Blogs

A Farewell Note from Our CEO

It has been an incredible privilege and honor for me to have the opportunity to lead this iconic organization. I have greatly enjoyed meeting so many of you and seeing first hand, the important work you do each and every day in your communities and in our nation to make the world a better place for those who seek refuge and strength from our organization. 

It is hard to believe that more than 4½ years have passed since we embarked upon this journey together to revitalize our beloved YWCA movement. As I always say, "what an amazingly rewarding and challenging time it has been!" 

I hope you will take a few moments to read my full closing letter on the Intranet and reflect on some of our accomplishments together as a national movement.

It has been my absolute pleasure and an honor to be a servant leader for women, girls and families around the country. I will always remember our time together with great fondness and deep respect.

Public Policy Resources

Resources to assist with issue education and your targeted advocacy for the 2017-2018 policy priorities are now available. Fact sheets are available for download to share with your community, lawmakers, and others.

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Women's March

Approximately 500 people traveled to Washington, D.C. with YWCAs from Washington state to Pennsylvania to join in the Women's March on Washington. Even more participated in sister marches in their own communities. YWCA USA along with four local associations signed on as partners for this intersectional show of unity.

SEE PHOTOS

Day 2: We Organize

YWCA USA was a core partner of Day 2, a post-march day of training and organizing for continued action. We led a workshop on the criminalization of communities of color, and Casey Harden gave a plenary address highlighting our theory of change. We encourage everyone to get involved with the ongoing 100 Days of Action.

YWCA 101

YWCA 101 will now be offered monthly to YWCA staff and volunteers. This webinar is an introduction to YWCA USA and will educate and inspire supporters to join us on a mission! The recorded webinar is also on the intranet. Upcoming dates are Feb. 28, March 28, and April 25.

Money Monday

Please join us for our March Money Monday webinar - Creating the WIN-WIN-WIN!  Molly Silverman, Chief Strategic Engagement Officer of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, will go over best practices in developing sustainable, strategic partnerships that create value for your organization, partners and those you serve!

Coming Soon: State Pilot Initiatives!

The YWCA state pilot initiative will support YWCAs in select states to develop and implement a state-level advocacy campaign. This initiative will include training and technical assistance to build collaboration amongst YWCAs, capacity across the network, and achieve our public policy goals. More information will be shared at the upcoming Geo-Network meetings.

New to the Resource Library:

With this month comes 10 new resources including Forbes' Trends to Watch in 2017, and highlights from the recent national Independent Sector conference.View and access all the new postings.

Need help? Contact Martha Breunig.

Public registration opened this week for Stand Against Racism. This year's theme is Women of Color Leading Change. Throughout the campaign and in the weeks leading up to it, we will focus on the contributions of women leaders of color in our own movement, throughout history, and across a variety of sectors. Moreover, we will work to address the barriers that contribute to the low numbers of women of color in high leadership positions through education and public policy advocacy. Learn more and invite your partners to join us at www.StandAgainstRacism.com.

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Geo-Network Meetings

During February and March, all five of the YWCA geographic networks will meet. These meetings are an opportunity for YWCAs to gather, network with other YWCA leaders, and hear about YWCA initiatives. We will spend the majority of our time together on the important work of gathering information that will help inform our YWCA USA strategic planning process. We are excited to have the Alford Group join us to facilitate the process. 

Our goal is for all local associations to have an opportunity to provide input. For those unable to attend a meeting, there will be a follow-up survey conducted by the Alford Group. If you have questions, please feel free to contact your Director of Member Services.

Welcome Cindy Hoffman!

We are excited to welcome Cindy Hoffman, VP of Marketing and Communications. Cindy comes to YWCA USA from Defenders of Wildlife with over twenty years of experience in communications, specializing in advocacy communications. Read more about Cindy.

YWCA Speaks Out

YWCA USA has weighed in on a number of cabinet appointments, executive orders, and other policy-related actions. To review our recent statements, visit the press section of YWCA.org. In addition, a number of local associations talked to Buzzfeed about the importance of VAWA funding and YWCA USA was highlighted in Rewire regarding the executive order on immigration.

Development Announcements

We are proud to share the following exciting development updates with you. We have secured three major funding opportunities. The Allstate Foundation has committed $250,000 to our national movement and Centene has committed $975,000 toward girls' programming. YWCA USA has also become Nordstrom's charity of the year! Read more in this memo that went out early last week.

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

The 61st session of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW61) will take place in New York City from March 14 to 24, 2017. YWCA USA is preparing to send a delegation again this year, including up to ten women from local associations, YWCA USA staff, and board members. We'll be hosting a reception on Sunday evening for all YWCA women attending UNCSW61 from around the world. Contact Kelli Shewmaker to learn more about our global work.

Mission Impact Framework Evaluation

We have an exciting group of 18 YWCA leaders interested in helping to design the YWCA Mission Impact outcome and evaluation system. These leaders are bringing their diverse experiences and expertise to the planning and process in order to create system that shows the dynamic collective impact of our work in communities and across the country! We look forward to sharing future updates.

Affinity Groups

Staff, board members, and volunteers are invited to join any of our ten affinity groups. Upcoming calls include the Racial Justice and Civil Rights Mission Impact Group on February 23, April 20, July 15, and August 10 at 2 PM ET and the Health & Wellness Network on February 16, March 18, and August 17 at 2 PM ET.

Survey: Communications to Local Associations

YWCA USA is actively considering changing our format and frequency of communications to local associations. Please fill out this survey about your preferred method of receiving information from us and share your thoughts about the frequency of these communications. We want our communications to be as effective and helpful as possible – your input is essential to helping us evaluate how we can improve!