YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee
Eliminating racism, empowering women
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
It is the vision of YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee to focus on women and girls who desire to create a better quality of life for themselves and/or their families, to achieve self-sufficiency, and to increase their financial strength. YWCA will also be a spokesperson for those women who have no voice. Further, we will raise the awareness and diminish the incidence of violence and racism.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Domestic Violence Services
DV Crisis Line & more info on DV Services: 615-242-1199 or 1-800-334-4628, TEXT 615-983-5170
Crisis Line
YWCA provides a 24-hour domestic violence crisis and support helpline that is answered by highly trained staff who offer crisis counseling and safety planning and arrange admission to the Weaver Domestic Violence Center as needed. Counselors also provide referrals to other community resources.
Community Support Groups
Women learn the dynamics and impact of domestic violence, and strategies for safety.
Emergency Shelter & Case Management
The Weaver Domestic Violence Center provides 24-hour shelter for women and their children fleeing domestic violence. Case management includes individual/group counseling, access to addiction treatment, on-site legal advocacy, transportation, transitional housing planning, and support in achieving emotional and financial self-sufficiency.
Transitional Housing & Case Management
Women who demonstrate an increase in emotional and financial self-sufficiency in shelter may apply to enter Transitional Housing, receiving a combination of rental assistance and case management for a year.
Pet Shelter
YWCA is opening Abbie's Safe Home, a shelter for pets of people escaping domestic violence. Rather than having to choose between their safety and the safety of a beloved pet, survivors can now prioritize both.
Family Learning Center
WCA’s Adult Education Instruction component helps adults earn their high school equivalency credential and increase the grade level of their education. YWCA offers adult education classes during mornings, afternoons, evenings and Saturdays at sites throughout Davidson County to accommodate students’ schedules and transportation needs. All services are free to students thanks to generous supporters like the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
The student is given the Test of Basic Adult Education (TABE) assessment to determine his/her knowledge of the core subjects of reading, math and language. Then, each student meets individually with a staff member to discuss his/her test results and to determine the class that will be most convenient for the student and also provide the best educational experience for their next academic goal. Students that score very high on the initial tests will be given the Official Practice Test for the high school equivalency (HSE) diploma as soon as possible. In Tennessee, students have the option of taking the HiSET® (High School Equivalency Test), and passing the exam will lead to a state government-issued high school equivalency (HSE) diploma.
Programs are offered in both English and Spanish in their entirety. Recently (2017-present), half of FLC’s graduates speak Spanish.
Girls Inc. at the YWCA
Girls Inc. at YWCA was founded in early 2008 as a response to a lack of enrichment activities meeting the needs of girls in specifically lower-performing schools and community sites throughout the Nashville area.
Today, Girls Inc. engages over 300 female MNPS students annually through its in-school, spring break camp, and summer camp programming. We equip girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers and grow up healthy, educated, and independent. Girls build confidence and embrace positive decision-making to take charge of their health and wellbeing, and achieve academic, personal, and career goals.
Theory of Change: We believe the Girls Inc. experience equips girls to navigate gender, economic and social barriers and grow into healthy, educated, and independent adults
Bigger picture concepts:
Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold
The Girls Inc. experience: Believing in Girls’ Rights & Abilities
Girls Inc. Experience Essential Elements:
Girls Only/Pro-Girl Environment
Mentoring Relationships
Intentional Programming
Research-based curricula
Interactive activities
Sustained exposure
Dress for Success Nashville
Dress for Success Nashville at YWCA is committed to providing resources for women to thrive in work and life through a network of support, professional attire, and development tools.
Dress for Success delivers long-lasting solutions to enable women to break the cycle of poverty and to be treated with dignity and respect. YWCA offers professional attire, career services, and the Professional Women’s Group, empowering women to strengthen their families and shape their communities. Dress for Success Nashville’s career development services include:
Professional Attire: Dress for Success provides each client with a professional interview outfit, including clothing, accessories, shoes, and a handbag or briefcase if available. Besides physically equipping the client with apparel and accessories, YWCA’s programs inspire confidence for the client that she takes with her throughout her career.
Career Services: Dress for Success and the Family Learning Center both utilize career services through the support of a fulltime Career Navigation Specialist. Services include resume preparation, cover letter writing, interview practice, job search assistance, and employment planning and coaching.
The Career Navigation Specialist asks about the client’s experience and goals to develop a career plan. They work with the client to hone their work habits by providing assessments about ideal work environments—including supervisory habits, communication styles, and workplace preference—in order to cultivate job placements by reviewing job boards, websites, and internal databases, as well as growing in relationship with partners. The process inevitably can be tumultuous, and the CNS acts as a career coach and counselor, follows up with clients, and maintains a follow-up process, specifically advocating with and for nontraditional students.
