Young Women's Christian Association Of Schenectady

Young Women's Christian Association Of Schenectady (doing business as Y W C A Of Schenectady) is a woman-owned nonprofit organization based in Schenectady, New York, that operates as a prime recipient of federal grants in the housing, homelessness services, and victim assistance space, with no federal contracting footprint. The organization works exclusively through federal grant programs and operates 89% of its federal award portfolio as a prime recipient, with the remainder split among sub-recipient roles under state intermediaries.

The YWCA's capability portfolio centers on domestic shelter operations, transitional and permanent supportive housing, case management, mental health and trauma-informed counseling, and economic empowerment programming for homeless individuals and families, survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking victims, and at-risk youth in the Schenectady area and upstate New York's Capital Region. Primary grant work includes Continuum of Care (CoC) Program awards from HUD's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, which fund rapid rehousing, housing case management, and supportive services. Representative recent awards include a $1,180,793 CoC Project Grant covering October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026; a $601,344 CoC award for the same period (October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025); and a $408,385 CoC award (July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025). The YWCA also holds a 36-month Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant awarded October 1, 2023 (through September 30, 2026) supporting mental health counseling, prevention programming, and economic empowerment for youth ages 11–24 impacted by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking; this award funds partnerships with Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady, Young Parents United, Safe Inc., Schenectady County Department of Probation, and Mohonasen Central High School. A second Office on Violence Against Women award from the Victims of Crime program (October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025) funded organizational capacity-building to provide human trafficking victim services, including counselor hiring and staff training across the Capital Region.

Customer concentration is extremely narrow: HUD's Community Planning and Development office accounts for 29 of 35 total awards; the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women holds 3 awards; the Department of Justice Victims of Crime program holds 2 awards; and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families holds 1 award. The YWCA also receives sub-award funding through New York State intermediaries, including the NYS Office of Victim Services (Victim Assistance Program), the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (STOP and related grant pass-throughs), and the NYS Office of Children and Family Services. Combined federal dollars obligated across all 35 awards total $10.8 million. Activity has modulated year over year (two awards in 2021 to six in 2023, declining to three in 2025) with only two awards reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting minimal recompete pressure in the near term.