YWCA Delaware, Inc.

YWCA Delaware's programs target the economic and social disparities women, men and children face in Delaware through a large umbrella of community services, including: transitional housing, first-time homebuyer and foreclosure prevention counseling, financial coaching, small business development, youth education services, sexual assault crisis services and racial justice programs. While there are organizations in Delaware that provide similar services, none provide all of these programs in aggregate. Another unique aspect of our organization is that we offer our services as a continuum; regardless of entry point, we are able to direct a client within our agency to address the full scope of her/his need and to build a customized action plan to resolve her/his obstacles. Our strategic plan outlines how we plan to keep our organization and services sustainable and strong. Our goals include:

Goal 1. Offer sustainable, mission aligned programs and services that effectively empower women and eliminate racism.
Goal 2. Design and implement governance and management structures needed to advance the mission and vision.
Goal 3. Achieve a balanced budget through continued stewardship of expenses and building a diversified and growing revenue base that will sustain the YWCA Delaware mission, vision and strategic plan priorities long-term.

We re-evaluate our programs regularly to ensure we are filling gaps in service delivery based on community need, and are not duplicative. We are highly focused on achieving a balanced budget by the end of 2018. We are willing to make difficult decisions to ensure financial sustainability. This includes closing our Single Women's Residence, selling the property and focusing our resources on programs that help clients achieve specific action plans for long-term self-sufficiency. To that end, we direct our limited resources to initiatives that represent the next step for our clients, meeting their emerging needs.

Goal One: Sustainable, Mission Aligned Programs.
Strategies:
• Increase awareness of existing programs, particularly racial justice;
• Increase board & staff engagement with racial justice activities;
• Integrate work with housing, economic empowerment and racial justice;
• Maximize impact of our mission through greater community engagement; and
• Ongoing – evaluate portfolio of programs based on resources, mission fit and changing community needs.

Goal Two: Building stronger management and governance structures.
Strategies:
• Strengthen relationship between board and staff;
• Implement stronger board governance structure;
• Promote open and transparent dialogue/communication; and
• Engage in succession planning for key positions.

Goal Three: Achieving a Balanced Budget.
Strategies:
• Evaluate programs based on mission and also based on available resources;
• Incorporate new fund development strategies;
• Develop more robust and diverse donor base;
• Maximize our ability to set and meet financial goals; and
• Ongoing – transparent, honest dialogue about financial status of YWCA.

Since 1895, YWCA has implemented smart business strategies that enabled our growth into a statewide organization. Our strategic plan outlines our goals in housing, economic and youth empowerment programs, racial justice, human resources, marketing and communications, development and financial management. Our diverse board of directors, progressive CEO, and philosophy to train and retain employees provides the organizational capacity that makes us strong. We rely on the compassion and knowledge of our volunteers and former clients, who serve on advisory councils for all of our programs and participated in our strategic planning process to ensure we continue meeting community need. Our core services include:

• Housing And Crisis Alleviation;
• Domestic Violence Prevention and Services;
• Economic Empowerment;
• Racial Justice Programming;
• Youth Programming.
• Sexual Assault Response Center

Throughout all of our programs, YWCA Delaware provides an environment where all women and their families - regardless of age, race or class - become empowered politically, financially and socially. Across the board, we meet local priorities of helping low-income and minority women and families achieve economic advancement and self-sufficiency.

For 125 years YWCA Delaware has delivered the precise services needed to real women, facing real issues, in real time. It is our ability to anticipate needs, plan ahead for the future and adapt quickly to changing conditions that successfully advance equality of opportunity for women and their families to ensure their best chance at reaching their full potential.
In 2019 the strengthening of our Care Team model streamlined access to trauma informed services. Women and their children living at our emergency and transitional shelter, Home-Life Management Center, had direct access to Economic Empowerment Programs that helped them increase household income, Youth Programs that strengthened their children’s self-esteem and resolve to finish high school, and for many, counseling and support services to overcome the violence and abuse that caused them to become homeless.
YWCA’s Sexual Assault Response Center (SARC) nurtured external partnerships with healthcare, police, and legal service providers to simplify the maze of systems that women must navigate while recovering from violence. A reliable source of earned income is a critical factor for independent decision making and YW’s Women Achieving New Directions (WAND) innovative partnerships with employers like LYFT and Delaware Department of Transportation (DELDOT) resulted in living wage jobs. Our national partnership with McDonalds 360 supported entrepreneurship to supplement household income.
The impact of our Racial and Social Justice Program deepened through volume and intensity of Dialog to Action: Conversations About Racism groups held statewide, Action Forums to harness talent and energy to advance access and upward mobility for marginalized groups and our advocacy initiatives for policies and practices that improve economic security, health, safety and social equity.