Professional Women’s Group (PWG): When a client successfully lands a job, she receives an invitation to join the PWG— Dress for Success Nashville’s career development and networking group.
AMEND Together
AMEND Together is a primary prevention initiative dedicated to ending violence against women and girls by engaging men and boys to be a part of the solution.
Together, we seek to challenge the culture that supports violence, cultivate healthy masculinity, and change the future for women and girls. Help us make Nashville the safest city in the nation for women and girls. AMEND Together is a primary prevention initiative dedicated to ending violence against women and girls by engaging men and boys to be a part of the solution.
Together, we seek to challenge the culture that supports violence, cultivate healthy masculinity, and change the future for women and girls. Help us make Nashville the safest city in the nation for women and girls.
AMEND Together engages training participants to think differently about their role in our culture and to become a catalyst of change. Trainings have included colleges and universities, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee Titans, Tennessee General Assembly staff, United Methodist Men Conference, TEDxNashville, Pennsylvania Says No More conference, and even a presentation at the United Nations.
The AMEND Clubs educate young men on leadership, healthy masculinity, and gender violence while engaging them to promote the idea of AMEND within the schools. The AMEND Clubs empower the young men to change the current culture that supports violence against women.
Social Justice and Advocacy
At its heart, the YWCA is a social justice agency. We strive to embed racial and gender equity into the work we do internally as an organization and externally in the community with our clients and partner organizations.
YWCA's Social Justice and Advocacy programs include an advocacy committee, Stand Against Racism programming, a lunch and learn series, advocacy trainings, a 21-day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge.
YWCA's education and legislative advocacy efforts seek to support the people we serve through our domestic violence shelter, school-based programming, and adult and early education programs.
Pet Shelter
YWCA is opening Abbie's Safe Home, a pet shelter, in 2021. The shelter has kennels as well as quarantine units and a fenced in area for exercise and play. Clients requesting emergency shelter often must decide what to do with their pet. With the addition of a pet shelter, this consideration is no longer a barrier to care. The pet shelter is on-site, providing a space for survivors to care for their pets as they flee their abusive environment and make plans to remain safe in the long-term.
Once in shelter, it is imperative victims do not return to the home where the domestic violence occurred. Providing a space for animals both provides an escape that includes pets, but also brings these animals out of abusive homes. The space on-site for pets can prevent the abuser from holding another potential manipulation to convince the survivor to return.
Goals for the pet shelter include:
-providing shelter to victims of domestic violence and their companion animals
-to provide case management that prepares clients for life after shelter
Where we work
Awards
Affiliations & memberships
Center for Nonprofit Management Excellence Network 1995
Community Resource Center - Nashville 1995
United Way Member Agency 1995
Nashville Chamber of Commerce 1995
Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence 1995
Alignment Nashville 2007
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Domestic Violence Services: Increase the immediate safety of victims of domestic violence; and equip survivors with skills, resources, and strategies to build futures free from abuse.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Domestic Violence Services
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Over 15,000 nights of safety are provided to over 200 adults and 150 children annually.
Dress for Success Nashville: Transition women to self-sufficiency by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development tools to help them thrive in work, home and community.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Dress for Success Nashville
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Clients served by signature suiting program
Family Literacy Center: Prepare adult learners to pass the HiSET test and receive their high school equivalency diplomas
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Family Learning Center
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of students who earned their high school equivalency diploma
Girls Inc. at YWCA: Inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold through life-changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Girls Inc. at the YWCA
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
AMEND Together: Engage and educate male influencers to build a movement of men in Nashville and Middle Tennessee dedicated to ending violence against women and girls.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
AMEND Together
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
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?
The YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
It is the vision of the YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee to focus on women and girls who desire to create a better quality of life for themselves and/or their families, to achieve self-sufficiency, and to increase their financial strength. The YWCA will also be a spokesperson for those women who have no voice. Further, we will raise the awareness and diminish the incidence of violence and racism.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Domestic Violence Services: Fulfilling its mission of empowering women, YWCA has been Nashville’s primary provider of domestic violence services for over 40 years. YWCA Domestic Violence Services offer more than temporary safety—they help break the cycle of violence by offering a continuum of services, including: a 24-hour crisis and information hotline, text line, a 65-bed emergency shelter for women and their children fleeing domestic violence, on-site pet shelter, a transitional housing program, community support groups, as well as community outreach and education.
Dress for Success Nashville: Dress for Success Nashville transitions women to self-sufficiency by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development tools to help them thrive in work, home, and community. A suite of services supports every phase of their professional lives, so that clients find and keep their jobs, build thriving careers, and prosper in the mainstream workplace.
Family Learning Center: The Family Learning Center provides free classes to adults to earn their high school equivalency diploma and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency. Additionally, the Family Learning Center collaborates with other YWCA programs and offers career services to clients interested.
