YWCA of the U.S.A. Records. Record Group 3. National Administrative Office

This record group consists of the YWCA's national administrative office files including the office of the General Secretary (later Executive Secretary, later Chief Executive Officer) records on buildings and properties owned by the national organization, finance and development files, and records of the departments of data and statistics, library and archives, and publicity.

This Record Group is divided into six Series:

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Series Descriptions

SERIES I. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Historical Note

For most of the 20th century, "General Administration" was the name of the administrative office with its related support services for officers of the National Board and national staff. These included the President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer of the National Board; and the executive officer of the national staff, known as General Secretary (1906-66), Executive Director (1967-ca.1990), National Executive Director (ca. 1991-96); and Chief Executive Officer (1997-2002).

General Administration was the public face of the National Association, shepherding public perception from appearances and speeches, to receiving and responding to criticism, to serving on committees, commissions, and boards of related organizations, particularly the World's YWCA and the YMCA of the USA.

When the Association was under attack, the office was the main recipient of letters of complaint and responsible for fashioning responses to explain the YWCA's position, and calm the membership, financial donors, and the general public. This was always a challenging task because there were few periods when the YWCA wasn't under attack for something, but it was particularly tricky from the red-baiting of the late 1940s through the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s to women's liberation, anti-Vietnam war, and Equal Rights Amendment advocacy from the late 1960s into the early 1980s.

In its role as steward of the National Association, General Administration was responsible for the effective administration of national staff, and oversaw various examinations of the Association's "purpose," and strategic planning efforts. It maintained a close association with financial development and public relations functions, both of which were, at times, part of General Administration and sometimes separate departments. The office also handled communications with Association attorneys over a wide variety of issues from trademark infringement to tax exemption status to membership policy to lawsuits against Community Associations in which the National Association was named as a co-defendant.

General Administration committees and councils set work standards, wrote staff manuals, and developed policies and procedures that were specific to the workings of the national headquarters, but could also be models of effective office administration for Community YWCAs and organizations in general.

In overseeing general personnel matters related to the national staff, the administrative office dealt with union issues, navigating the complexities of being an employer while also advocating publicly on behalf of the rights of workers. The goal of the National Association was always to be a model employer, so it was not easy when its own staff began to express a desire for union representation beginning in 1936. After five difficult years the National Board agreed to recognize the union of maintenance, clerical and professional staff.

After World War II, the National Association's role in program activities became less about developing effective programs and program materials and more about soliciting funding and administering grants. Prior to this time, the administrative office had little involvement in the creation of programs and program materials. With the shift away from creating and toward administering program became more the province of the administrative office. Other types of programs, developed in the 1990s, such as the Race Against Racism and Week Without Violence, were national public awareness projects in which YWCA officers played important roles as speakers and participants in public event.

Once program and publication activity was scaled back, the program and publication staffs were reduced and General Administration took over some of the basic communication with Community and Student Associations mainly by means of regular mailings beginning about 1971.

The National Board's decision to sell the national headquarters building in 1982 was partly an economic decision-the sale of valuable Manhattan real estate provided much-needed funds-and partly a reflection of the reduced size of the national office.

In the 1990s, the Communications and Knowledge Sharing Project emerged from a combination of factors including dissatisfaction among Community Associations with the performance of the national office, a need to address the challenges of record-keeping with an ever-shrinking staff, and a desire to take advantage of the possibilities offered by technology. Cambridge Management Consultants were engaged to identify the needs and work out a method for addressing them. The resulting 'Web-based communications platform' known as YWLink, was intended to allow communication between Member Associations, between the national office and the Associations, provide for the posting of materials that could be shared across the Association, and submission of some of the statistical and other reports required for maintaining affiliation in the National Association. Though the National Association had invested a considerable sum in developing the system, it ultimately proved too expensive and complicated for most Member Associations and was soon abandoned.

With the 1999-2000 reorganization, the national administrative office was much reduced and moved from New York to Washington, DC where it shared facilities with the public policy advocacy office that had been established there circa 1991.

Scope and Content

The records retention policy of the YWCA of the USA generally called for saving correspondence for only five years and then discarding it. This meant that for the period during which the Central File was most vigorously maintained (1907 through the early 1950s) little correspondence ended up integrated into the Central File and retained for historical reference. Since a substantial amount of the work of General Administration was correspondence, documentation of its overall work is spotty.

Even so, the surviving materials do contain an unusual amount of correspondence and also some texts of speeches. There are also reports, memoranda, drafts, newspaper clippings, programs, committee materials, publications, and other administrative materials.

General Administration files reveal the part played by Association officers in activities that are more fully documented in the records of other departments, such as Public Affairs.

Committee, Commission, and Council records associated with national staff document such things as the establishment of work standards, how to evaluate staff work, office policies, and scheduling of travel and attendance at conferences.

The section on Controversy and the YWCA chronicles the more controversial aspects of the YWCA program, and highlights the ways in which the YWCA had to defend itself against charges of communism.

General Administration files also contain the primary documentation of the YWCA of the USA's relationships with other organizations especially its participation in the World YWCA, and its ever-complicated relations with the YMCA of the USA.

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel List]

With the exception of the Minutes and Reports, there is not a great deal of overlap between the microfilmed materials and the surviving paper records. Both should be consulted.

General Administration materials can be found on the microfilm in:

Original Format Records, 1907-2001, 21.5 linear ft.

[see Original Format Records folder list]

With the exception of the Minutes and Reports, there is not a great deal of overlap between the microfilmed materials and the surviving paper records. Both should be consulted.

The bulk of the original format records were created after microfilming was finished, but there are also significant materials from the 1940s-70, particularly in Subseries B. Controversy and Subseries M. Racial Justice. Of special note is a small amount of the General Secretary's correspondence to National Board and staff members, 1907-12; mailings to Community and Student Associations in Subseries C. Correspondence; and materials about relations with the staff union in Subseries H. National Office/National Staff.

The original format records are arranged in 15 Subseries as follows:

Subseries A. Conferences/Meetings/Summits chronicles the YWCA officers' role as public face of the National Association at various conferences and meetings. Included here are records of their participation in national and international events that were not sponsored by the YWCA. None of these materials are included on the microfilm. They are arranged chronologically.

Subseries B. Controversy is a correspondence, subject, and reference file compiled at the National Office to respond to negative publicity and a wide variety of attacks on the YWCA. The materials are arranged more-or-less chronologically and grouped by topic: labor in the 1930s and 1940s, communism in the 1940s and 1950s, racial justice in the 1960s and 1970s, anti-Vietnam war and women's movement in the 1970s, the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1980s. Included is correspondence with the general public, with YWCA members and Member Associations; publications; newspaper clippings; and reports.

