Young Womens Christian Association
Eliminating Racism Empowering Women
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
YWCA Columbus is one of the 225 affiliates of YWCA USA. While all affiliated YWCA branches share the same mission, the programs offered are designed to match the needs of the local community and are independently operated and funded. Here at YWCA Columbus, the services provided are linked by a common thread-our dedication to promoting racial justice and personal empowerment. • YWCA Family Center, an emergency shelter for the family shelter system provides services for homeless families, connecting them with resources to find permanent housing. • Women's Residency, a supportive housing program in the newly-renovated Center for Women currently houses 91 formerly homeless women who have a disability. • School-aged childcare. • Leadership programs that include mentoring middle school girls, and leadership development for women in their twenties and thirties, and special events such as Women of Achievement and Activist and Agitators.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
The YWCA Family Center
In 2005, YWCA Columbus responded to a community call to take over emergency shelter and services for families without homes. Many are working poor and unable to meet high housing costs; many are women raising children alone. The 50-room center offers these families safety and support, a place where they can get three healthy meals a day and a warm, secure place to sleep. With their basic needs provided, parents can concentrate on moving forward, using the job-and-housing-search resources, transportation services and the five-star Step Up To Quality rated Safe & Sound child care program.
Women's Residency Program
When someone is down, we believe it’s our responsibility to lift them up. For women recovering from addiction, weathering disability or mental illness, or navigating job loss and low incomes, the recently renovated Women’s Residency Program provides 91 units that include private kitchens, bathrooms and living space. Through safe, long-term subsidized housing, employment and education resources and healthcare, YWCA Columbus enables these women to live independently, with pride and dignity.
Bright Futures
The youth component of the Women of Achievement program recognizes 11th grade young women. The program provides participants with leadership skills training, personal and professional development, as well as social awareness. Students participate in six intensive leadership conferences and two community services throughout the year.
YWCA Kids Place
YWCA Kids Place has more than 30 years of experience providing affordable, dependable, and high-quality year-round child care for families in the Gahanna and Westerville school districts. Our programs are conveniently located in your child’s elementary school to promote consistency and continuity for your child’s transition from school to Kids Place.
All of our programs are Step Up to Quality star-rated, using a comprehensive curriculum that includes choice-based learning, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), social-emotional development, and physical fitness. Additionally, in lock-step with the mission of YWCA Columbus, social action and advocacy are promoted by participating in community service projects that benefit non-profit programs in the community.
Leadership for Social Change
We believe we have a responsibility to educate and empower the next generation of women leaders. This program engages young women at the beginning of their careers, helping them understand how discriminatory practices, policies and beliefs produce various forms of inequity. Armed with insight, program participants are better prepared to speak up and act out on behalf of themselves and others.
Through our 10-month learning experience, emerging leaders engage in workshops with community experts working in organizations that create social change. Experts come from grassroots, political, community-based, educational and nonprofit organizations to help participants develop practical and theoretical knowledge about current issues and current models for creating change.
Where we work
External reviews
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Empower women
~We will be a beacon of good in our community so that with each new generation we’re all braver, wiser and kinder.
Children’s programs
Serve women on the economic margin
~We will create a community of safety and support for women and families.
Women’s Residency Program
Family Center
Elevate voice and increase impact of racial justice
~We will confront uncomfortable truths about prejudice and poverty.
Leadership for Social Change
Bright Futures
Community Convening/Conversations
Women of Achievement
Activists and Agitators
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
As an agency dedicated to promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity, we stand committed to dismantling systemic racism in our city, state, and nation.
• We continue to fulfill the advocacy and engagement agenda we established in 2019, which includes fighting for policies and practices that remove barriers created by racism and inequity. We promote long-term housing stability and security, economic mobility for women and people of color, and investments in young women and children.
• In June 2020, President and CEO Christie Angel helped form a Coalition of African American leaders in Columbus, Ohio. The group developed an initial agenda to reform practices that reinforce systemic racism in Central Ohio.
• Our Leadership and Social Justice team partnered with the City of Columbus’s Health Commissioner and Equity Team to declare racism a public health crisis. Through opeds and testimony, our work led to both the City of Columbus and Franklin County adopting the declaration.
• Shared information and resources with Ohio Council of YWCAs and other counties in neighboring states to support passing their own resolutions to address racism as a public health issue, which has now occurred in at least nine other counties in Ohio, all of which have YWCA affiliations.
