YWCA USA Announces National Brand Awareness Campaign

For Immediate Release
Contact: Danielle Marse-Kapr
YWCA USA
P 202.835.2364 | dmarsekapr@ywca.org

YWCA USA Announces National Brand Awareness Campaign
Iconic Brand Reaffirms 150 Year Commitment to
Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women

Washington, DC, January 25, 2016 — Today, YWCA, one of the nation’s largest and oldest women’s organizations and serving more than 2 million women, girls, and their families annually, launched a brand awareness campaign, meant to reintroduce YWCA, share its life-changing work, and invite people to join them on their mission to empower women and eliminate racism. This effort reflects YWCA’s growth and reinvigorated commitment over more than 150 years to eliminate racism and empower women.

YWCA USA, alongside 225 associations in nearly every state in the country, released the brand awareness campaign, titled “On A Mission.” The campaign, combined with updated brand standards, will better reflect the organization’s mission, what it stands for, and specifically how it helps millions of individuals a year through programs focused on racial justice and empowering women. As a major part of the campaign, YWCA USA invites the public to share how they have been positively impacted by a YWCA by coming to www.ywca.org to submit their story or posting on social media with the hashtag #OnAMission.

“This is an important and exciting moment for YWCA,” said YWCA USA CEO Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D. “For over 150 years, YWCA has been at the forefront of the most critical social movements from voting rights and civil rights, to affordable housing and pay equity, to violence prevention and health care reform. However, despite the life-changing services, supports, and advocacy provided by YWCAs in local communities across the country, many people are not aware of our size, impact, and tremendous relevance in the lives of the millions of women, girls, and families we serve.”

Today, YWCA is one of the top 25 largest charities in the U.S., according to NonProfit Times, with total revenues of more than $775 million. It is also the largest network of domestic violence service providers in the nation, serving more than 500,000 women and their families each year. YWCA helps more than 2 million women and children each year in the U.S., and worldwide, YWCA serves 25 million women and girls in 120 countries.

“I could not be more pleased for YWCA to reintroduce itself to the American public,” said Marsha Henderson, board chair for YWCA USA and assistant commissioner for women’s health at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. “We already help so many women and families each year, but much need remains. Through this campaign, we hope people who can benefit from our services will better understand how we can help them, from domestic violence crisis response to financial literacy training to racial justice programs and so much more.”

As part of the campaign, YWCA introduced an updated homepage to showcase the depth, breadth, and reach of its services. The refreshed brand standards also include new fonts and new visuals.

YWCA USA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. We are one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the nation, serving over 2 million women, girls, and their families. For information about this important work, go to: www.ywca.org.