Subseries C. Correspondence contains a small amount of general correspondence and correspondence with state and federal government agencies. The bulk is with YWCA groups and Associations about YWCA issues and arrangements for visits by national staff and officers. Included are mailings to Associations (1971-2001). Most of these materials are not on the microfilm.

Subseries D. Events consists of materials related to the planning and program of miscellaneous YWCA events such as the "Celebration of '600'" at the time of the sale of the YWCA headquarters building in 1982, and memorial services for Board and staff held during National Board meetings, 1969-91. Most of these materials are not on the microfilm.

Subseries E. Legal materials include correspondence with YWCA attorneys about a variety of legal issues including copyrights and trademarks, pending lawsuits, and the impact of various state and federal laws and Supreme Court rulings on the YWCA. There is also correspondence about registrations and renewals of trademarks and requests for permission to use YWCA copyrighted materials. Most is not included in the microfilm.

Subseries F. Membership is primarily proposals and correspondence with firms late 1990s 'membership marketing campaign.'

The bulk of Subseries G. Mission/Purpose is records of the Commission to Study the YWCA as a Christian Movement (1959-74), much of which is included on the microfilm. There are also other materials about the YWCA as a women's organization, and controversy over the inclusion of the phrase 'by any means necessary' in the YWCA's purpose statement.

Subseries H. National Office/National Staff is made up of general and miscellaneous materials describing overall staff and office policies, procedures, and events. There are extensive minutes of Committees, Councils and Departments responsible for facilities management, clerical and business functions, personnel policies, and standards of work. Publications include staff manuals and a newsletter. As elsewhere in the records, the reports (1908-41) are a rich source, here detailing the inner workings of headquarters. Training materials (1976-2000) provide information about staff orientation sessions and workshops on a variety of other topics from improving organizational effectiveness to racism and heterosexism. The Union materials are an extensive chronological record (1939-99) containing correspondence, clippings, minutes, research materials, contract offers and agreements.

Subseries I. Organizations documents the YWCA's relations with various religious, social welfare, and social work organizations plus funding foundations. Included are correspondence, clippings, publications, notes, and reference materials. World YWCA and YMCA of the USA files are especially extensive. Included are small files of correspondence with various national YWCAs around the world (1967-2002).

The bulk of Subseries J. Programs and Projects is records of the Communications and Knowledge Sharing Project (1998-99), Education for Global Responsibility (1993-97) and the YWCA Intervention Programs (1971-77). There are also a few small files on other programs and projects. Most of these materials are not included in the microfilm.

Subseries K. Public Relations documents the Executive Office's interactions with public relations consultants as part of the National Association's efforts to improve public awareness of the YWCA of the USA in the 1980s and 1990s.

Files in Subseries L. Publications consist of Executive Office input and drafts for YWCA publications, plus copies of Emissaries, a newsletter for former National Board members.

Subseries M. Racial Justice documents the Executive Office's participation in the work of the National Association and various of its committees on desegregation, other Civil Rights movement activities, and fair employment practices, primarily dated 1955 to 1967. Included is correspondence from Community Associations about Civil Rights Movement activities, 1963-65.

Subseries N. Reports contains scattered reports by YWCA of the USA officers (1907-2000) and two reports about the operation of the national offices (1958 and 1959).

Subseries O. Speeches and Statements contains texts of and notes for speeches and statements by YWCA National Presidents and Executive Directors. The bulk were delivered by Prema Mathai-Davis between 1994 and 1998.

Related Materials

Due to the central nature of the office, its work is reflected in materials found throughout the National Association records. Key materials can also be found by consulting:

National Board minutes and reports in RECORD GROUP 2. PREDECESSOR ORGANIZATIONS AND NATIONAL BOARD

The AssociationMonthly/Womans Press/YWCA Magazine in SERIES VI. PUBLICATIONS of RECORD GROUP 6 is an excellent source for most topics.

National Convention records, particularly reports to Convention by YWCA officers in RECORD GROUP 4. NATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES.

Materials about the various reorganizations of national staff and office structure can be found in RECORD GROUP 1. GENERAL AND HISTORY

Additional materials related to controversies can be found in RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM, under Public Advocacy, Interracial, and Religion

Additional materials about the YWCA's Mission/Purpose can be found in RECORD GROUP 1. GENERAL AND HISTORY and in RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM under Religion.

General reference files on the World YWCA and various national YWCAs are filed in RECORD GROUP 1. GENERAL AND HISTORY

Community Associations files in RECORD GROUP 8. COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS have information about national officers' and staffs' speaking engagements

RECORD GROUP 10. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS included videotaped presentations about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit against the YWCA of Tucson and the YWCA of the U.S.A. Also included are audio and videotapes of selected National staff meetings, parties, and training events.

SERIES II. BUILDINGS AND PROPERTIES

Historical Note

Overview (see below for detailed information about specific properties)

From the formation of the YWCA of the USA in 1906, the National Association has owned and leased a variety of properties for Association activities. At the beginning, these consisted of leased spaces in New York City for a headquarters and the National Training School, a continuation of the predecessor American Committee's Secretaries' Training Institute in Chicago.

These functions were combined into one building with the construction of the national headquarters building at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street in 1912. [see National Headquarters below] In 1913 the National Association was given property in Pacific Grove, California, for the development of a conference and meeting facility for the western region. [see Asilomar below]

During World War I, the National Association acquired a number of properties all over the U.S. where it constructed housing for war workers, and 'Hostess Houses' for servicemen and their families. Most of these properties were sold soon after the war, but two remained in possession of the National Association. [see Grace Dodge Hotel and Chautauqua Hospitality House below]

Economic hard times after the war and during the Great Depression made the National Association wary of the financial and administrative responsibilities associated with properties and buildings. When buyers could be found, properties were sold. Some, such as Asilomar, spent years in limbo until finally finding buyers. Over the years, other properties were offered as gifts to the National Association. Some were accepted on a trial basis and most often sold within a decade of the gift. [see Altamont and Fletcher Farm below]

The National Association became involved in property management again in the 1980s after the Max C. Fleishmann Foundation of Reno, Nevada, announced that it wanted to distribute all of its assets and go out of business. The National Association took the opportunity to submit several proposals to the Foundation aimed at achieving some of its planning goals. In response to changing trends, especially among the volunteer work force, the Association had committed itself to a renewed emphasis on leadership training for the 1980s. In addition, a 1977 planning study by the Human Services Design Laboratory at Case Western Reserve University had recommended increasing the YWCA presence in the southwestern U.S. The proposal with the most appeal for the Fleishmann Foundation was a grant for the construction of a 'leadership development center' in the southwest. In addition, as regional offices and staffs had been reduced, the membership was feeling more and more that the national office was out of touch with their concerns and interests. The placement of a National Association center outside of New York was seen as a potential tool for addressing those concerns.