Girls Inc.: Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through life-changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. Research-based curricula, delivered by trained, mentoring professionals in a positive all-girl environment equip girls to achieve academically, lead healthy and physically active lives, manage money, navigate media messages, and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM).
AMEND Together: AMEND Together is a primary prevention initiative dedicated to ending violence against women and girls by engaging men and boys to be a part of the solution. Together, we seek to challenge the culture that supports violence, cultivate healthy masculinity, and change the future for women and girls.
Social Justice & Advocacy: YWCA’s Social Justice & Advocacy programs features conversation surrounding peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all, specifically in the Nashville area. Programs include: YWCA USA’s Stand Against Racism, a Lunch and Learn series, an advocacy committee, and policy priorities.
Pet Shelter: YWCA is opening Abbie's Safe Home, a shelter for pets of people escaping domestic violence. Rather than having to choose between their safety and the safety of a beloved pet, survivors can now prioritize both.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
YWCA accomplishes its mission of eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all by providing intentional programming. Domestic Violence Services, Dress for Success Nashville, the Family Learning Center, Girls Inc., AMEND Together, Social Justice and Advocacy, and Pet Shelter all move the mission of YWCA forward. The vision is supported through a vast network of board members, community donors and volunteers, corporations, private foundations, and government agencies that dedicate time and resources to ensure YWCA is fiscally sound and offers strategic solutions to address complex issues.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Throughout the last 120 years, YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee has assisted the Nashville community. YWCA has offered domestic violence services for more than forty years, including shelter, counseling, case management, and other critical services. Domestic violence, however, is not going away. Today, Tennessee ranks among the highest rates of women killed by men.
YWCA works to make Nashville a safer city for women and girls through programming. These programs include AMEND Together, a primary prevention initiative dedicated to ending violence against women and girls by engaging men and boys to be a part of the solution. Girls Inc. encourages girls to be strong, smart, and bold and equips girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers and grow up healthy, educated, and independent. Women are continually empowered through Dress for Success, providing professional attire, career services, and a Professional Women’s Group. Our Family Learning Center provides educational and career services in both English and Spanish to clients, providing an opportunity for students to pursue their high school equivalency diploma. At its heart, the YWCA is a social justice agency; we strive to embed racial and gender equity into the work we do internally as an organization and externally in the community with our clients and partner organizations through Social Justice and Advocacy programs.
Through our continual offering of domestic violence services and intentional programming to eliminate racism and empower women, YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee hopes to see a more equitable future without violence and is proud to play a role in creating it.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve
Financials
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Learn more
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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.
YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Ms. Amanda Weeks-Geveden
U.S. Bank
Term: 2021 - 2023
Gail Alexander
Community Volunteer
Sallie Bailey
Retired, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation
Caroline Bradshaw
Cumberland Trust
Louise Brock
Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Rusty Burdge
Choice Property Restoration LLC
Monica Cintado-Scokin
HCA
Ashlee Davis
AllianceBernstein
Kendra Deas
HealthStream Inc.
Cindy Dempsey
Genesco Inc.
Jamie Dunham
Brand Wise
Katharin Dyer
Career Global Chief Marketing Officer
Rashed Fakhruddin
Islamic Center of Nashville
Lisa Ferrelli
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
David Fischette
Go West Creative Group
Rodney Francis
Nissan North America
Charles K. Grant
Baker Donelson
Janie Greenwood Harris
Community Volunteer
Sean Henry
Nashville Predators & Bridgestone Arena
Rita Johnson-Mills
Healthcare Consultant
Beverly Keel
Middle Tennessee State University
Candice Lee
Vanderbilt University
Carla Lovell
Sherrard Roe Voigt Harbison
Rick Martin
Asurion Philanthropy
Anne Morgan
NCC
Tracey Pearson
RBC Wealth Management
Sharon K. Roberson
YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee
Abby Rubenfeld
Rubenfeld Law Office
Billye Sanders
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis
Amber Sims
St. Thomas Health
Amy Smartt
Country Music Association
Javier Solano
MP&F Strategic Communications
Sunny Spyridon
Community Volunteer
Amanda Weeks-Geveden
U.S. Bank
Cynthia Whitfield Story
Inspire1, LLC Consulting Firm
Kate Wood
K8 Co.
Lara Crouch
Nashville Predators
James Crumlin
Baker Donelson
Irwin Fisher
Community Volunteer
Joey Hatch
Community Volunteer
Latrisha Jemison
Regions
Marcia Masulla
Roar
Rita Mitchell
Rita P. Mitchell, LLC
Eleanor McDonald
Ingram Industries
Valerie Smith Molette
Deloitte
Jayme Parmakian
LBMC
Alecia Wynn
Ankura Consulting
Vicki Yates
News Channel 5
Roberta Pettis
FocusWorks Consulting Group
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
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
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data