YWCA Columbus has cultivated a proud legacy of leadership for social change, racial justice, and economic development for more than 130 years. Over the years, Benefactor Group has partnered with YWCA Columbus on multiple initiatives to strengthen its fundraising efforts, strategic planning, and capacity building. Below is a summary of key engagements:

2010 Comprehensive Fundraising Assessment
Benefactor Group conducted a comprehensive fundraising assessment for YWCA Columbus, including a review of existing programs and materials, meetings with staff leadership, individual interviews, and an online survey of members of the Y’s three boards.

2011 Strategic Planning Facilitation
While implementing the recommendations from the assessment, the YWCA engaged Benefactor Group to facilitate a strategic planning process. After data gathering and a strategic planning session with board and community members, Benefactor Group drafted the strategic plan, which was adopted by the board in 2012.

2013 Campaign Planning Study
Benefactor Group conducted a campaign planning study in spring 2013 to assess the organization’s capacity to implement a successful comprehensive campaign and evaluate the likelihood of philanthropic support. We conducted interviews with 40 leading community stakeholders and facilitated two group discussions with long-time supporters of the YWCA. A preliminary report was presented to the study task force in June, and a final report was delivered to the entire governing board in July.

2013 Capital Campaign Launch
In October 2013, a $25 million comprehensive capital campaign was launched under the guidance of Benefactor Group. With a campaign steering committee comprised of stellar community leaders, $18 million in public funding (tax credits) and private philanthropy was raised.

2015 Strategic Plan Update
With the campaign concluded, YWCA Columbus decided to revise and update its strategic plan in 2015. Benefactor Group worked with the Y’s strategic planning team to collect necessary data and perspectives, facilitated a board and staff retreat to build consensus around strategic pillars, and trained board members to conduct individual interviews with community stakeholders and leaders. After the interviews were completed and data entered into an online collector, Benefactor Group summarized and analyzed the data, drafted findings and recommendations, met with the Y planning team to refine concepts, and facilitated a second board retreat to discuss and affirm key initiatives and objectives for each pillar and develop potential metrics. The final memorandum prepared by Benefactor Group was used as the basis for developing a strategic plan for YWCA Columbus.

2019 Endowment Building Plan
Following the success of a transformational capital campaign and a robust strategic planning process, YWCA Columbus’ Board of Trustees and Endowment Trust Board began looking to the future—to strengthen long-term sustainability through an endowment building program. YWCA sought to increase its endowed assets and deferred planned gifts to provide for the long-term stability, enhancement, and development of its programs and facilities. To aid YWCA Columbus in achieving these goals, Benefactor Group developed a comprehensive endowment building plan and endowment-specific case for support.

The plan was tailored to use engagement strategies that align with YWCA’s values (inclusivity, empowerment of girls and women, community building). It included strategies to encourage traditional planned giving prospects and also to democratize giving and engage nontraditional prospects (next-generation donors, annual or middle-giving donors). The plan offered a blueprint for structure, policies and oversight, marketing strategies, donor identification and cultivation, recognition, performance indicators, and necessary changes to the organization’s internal infrastructure.

2019 Search for Chief Financial and Operations Officer
In 2019, Benefactor Group partnered with YWCA Columbus on a mission-critical project to identify and place a highly qualified leader in the position of Chief Financial and Operations Officer (CFOO). As a result of a nationwide search for the CFOO position, we developed a strong candidate pool and worked with YWCA leadership to attract a dynamic, passionate, and experienced leader to fill this newly created executive position.