A site was selected in Phoenix, Arizona, causing some controversy among Association membership due to the apparent inconsistency of building in a state that had not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, a YWCA public policy priority since 1973. Citing the need for a "strong presence…in areas which most need the commitment of the YWCA to racial justice and equality for women," the YWCA went ahead with the construction. Dedicated in 1983, the Leadership Development Center was a year-round, non-residential training center for YWCA staff that could also be rented by similar groups.

The logistics of administering an operation that was at such a distance from headquarters, as well as the financial burdens of staffing and maintaining such a facility, were always somewhat challenging for the shrinking national staff. Part of the National Association's renewed emphasis on leadership training included, as part of Member Association accreditation, required attendance at training sessions in Phoenix. At least some cash-strapped Community Associations objected to the expense involved in traveling to Arizona for training that had previously been offered regionally. The Leadership Development Center was sold circa 2000 to a private "conferencing" firm as part of the major restructuring of the National Association.

Rising Manhattan real estate prices and shrinking national staff led the National Board to finally agree to sell its headquarters at 600 Lexington Ave. in the early 1980s. Headquarters made use of rented spaces in New York City until the major reorganization in 1999-2000, when it relocated and joined the Washington, DC Office staff.

Altamont (Millbrook, NY): a 90-acre estate donated to the National Association in 1959 and 1960 by Nancy Boyd Sokoloff for use as a conference center. The gift was accepted on an experimental basis with the option to sell the property if, after two years, that was deemed expedient. The experiment was extended somewhat, but it was eventually determined that the property was not "in the mainstream" of the Association's work and it was sold in 1964.

Asilomar Conference Grounds (Pacific Grove, California): When the site of previous YWCA western region summer conferences burned in 1912, Phoebe Apperson Hearst (mother of William Randolph Hearst) persuaded the Pacific Improvement Company (now the Pebble Beach Co.) to donate thirty beachfront acres to the YWCA for the development of a western conference center. The YWCA hired San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1913 to design the buildings. The winning entry in a 1913 contest for naming the property, was a combination of two Spanish words, 'asilo' meaning retreat or refuge, and 'mar' meaning ocean. In 1917, Ellen Browning Scripps purchased an additional 20 acres for the property. By 1921, Asilomar was a year-round facility able to accommodate 500 people. Asilomar was never a self-supporting endeavor and the financial challenges of the Great Depression led the National Board to vote in 1934 to sell it. No buyer appeared, so California YWCA "leaders" formed an Asilomar Committee to oversee the facility. It was leased for some years, used for military housing during World War II, and opened as a full-service conference facility in 1947. The property was again offered for sale in 1951 and fear of development of the prime site eventually prompted local residents to advocate for its preservation. The California Division of Beaches and Parks purchased the property in 1956. It is currently the Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds.

Camps: though most YWCA camps were owned by Member Associations, the National Association owned a few of them over the years. [see Camping in Record Group 6]

Chautauqua Hospitality House (Chautauqua, NY): Originally purchased for use during World War I, the House was run as a "Peace-Time Hostess House" and day nursery for visitors to the Chautauqua Institution. The Chautauqua County YWCA initially ran the house until 1921 when the National Association took over its management. A cafeteria and camping facilities were added, then an addition with dormitory rooms for female students and staff at Chautauqua. The Chautauqua Institution purchased the Hospitality House from the YWCA of the USA in 1965.

Fletcher Farm (Proctorsville/Ludlow, VT): Mary E. Fletcher gave the farm and 500 acres to the National YWCA around 1929. It was used for several years as the home of the National YWCA Summer School. The program included seminars for staff, and meetings of nationality, town, and rural secretaries. The YWCA sold it circa 1933 and, as of 2007, it was the Fletcher Farm School for Arts and Crafts of the Vermont Society of Arts and Craftsmen, Inc.

Grace Dodge Hotel (Washington, DC): Built with War Work Council money and given to the National Association in 1921, the Grace Dodge Hotel was intended to house girls and women working in Washington during World War I. Still under construction when the war ended, the YWCA of the USA decided to operate the hotel as a demonstration business, providing good working conditions for its employees in an industry where working conditions were generally very poor. The hotel was for women only until 1926, when it was opened to men and families in an effort to increase income. It proved to be a profitable venture, and the Association used money from its building depreciation fund to supplement the National Association's budget during the Great Depression. By World War II and its associated housing crunch, DC's unwritten policy against interracial hotels came to be an issue within the National Association. The membership did not want its name or the name of its first President associated with a segregated hotel. The YWCA sold the Hotel in 1959, and the building was razed circa 1972.

Hollywood Studio Club see Series III in Record Group 8

Leadership Development Center (originally known as Fleishmann Learning Center) (Phoenix, AZ): Dedicated in 1983, the LDC was a centralized, year-round, non-residential center for training of YWCA staff funded in part by a grant from the Max C. Fleishmann Foundation. The Center was sold, circa 2000, as part of major restructuring of the Association to Sodexho Conferencing, Inc. As of 2007, it is known as the Black Canyon Conference Center.

National Headquarters and National Training School (New York City and Washington, DC): The first YWCA of the USA Headquarters was in the Hotel Montclair, 541 Lexington Ave at 49th Street in New York City, the site where the merger between the International Board of Women's and Young Women's Christian Associations and the American Committee of Young Women's Christian Associations had been negotiated in December 1906. In 1908, the YWCA joined the International Committee of the YMCA, the Student Volunteer Movement, and the Young People's Missionary Movement at 125 East 27th Street, in a building "expressly built" for those organizations by Mrs. William Dodge and Mrs. Russell Sage. During this period (1908-12), the National Association rented space for its training school and the school's administrative offices at 3 Gramercy Park, Gramercy Court on 22nd St., and 125 East 27th St.

It became clear within two years that the two floors occupied by the YWCA in this building were inadequate. The Association put together a Committee on Future Headquarters to plan for a new building of their own. Built 1911-12 at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 52nd St., it housed the national headquarters, with an entrance at 600 Lexington Ave., and "The Annex," with an separate entrance around the corner at 132/135 East 52nd St. The Annex initially served as the home of the National Training School with accommodations for resident students. The living spaces were later made available to non-students and became known as "The Residence." Since the idea was two separate entities within the one building, the committee which oversaw administration of the building was known as the "Buildings Committee" for many years.

