you using the updated brand standards and materials to do so? If you are, send some of your best work to communications@ywca.org. We might add your brochure to our brand center as an example for other YWCAs!
Bylaw Change
As you know, we have updated our bylaws to reflect our new corporate identity, YWCA USA Inc. (formerly, Young Women’s Christian Association of the United States of America). You can view the updated bylaws on our Intranet.
#YWire