• Currently, we are advocating for the State of Ohio to declare racism a public health crisis.
• Members of our leadership and Social Justice team serve on the City’s Commission on Black Girls and provided revisions to the upcoming report on the quality of life of Black girls in Central Ohio
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Family Center, built in 2005, was the first emergency shelter in the region to stabilize homeless families. We know the population that we serve and provide appropriate and comprehensive training. We are not the only emergency shelter serving families in Franklin County. We work closely with our partners at YMCA Van Buren. Having two shelters is an asset, especially during COVID-19, when separating the population in two locations helps avoid community spread. Through the homeless system, we have daily on-going communication and strategize about how to jointly meet the needs of homeless families during this time.
Because of the YWCA’s commitment to social justice, we are not just concerned about the families’ immediate crisis, but we are also engaged in finding policy solutions to address structural issues such as institutional racism that have held families back. With COVID-19, we are leading conversations on how health and income disparities leave African-Americans vulnerable right now. YWCA Columbus is partnering with other Ohio YWCAs to bring the issues facing marginalized communities to the Statehouse. Locally, YWCA has advocated for increasing affordable housing in the City of Columbus. Our organization initiates community-wide dialogues to bring allies together to share resources and insights to bring bias to light so we can see each other’s value more clearly.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since the Governor issued his initial COVID stay-at-home order in March, we have been serving fewer people at our shelter as many sought out family and relied on stimulus checks to survive. In 2020, 111 families entered in March-June versus last year when 167 families entered in these same months. This enabled us to implement proper social distancing measures as recommended by the CDC and get the proper equipment and cleaning supplies for staff in place. However, we know this is a temporary lull as the system prepares for evictions to bring many more families to our doorstep. In fact, our July numbers are starting to rise. We are already close to capacity (50 families) and are preparing to take overflow.
We know that homelessness is stressful for children, but homelessness during a pandemic is a daunting challenge for a child. Our onsite mental health provider has
continued to serve clients and our Safe & Sound Childcare has kept doors open under a pandemic license for essential workers at reduced teacher to student ratios. YWCA also worked with community partners to make distance learning possible for school-age children. Over 170 electronic devices with built-in hot-spots were donated.
While this time has been stressful for residents and staff, we have made stronger relationships with other community homeless providers and local health partners as we developed a coordinated response to COVID. Our Workforce Development Program forged a relationship with Amazon to provide onsite interviews. This is a major help for clients who often have transportation barriers.
The financial impact has been large as we have moved scheduled fundraisers online and shuttered our afterschool revenue-generating childcare this past spring. We are tremendously grateful for the many donors who have supported us with monetary donations and supplies and the many volunteers who normally serve meals have donated money to defray meal costs in lieu of service hours. We have served 25,902 meals for residents.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Young Womens Christian Association
Board of directorsas of 07/21/2022
Ms. Janelle Coleman
AEP Foundation
Term: 2020 - 2023
Karen Macke
Nationwide
Rebekah Smith
GBQ Consulting
Susan Choe
Ohio Legal Help
Jane Grote Abell
Donatos Pizza
Colette Barricks
Hexion Inc.
Rebecca Butler
Columbus State Community College
Shadena M. Carter
State Auto Insurance
Shawna Davis
OhioHealth
Mallory E. Donaldson
COTA
Eve Ellinger
State Auto Insurance
Yvette N. Hunsicker
Honda of North America
Erika Clark Jones
The Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County
Darla J. King
King Business Interiors
June Konold
NiSource
Aneca E. Lasley
Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Kelly Leonard
PNC Financial Services Group
Sarah Malone
Wallick Communities
Gail Marsh
The Ohio State University
Judy Marsh
Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease
Lauren McBride
The Ohio State University
Marty Ross-Dolen
Highlights for Children, Inc.
Mary Beth Sullivan
Huntington Insurance
Michelle Yeager-Thornton
The Champion Companies
Kim Avery
Cover My Meds
Danielle Demko
Bath & Body Works
Mallory Donaldson
The Black GIrls and Young Women's Collective
Sandy Doyle-Ahern
EMH&T
Tammy Gomez
Cardinal Health
Stephanie Green
Fifth Third Bank
Priscilla Hammonds
Grange Insurance
Yvette Hunsicker
American Honda Motor Company
Michelle Silwonuk
JP Morgan Chase
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
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Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
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Disability
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