Designed with the latest ideas regarding "scientific management," the structure served as a model for association buildings. Helen Gould gave $200,000 to purchase the land and Grace Dodge and four others donated $665,569 for the building. It was the first national woman's building to be built in the United States solely for the use of a woman's movement, and the Headquarters Committee was formed to manage oversight of the property. The building, known affectionately as "600," was much loved by YWCA members across the country. After years of receiving offers to purchase such prime real estate, the National Board decided to sell the building in December 1981. The purchasers, London and Leeds Investments of Great Britain, demolished the building and re-developed the site. The Association invested the proceeds from the sale as part of a long-range financial plan, hoping that the additional endowment would facilitate maintenance of operations, and, with luck, allow for some expansion of national services.

In 1982, the National office moved temporarily to 135 West 50th Street, then to 726 Broadway in 1984. This was followed in 1997, by a move to the Empire State Building (350 50th Ave.) and, in 2003, after a major reorganization, a consolidation of headquarters staff and the Washington office at 1015 18th St, NW, Washington, D.C.

Scope and Content

This series includes minutes, architectural plans, reports, correspondence, printed materials, newspaper clippings, and other administrative records (1908-96) related to various properties owned by the YWCA of the USA.

Microfilmed Records, 1906-1970 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel List]

Most of the Buildings and Properties materials on the microfilm were discarded after filming. They include minutes and reports of committees in charge of planning the new headquarters building in 1910-12, and management of National Board headquarters, as well as records related to the management of the Grace Dodge Hotel and purchase and sale of miscellaneous properties.

They can be found under:

Original Format Records, 1908-96, 4 linear feet

[see Original Format Records Folder List]

There is little overlap between the surviving paper records and the microfilmed Buildings and Properties materials.

The paper records consist of general information, newspaper clippings, printed materials, minutes, reports, and other items primarily about the Asilomar Conference Grounds, the Leadership Development Center, and the National Board Headquarters with small amounts of materials on various other properties. The materials are arranged alphabetically. The bulk of the materials relate to the funding for and construction of the Leadership Development Center.

Related Materials

Files about ongoing building maintenance at '600' are located in SERIES 1 of this Record Group

Materials about the Hollywood Studio Club; consulting on building and swimming pool construction and maintenance; boarding houses, cafeterias, and shared YMCA-YWCA buildings can be found in RECORD GROUP 8. SERVICES TO COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS

Information about summer camps and materials about World War I facilities are located in RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM

There are many photographs of YWCA buildings in RECORD GROUP 9. PHOTOGRAPHS

RECORD GROUP 10. AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS contains video from various events at the Leadership Development Center, including its dedication in 1982 and its 10th anniversary.

SERIES III. FINANCE AND FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Historical Note

Financial management and fund-raising were initially handled by one office at the National Association. The Treasurer was an elected officer of the National Board. Day-to-day oversight of Association finances and accounting was carried out by staff of the Finance Department. (The Board of Trustees, which was responsible for real estate owned by the National Board and endowed funds, had its own Treasurer.) In the Association's early years, Grace Dodge, the first President of the National Association, routinely made up any budget deficit out of her own funds carrying the national work 'until it should be strong enough to carry itself.' After her death in 1914, the Association did not immediately make an organized effort at addressing regular budget problems and tended to make up the difference out of its endowed funds. The advent of World War I with its highly successful campaigns for war work funds and associated influx of money gave the Association large-scale fund-raising experience which was accompanied by similarly large-scale increases in program.

War work 'Continuation' funds carried the Association through 1920, but the dramatic decrease in budget in 1921 necessitated a large cut in staff and reorganization of departments. The National Board's report to the 1922 Convention sated "we have passed through a period in which the sense of responsibility for finance remained largely undeveloped. Because Miss Dodge thought the need for national unity so urgent, the work was launched ahead of the slow growth of a financial constituency." The Finance Division, established in 1923, had responsibility for securing the National Board budget 'difference'; any special fund-raising effort; and service to Community Associations 'in method and training' through the Finance Service Bureau.

The World Service Council, a committee of the Finance Division, was established after World War I to make use of the highly effective fund-raising capacity of the members of the War Work Council. Its goal was to secure substantial contributions from individuals to the national budget on a continuing basis. World Service Council members also participated in interpretation of the national work to the general public.

Another staff reorganization, in 1932-33, separated the accounting/budget control functions from fund-raising, establishing as separate functions within General Administration a Comptroller's Office and a committee responsible for securing the funds necessary to meet the National Board's budget. It also transferred responsibility for advising Community Associations on financial matters to the newly formed National Services Division. The committee, known by 1933 as the Committee on National Support and Interpretation, was charged with directing all efforts for raising money through gifts from individuals, funds, and foundations; securing quota payments from Community Associations; promoting endowments and bequests; and interpretating the work of the National Association to the public.

The National Association had three sources of funds: earnings from income-producing units (such as the Grace Dodge Hotel, and sales of publications), income from endowment, and 'contributions' consisting of quota payments from local assns and gifts from individuals, foundations, and other sources. The term "National Support" was used to describe all types of 'contributions' to support the National Association.

The National Board assessed its National Support needs in light of its anticipated budget and expectation of income from other sources, then set an amount to be made up in quota payments from Community Associations. The amount due from each Association was determined according to formulas devised by the Committee and calculated based on an Association's overall budget, the membership dues it received, and various other contributions. Though quota payments were mandatory, some Associations took the obligation much more seriously than others and there were no serious consequences if an Association did not meet its quota.

The Comptroller's Office continued to perform budget control and accounting functions as part of the main administrative office through the rest of the century, changing name to Finance Department in 1986.

Financial Development had a more varied administrative history, sometimes combined with Public Relations and Publications and sometimes not. Between 1933 and 1948, the work was managed by the Committee on National Support and Interpretation with the aid of the World Service Council. The sheer number of pages in the Committee's minutes and reports taken up by discussions of quota payments from Associations implies that their time and attention was primarily consumed by that aspect of their work.

Financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression were temporarily alleviated during World War II. Special war-time programs and activities were well-funded by large cooperative campaigns. With the nation focused on the war, regular YWCA programs and fund-raising were more-or-less put on hold as had been the case during the First World War.

