“We are actively working in all capacities to implement financial safeguards, cut costs and limit the potential impact on services from our financial challenges,” YWCA Dayton CEO and President Terra Fox Williams, who joined YWCA Dayton in 2023, told the Dayton Daily News Thursday.
YWCA Dayton is the only provider of emergency shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence and other dangerous circumstances in Montgomery and Preble counties. The Dayton chapter is part of a national organization with shelter spaces nationwide.
YWCA Dayton’s board recently voted to postpone two major fundraising and awareness events for the organization, pointing to the need to prioritize funding for support services. The organization’s board is meeting again on Friday.
“The challenges in front of us are significant, and it will take a combined, continued, collaborative effort to help us overcome the obstacles in front of us,” Fox Williams said.
Fox Williams noted that the organization has seen a drop in support from state and federal funding sources since 2019.
The YWCA Dayton is 88% government-funded, with the other 12% coming from regional and local foundations. The nonprofit has seen a 78% funding cut for Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) dollars — which support shelter services — since 2019.
VOCA in 1984 created a national crime victims fund made up of fines and penalties paid by federal criminals, not taxpayer dollars, and is the largest funding source for agencies that provide services to crime victims.
“As funding has been cut, the cost to operate shelters and house families has increased, with the responsibility for fundraising going to the organization,” Fox Williams said.
YWCA revenues, expenses
Total revenue for YWCA Dayton consists primarily of contributions and grants, but program service revenue, investment income and other revenue contribute to money coming into the organization yearly.
The organization has seen several years of ebbs and flows in funding and expenses, according to a Dayton Daily News analysis of tax forms the nonprofit is required to file annually. YWCA Dayton reported a $1.7 million loss in its 2018 federal tax forms. The following year, the organization finished with gains of $539,172.
The first pandemic year saw a spike in revenue, with YWCA bringing in roughly $7.5 million. Expenses were significantly higher than the two previous years — jumping from a little more than $3 million to $5.6 million — but YWCA ended the year with gains of $1.86 million in 2020, according to tax documents.
Revenue has declined since 2020, while expenses have increased to nearly twice what the organization was reporting in pre-pandemic years.
Tax documents from 2021 show the organization reporting a $180,153 loss after accumulating expenses of more than $6 million that year. The nonprofit ended 2022 with a loss of $763,582 after accumulating more than $6 million in expenses and only $5.6 million in revenue.
YWCA Dayton is in the process of wrapping up its 2023 tax documents, said Fox Williams.
The postponement of two major YWCA Dayton awareness and fundraising events follows the organization vacating its 19-acre Huber Heights campus.
YWCA Dayton returned the property to Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) this summer. ADAMHS is working to determine next steps for the campus.
Fox Williams said in September that the ongoing management costs of the campus exceeded the organization’s short- and long-term revenues.
‘Vital services’
Financial challenges to the organization come at a time of persistent need.
According to its 2022 annual report, YWCA Dayton served 583 clients, including 164 children. Support services at YWCA Dayton include crisis intervention; food, clothing and personal care items; support and educational groups and housing assistance.
The nonprofit provided 70 adults with permanent supportive housing and 127 households, including 70 children, with rapid rehousing services in 2022, according to the annual report.
YWCA Dayton saw a 60% increase in pantry visits in 2022, which saw a total of 716 visits.
“Imagine a county, where the number of domestic violence and sexual assault cases increase due to the lack of support,” Fox Williams said. “I truly believe in my heart that we, as a community, can pull together and prevent that from happening and that we can come together to protect these vital services.”
The YWCA Dayton CEO said community members can help the regional domestic violence and rape crisis center in multiple ways: becoming a “friend” of YWCA and giving recurring monthly donations, providing awareness of the impact of domestic and sexual violence and more.
“This community has a long history of coming together to support the necessary services provided by the YWCA in its vital role as a safety net organization for the community. Right now, we are asking the community for its continued support,” Fox Williams said.
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