Sanders, who previously led YWCA organizations on an interim basis in Cleveland and Flint, Michigan, said when she arrived nine months ago, there were financial, organizational and staff challenges that had to be addressed, and an assessment of the downtown YWCA building at 141 W. Third St. was needed.
“This organization certainly went through some challenges, both programmatically as well as fiscally, over the years,” Sanders said.
In 2024, the organization postponed the “Voices Against Violence” event and announced it would postpone the March 2025 “Women of Influence” event to allow “ample time for defining a plan to continue the event,” YWCA Dayton shared in a press release at the time.
“The event serves as the organizations largest fundraiser and is part of the overall development strategy,” Sanders said.
But Sanders said staff never lost sight of the mission and the community has continued to support the YWCA. The YWCA’s mission is to ensure safety and health for women and girls, including assisting women facing domestic violence and empowering young girls.
“The community has been very supportive and continues to support the work that we do at the YWCA,” Sanders said.
The Women of Influence event returns this week with a luncheon Thursday at the Dayton Convention Center.
Challenges
The YWCA was consistently overspending its revenue as far back as 2011, according to IRS tax documents obtained by the Dayton Daily News. There were some years in that period, including 2020, 2017 and 2019 where the Dayton YWCA was in the black, but most of the time, the nonprofit’s expenses exceeded revenue.
In calendar year 2024, the most recent year for which publicly accessible tax documents are available, the organization brought in about $4.45 million and spent about $5.3 million, meaning expenses were 1.2 times higher than revenue.
In 2026, the approved budget is $3.7 million in revenue and nearly $3.5 million in expenses, Sanders said.
It’s not clear why overspending was happening for years. Multiple different CEOs and board members oversaw the organization over that time.
Sanders noted there was a large cash infusion around 2020 to nonprofits due to COVID-19-related federal funding.
In early 2025, the former 19-acre Huber Heights campus of the YWCA at 7650 Timbercrest Drive was up for auction. However, real estate records show that the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addition and Mental Health Board still owns the property, which reverted to them. A spokeswoman for ADAMHS confirmed the board still owns the property. Any sale money in the future would benefit ADAMHS.
Sanders said there were other internal issues. The organizational chart did not support the mission, she said, and staff were demoralized. The YWCA was not collecting key data meant to show how it had used federal grant funding to make changes.
The YWCA Dayton has made multiple new hires, including a compliance manager and reorganized the chart to make more sense.
Like many other nonprofits, the YWCA got an influx of cash from the federal government during COVID-19. But that money has been spent, and many nonprofits are now charting a path forward with more reliance on local funding. Sanders said maybe 40% of overall funding should be coming from government contracts, meaning the YWCA would focus on development and fundraising.
Finally, the downtown YWCA building will need $2.1 million for immediate repairs, and more for long-term maintenance. The organization plans to fundraise this money. At least for the next five years, Sanders said the YWCA needs to focus on the West Third Street building.
The building houses, among other things, the YWCA domestic violence shelter. The future of the shelter faced uncertainty because of financial challenges, but agency officials say it remains one of their central missions.
Solutions
One of the most pressing issues at the YWCA was finances.
Sanders said the national YWCA did a transition assessment about nine months before she arrived. The assessment looked at finances, fundraising and programs.
Additionally, the board chair and others in the organization were able to put together a sustainability plan before Sanders got to Dayton, They had already presented the plan to community partners and foundations and had the money to help the organization.
After she got there, the YWCA looked at finances and made further plans.
“When we were reshaping the organization, we took a hard look at where we needed to cut costs and we’ve done that,” Sanders said. “We’re operating within our means.”
The YWCA has also restructured the organizational chart, hired more staff, stopped overspending, and built a new way to collect data.
Sanders said one of the missing pieces when she got to Dayton was partnerships.
“You can’t be everything to all people,” Sanders said. “So we have built several partnerships to support the work that we’re doing here.”
Sanders said she feels much better about where the YWCA is now compared to when she arrived.
“I see an organization that does not have any mission drift,” she said. “I see a team that is highly engaged.”
March 12 is the Women of Influence lunch, the YWCA’s biggest fundraiser.
About the Author