As the National Association made adjustments after the war, its program for financial development came to seem inadequate and behind the times. It was clear that the National Association could not continue to rely on its endowment to cover deficits. The landscape of potential funding sources had changed with the increase in prevalence of community chests and councils. Such shared funds required very different types of appeals.

In 1947 a Committee on Financing the National Board asked the John Price Jones Corporation to make a study of public relations, publicity, and fund-raising. Citing in particular the necessity of skilled and focused fund-raising and public relations efforts, the Jones report called for making National Support and Public Relations into departments, staffed by trained professionals rather than a committee with volunteer leadership. It also urged the National Association to make quota payments from Community Associations compulsory with serious consequences for non-compliance. Though the language related to quota payments changed, it was not until 1992 that the Association made a Community Association's continued affiliation with the YWCA of the USA contingent upon full payment of its quota.

The National Support Department worked on yearly and special appeals, including periodic capital campaigns; cultivated large individual donors for gifts and bequests; devised National Support quotas for Community Associations; kept abreast of opportunities for grants and shepherded grant proposals initiated in the departments; and provided training for Community Associations in all of these areas.

Over the years, the National Association had regularly received special and grant funding for targeted projects, such as the Rural Studies funded by the Ford Foundation and the Parker bequest for support of a music program in the 1920s. The reduction in national program activities after World War II made such short-term projects more the norm and tied together fund-raising and program in a different way. Instead of studying a situation to determine needs and then develop program to meet those needs, program proposals were more likely to be tailored to potential funding sources. The National Support Department helped various YWCA departments apply for and administer funding for such projects. When U.S. Government funding for 'War on Poverty' programs became available as a result of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the YWCA entered into a relationship with the consulting firm Research and Action, Inc., to keep track of the funding legislation for social programs, coordinate proposals and reports, and maintain liaison with government agencies.

Two studies (1958 and 1964) by Greenleigh Associates Management Consultants brought about another reorganization of the national office. Advising and training on financial matters was returned to the duties of the financial management and development staff in 1964 under a new unit, called Financial Resources Development (later Financial Development.) Beyond its regular activities, the new unit was intensely involved in major fund-raising events such as YWCA anniversary celebrations in 1983 and 1993-94, and two capital campaigns, Fund for the Future in the 1980s and Millennium 2000 in the late 1990s. New opportunities were created, such as the Tribute to Women in International Industry (TWIN) awards dinners.

The World Service Council continued its regular support and also raised funds for special causes, such as the International Building Fund and continued staffing of the National Board Archives after budget cuts forced it to close in 1992.

Included here are general files on three independent financial organizations founded for the benefit of YWCA employees: the Emissarius Credit Union, established in 1924 open to employees of the YWCA of the USA; the YWCA Retirement Fund, established in 1924 for the benefit of employed officers of the YWCA of the USA "when they shall retire"; and the YWCA Savings and Security Plan for Non-Secretarial Employees, established in 1940 for clerical and maintenance employees of the YWCA of the USA 'who faithfully render the supporting services which make possible the operation and expansion of the program and services of YWCAs, wherever they are.'

Administrative History

Scope and Content

This section contains correspondence, minutes, reports, financial statements, training materials, scrapbooks, publications and other materials related to the offices and committees charged with accounting/budget control and fundraising (including the financial obligations of the Community Associations to the national YWCA.)

Included in this series is a small amount of material about the Emissarius Credit Union, YWCA Retirement Fund, and YWCA Savings and Security Plan for Non-Secretarial Employees all of which were independent organizations established for the benefit of YWCA employees.

Financial development publications, created with publicity staff, chronicle the formation of the Association's public image while minutes, reports, and studies reveal struggles to articulate the mission of such a complex and, in many ways, flexible organization. The basic mission-to serve young women-took many forms over the years.

Minutes, reports, and studies document the many challenges of financing the Association whether the result of outside forces, such as the Great Depression or the public criticism of the Red Scare years, or of the women's inexperience and, perhaps, women's reluctance to ask for funds from donors.

They are also revealing of the nature of the relationship between the National Association and its member Associations. They record regular discussions about how to get Community Associations to make their quota payments and debates about whether or not the National Association should force Community Associations to make membership in the YWCA (with its associated fees) a requirement for all program participants.

Though surviving records of earlier capital campaigns are modest in scope, there are substantial materials from the Fund for the Future (1980-86) and Millennium 2000 Campaign (1996-2000).

Training materials, publications, and the visitation reports of secretaries document the training functions of the department.

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel List]

With the exception of the Minutes and Reports, there is not a great deal of overlap between the microfilmed materials and the surviving paper records. Both should be consulted.

Microfilmed materials include minutes and reports of various committees; correspondence with banks, large contributors, foundations, and World Service Council members; information about funds and endowments; some financial development materials, general information about scholarship funds and national support; and some budget and financial statement materials.

Finance and Financial Development materials can be found on the microfilm under:

Original Format Records, 1907-2002, n.d., 18 linear feet

[see Original Format Records Folder List]

With the exception of the Minutes and Reports, there is not a great deal of overlap between the microfilmed materials and the original format records. Both should be consulted.

The original format records are arranged in 3 Subseries:

Subseries A. Finance and Development

Department/Division and Committees sections include extensive minutes, some general information and correspondence. Included are quite detailed records of the World Service Council.

Publications contains forms and guidelines associated with National Support/quota payments; manuals and handbooks for training Community Associations about budgeting and fundraising; and an extensive file (including scrapbooks) of financial development pamphlets, booklets, appeal letters, and serial publications.

Reports contains some general department reports, but the bulk is the remarkable 'visitation' reports written by secretaries and special workers, 1910-20.

Studies consists of four reports (1946-63) by management consultants on National Association fund-raising.

Training contains advertising, handouts, presentation materials for workshops on such topics as financial development, money management, planned giving, and proposal writing, dated between 1972 and 1998.

Fundraising files contain general information about appeals, funds, grants, National Support, and planned/deferred giving. The Campaigns files are records related to the Fund for the Future (1980-86) and extensive files on the Millennium 2000 Campaign (1996-2000). Included are such materials as case statements, donor lists, press kits, prospects files, and reports. The Donors files appear to be files of correspondence with donors that were removed circa 1986 (perhaps because these donors were deceased) from an alphabetical file of large contributors. Similar files can be found on the microfilm.

Subseries B. Comptroller's Office

Comptroller's Office records include general information about the office, it's areas of responsibility (including budget, accounting, funds, and real estate), practices and procedures. The materials date from 1907 to 2002, but are quite fragmentary. Of special note are records related to YWCA property in China.

