As you probably already know, there are YWTF chapters that are helping to change young women’s lives all over the country. Many areas, however, have yet to be represented. If you are interested in leading a group that focuses on the concerns of young women in your community, starting a YWTF chapter is the way to do it.

Starting your own chapter is a great way to join the YWTF Community, while

• strengthening your organizing skills,
• bonding with others in your local community, and
• focusing on the issues that matter most to women in your area.

What do you need to get started?

If you are interested, enthusiastic, and you are willing to dedicate your time and energies toward making younger women’s lives better, you can serve as a chapter director for your own local YWTF chapter. No previous leadership experience is needed—just an eagerness to learn and grow.

What will you need to do?

As a new chapter director you will need to:

• outreach to bring in members (these members can be your friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and other diverse community members you don’t yet know)
• create a space that brings about fellowship, inclusion, and unity (this will vary depending on the needs of your community), and
• become familiar with the YWTF issue statement and policies and agree not to work against them.

Most importantly you MUST:

• pay attention the world around you,
• be brimming with creativity to make that world better for younger women
• develop events, networking opportunities, campaigns, and policy proposals (these can involve as few as a handful of people at first), and
• be willing to work diligently to put those ideas into action.

You will also need to complete regular administrative tasks, keep the YWTF Program Director abreast of your activities, and, eventually, you will also need to participate in fundraising—though you may be provided with some seed money and other grant opportunities to build a successful chapter, your new chapter will soon be expected to raise your own chapter funds.

Starting your own chapter will take initiative, time, and commitment but you will be well supported by YWTF volunteers from all over the country. Once you decide to start a YWTF chapter you will receive a starter toolkit in the mail and will get to talk initially with the New Chapter Development Committee. You will also receive regular help, ideas, and organizing tools from the National Coordinating Committee as well as from other chapter directors—you will not have to go it alone.

Do you feel ready to start a chapter? Email Shannon Lynberg at shannonL@ncwo-online.org. Please include your contact information, what area of the country you would like to represent, some information about yourself, and why you would like to start a chapter. Also briefly answer these two questions: What is the particular need in your community for a YWTF Chapter (i.e. are there issues/needs/policy/challenges that are of particular interest to young women in your community)? Why were you drawn to YWTF? If you have previous leadership, or organizing experience feel free to include that as well, though it is not necessary.

Contact: Shannon Lynberg, shannonL@ncwo-online.org