Subseries C. Miscellaneous

This series consists of a small amount of material about three independent financial organizations established for the benefit of YWCA employees: the Emissarius Credit Union, YWCA Retirement Plan, and YWCA Savings and Security Plan for Non-Secretarial Employees.

Related Materials

Due to the central nature of the office and its work, Finance and Financial Development materials can be found throughout the National Association records. Key materials can also be found by consulting:

Publicity/Public Relations materials in SERIES VI of this Record Group

National Board minutes and reports and Board of Trustees records in RECORD GROUP 2. PREDECESSOR ORGANIZATIONS AND NATIONAL BOARD

Convention records in RECORD GROUP 4. NATIONAL CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS

Program and Budget Committee minutes in RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM

The AssociationMonthly/Womans Press/YWCA Magazine in SERIES VI. PUBLICATIONS of RECORD GROUP 6 is an excellent source for most topics.

Audio and video presentations about various finance-related subjects, such as development campaigns, the YWCA Retirement Fund, and the National Support Plan are in RECORD GROUP 10. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS. There are also audiotapes of selected World Service Council meetings from the late 1970s to 2000.

See also:

Regina Bannan, "Management by Women: The First Twenty-Five Years of the YWCA National Board, 1906-31," Ph.D. thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 1994

SERIES IV. DATA AND STATISTICS

Historical Note

Initially named "Department for Analysis and Interpretation of Data and Trends," the department was established in 1940 after a two-year trial of a Records and Reports Department in the Laboratory Division. Its proposed charter placed the new department 'within the framework of the principle of long-time planning already adopted by the National Board.' Its task was to assemble and analyze data, ascertain trends within the Association and in the 'social scene' in which the Association operated, and present findings 'in such a way that their meaning can be readily interpreted.'

Basic information was collected from 'Annual Statistical Report' forms submitted by Community and Student Associations. Data and Trends also carried out studies at the request of various departments, these usually involved the development of questionnaires which were sent out to Associations. Staff of the department also surveyed and reported on trends in other social service, religious, women's, and teen-serving organizations.

As with most YWCA of the USA departments, Data and Statistics staff also produced written materials and served as consultants for Community and Student Associations in their area of expertise: how to carry out studies and collect data of use to Associations. Guidelines and publications cover such topics as community studies and methods for measuring program costs and effectiveness.

Over the years, Data and Trends was affiliated with various Association departments, sometimes as part of the department providing services to Community Associations, sometimes with research, sometimes as part of the executive office. In 1972, Association data collection was combined with the central files, library, and (later) archives to form the Data Center. The Data Center (along with the Archives and Library) was eliminated as of September 1992 when national staff was reduced by 50% as a result of staff reorganization and reduction known as Project Redesign. Some of its record-keeping functions were transferred at that time to the Member Association Services Department.

Scope and Content

Data and Statistics records include committee minutes, general material about the department, blank forms, instructional guidelines for Associations and studies, reports, and publications.

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel list]

Many reports and publications issued from Data and Statistics were filed with other materials related to their subject (for example, reports about camps are on the microfilm under 'Camps.') They are most often included under 'Miscellaneous' at the end of each section.

Other Data and Statistics materials-mostly department/committee records--can be found on the microfilm under:

Original Format Records, 1909-97, 6 linear feet

[see Original Format Records Folder List]

Though the department existed from 1940 to 1992, publications containing similar information that both pre-date and post-date the department are filed here to facilitate access. These include: directories of Community and Student YWCAs, directories of Associations with residences, and general statistical compilations (Directory and Statistical Report and Year Book from 1909-19, Hand Book of the YWCA, 1910-19)

The records are divided into 6 sections: General and History, Committees, Department, Forms and Guidelines, Publications, and Studies and Reports.

Forms and Guidelines consists of materials related to the development and analysis of the National Association's forms used to assess whether Community and Student Associations' programs meet the "basic standards" for membership in the National Association, as well as the Annual Statistical Report Form. Also included are instructional and training materials for use by Community and Student Associations.

Publications include annual statistical compilations about Associations and put out by the department and similar earlier publications giving basic statistics about the National Association plus manuals to help Associations analyze program costs.

Studies and Reports contains research on a wide variety of topics including buildings and facilities, finances, membership, personnel issues, program, racial inclusiveness, and record-keeping.

Related Materials

Compilation of statistics about the Association was done by the Office Department statistics committee in early years, see Office Department in SERIES I of this Record Group

Related information and forms can be found in the records of the departments providing direct services to Associations, in RECORD GROUP 8. SERVICES TO COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS.

For some of its history Data and Statistics was part of the department responsible for research. Records of that department can be found in RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM.

Records of the other departments that made up the Data Center (1972-92), the Library and Archives are in SERIES V. of this Record Group.

Early statistical report forms were issued through the Publications Department and information about them is available in SERIES VI. PUBLICATIONS in RECORD GROUP 6.

SERIES V. LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES

Historical Note

Library

Among the basic services the YWCA of the USA's predecessor Women's and Young Women's Christian Associations provided was easily accessible, free, circulating libraries for women. Given this historical commitment, it was a foregone conclusion that the newly formed National Association would include a historical and reference library in its headquarters building. It was suggested that Miss Schrote of the Office Department, who was a trained librarian, should use a portion of her time to catalog the materials and make recommendations regarding their acquisition. The Office Department was also put in charge of creating exhibits. Though the Library was initially linked in this way with the Association's files, by 1921 administrative responsibility for the collection was moved to the Research Department. The Library remained part of the research function (in Education and Research and then Laboratory Division) until 1939 when it was returned to General Administration under the supervision of Office Services. Here it was part of the Central Filing Bureau which oversaw the central office files, the 'technical and historical files' of YWCA publications, and the Library.

It was not until 1959 that a full-time Librarian was hired. The Library was moved to the supervision of the Bureau of Research and Program Resources in 1960. As part of the 1971-72 reorganization, the Research and Program Resources Bureau was split in two, with responsibility for program moving to the new Program Development and Public Policy Unit and research moving to the newly established Data Center which consisted of the Library and Central Files. The Library was closed in September 1992 as part of a staff reorganization and reduction known as Project Redesign.

Archives/Central File/'Record File'

Maintenance of the files of the National Association was initially the responsibility of the Office Department. As with most of the departments of the YWCA of the USA, the Office Department not only provided services for the National Association, but also served as a model for effective office procedure for Community and Student Associations. A Central File was established and rigorously maintained at least until the 1950s so as to optimize sharing of information across the Association. By 1921, a records retention schedule had been adopted . Records were assigned a retention category (1 year, 2-5 year, or permanent historical) when created, and the files staff was continuously filing and culling to maintain order and facilitate their use. By 1948, space for files was at such a premium that the Office Services Committee began to consider microfilming and discarding older records. In 1950, what had been known as the Central File was renamed the Records Center to correspond with 'the change of terminology in the field.' It was not until 1963 that a decision was made to microfilm some of the records. The first 222 reels of film were made that year, consisting of materials dating from 1899 to 1950 about the predecessor organizations; minutes and reports of the National Board, Board of Trustees, and a few Committees and Departments; Subject Files; and files kept on Community Associations. At the same time, retired YWCA staff member Eleanor Coit, a Smith College alumna, was in the process of donating her personal papers to the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. When Coit learned that the records were going to be discarded after microfilming, she approached YWCA Librarian Elizabeth Norris (also a Smith alumna) and the two talked privately with Sophia Smith Collection Director Margaret Grierson about whether Smith College might be interested in preserving some of the materials slated for destruction. As a result of this conversation, selected materials (consisting of 'less than 1/16 of the total') were transferred to Smith in 1964.

In 1965, the director of the newly-established Social Welfare History Archives Center at the University of Minnesota inquired about preserving the YWCA of the USA records. Since the historical files had by this time been discarded or sent to Smith, the YWCA responded that there was nothing to preserve beyond the microfilm, but agreed to add the SWHA to its mailing list for publications.

A second, much smaller, batch of materials, was microfilmed in 1968. Included were Subject Files and Community Association Files dating between 1951 and 1960.

Circa 1974, the Records Center was re-named the 'Records File.'

Preparations for the U.S. Bicentennial and the growing visibility of women's history, sparked the interest of a couple of National Board members in encouraging Community and Student Associations to preserve their own historical records, and for the national YWCA to help facilitate access to its history. Under the auspices of the Data Center, a questionnaire was sent in December 1974 to all Community and Student Associations asking for information about their historical records. A proposal was submitted to the Program and Budget Committee asking permission to seek outside funding for an Archival Research Project to 'uncover the Grass Roots participation of [the YWCA] in the social development of America.'

A 1976 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities resulted in the establishment of the Archives of the YWCA of the USA as a department of the Data Center. It also funded creation of the 1978 "Inventory to the Records Files Collection of the National Board of the Young Women's Christian Association," a guide to the first 282 reels of microfilmed records. The NEH-funded archivist also helped Community Associations with 'sizable historical records' locate suitable repositories for those materials. Prior to the establishment of the Archives department, research access to the YWCA's historical records was by special permission to 'serious students' only. Under the terms of the NEH grant, the records were opened to the public for the first time. The department's holdings initially consisted of the Central (or 'Records') File (including the microfilm), and YWCA publications. Additions to the collection were transferred from Association offices and donated by private individuals.

After the grant period, Librarian and YWCA Historian Elizabeth Norris, who had been closely involved in the project, took over staffing of the archives in addition to her duties as Librarian. Finding continuing funding proved difficult, however, and the budget which had already reduced the Librarian and YWCA Historian position to part-time, was eliminated and the Archives closed as of September 1992.

After the sale of the headquarters building in 1982, and the move to much smaller offices, about 35 cubic feet of YWCA/USO files were donated to the Social Welfare History Archives at the University of Minnesota.

Between 1992 and 2001, the World Service Council provided enough funding to allow for some basic Archives functions to continue, but final decisions about the future of the unit were postponed as the Association endured a lengthy strategic planning process which resulted in a major restructuring in 1999-2000. As part of the celebration of the 135th anniversary of the first YWCA in the U.S., grants were obtained to mount an exhibit of historical materials selected from the Archives and contributed by Community Associations. The exhibit toured the country in 1993-94, but did not result in permanent funding for the Archives. Additional grants were sought without success.

Once the Association's restructuring was complete, the decision was made to find a repository interested in housing the records. The Sophia Smith Collection was eventually chosen and the records were transferred to Smith College in 2002-03.

Scope and Content

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel list]

The only related materials on the microfilm are listed under Related Materials below.

Original Format Records, 1921-2001, n.d., 5.5 linear feet

[see Original Format Records Folder list]

The original format records contain general and historical materials about the administration of the Library, Central Files, and Archives. Included are correspondence, memoranda, lists, publications, office forms, research materials, and grant proposals and reports.

The Archives materials are divided into 6 sections: General and History, Committee/Department, Exhibits, Holdings, Projects, and YWCA History Subject Files. Department administrative records document cooperative relationships with other repositories such as the Sophia Smith Collection and the Social Welfare History Archives; Holdings files document donations to the Archives and transfers from National Association departments. Exhibits and YWCA History Subject Files contain research compiled by Archives staff. The Projects files document various oral histories and publications as well as the National Board Archives Project and various other proposed and funded projects.

Related Materials

Elsewhere in this Record Group

The central files were initially the responsibility of the Office Department. Its records can be found in SERIES I.

The Library and Archives were part of the Data Center (1972-92) with the Data and Statistics Department, its records are in SERIES IV.

In other Record Groups

The YWCA's 135th Anniversary Exhibit drew extensively on the resources of the Archives, see also records about the exhibit in RECORD GROUP 1. GENERAL AND HISTORY.

SERIES VI. PUBLICITY

Historical Note

One of the main reasons given for forming a National Association of YWCAs was to centralize the tasks "the associations have found by experience that they can do more effectively together than alone." Among these tasks was "to make the Association known" to the general public and its intended membership. The Publications Department soon began producing a variety of "free literature" about the Association and its program for purposes of "finance cultivation" and general publicity.

In 1911, the committee overseeing Association publications, which had been informally monitoring press coverage of the Association and managing press coverage of Conventions, urged the National Board to hire a publicity secretary to create an organized publicity program prior to the launch of Capital Funds Campaigns and to take better advantage of upcoming opportunities for publicity, such as the dedication of the new headquarters building. In true YWCA style, a Publicity Committee was formed to consider the question and make recommendations to the National Board. The committee membership (executives of most of the National Association departments with multiple representatives from Finance and Publications departments) reflected the central nature of the work to the Association as a whole-with particular emphasis on its role in financial development. The first Publicity Secretary began work in 1913 under the direction of the Finance Department. Described as "the handmaid of support," publicity remained closely allied with financial development and publications.

Publicity staff placed general articles in the press about the Association and its programs, such as work with immigrants, Christian work, the National Training School, office efficiency, and foreign work; and sought coverage of special events, such as Conventions, and summer conferences. They looked for opportunities to place items in moving picture newsreels. They developed biographical files on staff and Board members and assembled slides and photographs for lectures, exhibits, and press use. Special projects of the early years included a moving picture about YWCA work for use at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 and art and literary contests held during the Exposition.

As with most National Association departments, Publicity staff also created manuals and other training materials to teach Community Associations how to do effective publicity. They wrote the 'free literature' available to Community Associations for cultivation of members and fund-raising purposes. And they trained speakers and wrote speakers manuals.

During World War I, greatly expanded publicity activities were directed by the War Work Council. They were focused mainly on spreading the word about services offered by the YWCA and aiding various fund-raising efforts. The department commissioned a notable series of posters with art work donated to support the war effort. By 1920, with funding from the Continuation Committee, the department employed 29 people in a newspaper section, photographic and moving pictures section, exhibit section, magazine section, printing section, distribution section, and Speakers Bureau. When war-time funds were used up the following year, the staff was cut by nearly two thirds.

The much-reduced staff continued its efforts through the 1920s, adding advocacy for the National Association's new legislative/public affairs agendas to its activities. Perhaps in response to the National Association's financial woes during the Great Depression, publicity and finance were joined administratively under the Committee for National Support and Interpretation by the mid-1930s. This committee (whose records are filed under Finance and Development) directed all fund-raising, was in charge of securing quota payments from Community Associations, and responsible for "interpretation" of the work of the National Association to the general public.

The strong tendency of this Committee was to view its interpretation role as "merely an aid to money-raising." By 1942 it was clear that Public Relations' "more elusive…function as a means of creating public confidence in the YWCA aims and activities and increasing the prestige of the National Board had been completely overlooked." A Public Relations Committee was formed which steadily advocated for increased, specialized staff until the National Board Executive Committee voted in May of 1944 to remove 'interpretation to the public' from the role of the National Support and Interpretation Committee and establish a Public Relations Department. (The Committee's name did not reflect this change until its revised charter was approved in 1947.)

In 1947 the Committee on Financing the National Board asked the John Price Jones Corporation to make a study of public relations, publicity, and fund-raising. The Jones Report identified a general lack of understanding of "the true significance of the movement" among YWCA staff and membership. It faulted the National Association for a lack of focus, making its work too difficult to describe with no overall "story line" on which the publicity could be hung. The National Association adopted some of the report's recommendations-more-or-less centralizing public relations responsibility in a Public Information Department that reported directly to the General Secretary. The Publications Department, which was developing plans for a post-War revival of the Woman's Press, remained a separate department.

Another recommendation of the Jones report was the development of two annual national events to throw the work of the YWCA "into sharp focus," National YWCA Week highlighting activities in the U.S. and World Fellowship Week focusing on fund-raising for YWCA work overseas. Public Information coordinated these events, producing packets with such things as posters, press releases, suggestions for programs, and radio and film "spots."

After a trial period, the National Association concluded that expansion of the publications program was not practical and the Woman's Press (the 'general interest' titles) was sold in 1952. During the next office reorganization in 1960-61, publications was combined with public relations to form the Communications Bureau.

The Bureau continued to provide similar services to the Association. It was closely involved with celebrations of the 125th (1982) and 135th (1993-94) anniversary celebrations. In 1986, the National Association embarked on an Organizational Identity Program which resulted in a new logo and stricter guidelines for its use by all Community and Student Associations. Periodic reductions in national staff lead to a heavier reliance on outside public relations and marketing consultants in the 1980s and 1990s.

Scope and Content

Publicity Office materials consist of minutes, reports, correspondence, publications, newspaper clippings, and publicity kits dating from circa 1910 to 2000. The activities of the Publicity staff are not particularly well documented in the records. The minutes and reports provide a general overview and miscellaneous isolated files, such as one on a feature article from 1961 called "A Woman's Place is Everywhere!," give an glimpse of the way the office functioned. The YWCA was involved in a number of film projects over the years, but unfortunately the records only contain materials describing these projects. The earliest footage in the collection is dated 1970.

Publicity's task to 'interpret' the Association was accomplished in large part through the publication of a variety of pamphlets, booklets, etc. The Publications filed in this section are general pamphlets about the YWCA and instructional materials for Associations. Publications that are about specific departments or programs are filed with the records related to those activities and departments. Publicity's especially close ties with Financial Development mean that its work is often well documented in that department's materials.

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel List]

Microfilmed materials include press releases and clippings about the National Board and staff members, about events such as National YWCA Day and Week; general information pamphlets; scripts for radio talks; and information for speakers to use when talking about the YWCA.

With the exception of the Minutes and Reports, there is not a great deal of overlap between the microfilmed materials and the original format records. Both should be consulted.

Publicity materials can be found on the microfilm under:

Original Format Records, circa 1910-2000, 2 linear feet

[see Original Format Records Folder list]

With the exception of the Minutes and Reports, there is not a great deal of overlap between the microfilmed materials and the surviving paper records. Both should be consulted.

Surviving paper records are especially spotty. They are arranged as follows: General and History, Minutes, Programs and Projects, Publications, Reports, Studies, and Training.

Related Materials

Elsewhere in this Record Group

Due to the close ties between Financial Development and Public Relations, those files should also be consulted, especially the Committee on National Support and Interpretation and the publications. They can be found in SERIES III.

Other related materials can be found in General Administration in SERIES I, especially under Public Relations, Controversy, Correspondence (mailings to Associations) and Business Division.

In other Record Groups

General brochures about the YWCA and newspaper clippings can be found in RECORD GROUP 1. GENERAL AND HISTORY

Public Relations staff contributed to many training materials, particularly those produced for orientations of staff and Board members. These are filed under SERIES II. Training and Personnel in RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM

The impact of the YWCA's Public Affairs program on its public image is documented in files in SERIES III in RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM.

Promotional materials can be found in Association serials and in publications and gifts catalogs in SERIES VI. PUBICATIONS in RECORD GROUP 6.

RECORD GROUP 9. PHOTOGRAPHS contains photographs commissioned and collected for public relations use as well as scripted slide presentations, a filmstrip, and some scripts for filmstrips about the YWCA.

RECORD GROUP 10. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS includes audio and video public service announcements, television press coverage of YWCA campaigns and events, audio for a 1980 slide presentation about the YWCA, and interviews with YWCA leaders on a variety of television programs dating from the early 1980s to 2000.

Memorabilia and keepsake items marketed to raise public awareness of the Association are filed separately for preservation purposes, see ARTIFACTS list.

SERIES I. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

SERIES II. BUILDINGS AND PROPERTIES

SERIES III. FINANCE AND FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT