Montclair Fund For Women

Founded in 1912 as the Young Colored Women's Christian Association, the YWCA of Montclair North Essex became one of the first local affiliates of the national YWCA movement founded by black women with white women as partners.

The black women were African-Americans who came North in the Great Migration to pursue education and employment. Toward that end, they founded the Colored Women's Association as a residence and gathering place for social and civic activity.

During its formative years, the YWCA was a center of activity for progressive, upwardly mobile women and girls, credited with initiating many innovative programs.

Most of the women prominent in civic affairs in Montclair and the surrounding communities were active members working as volunteers and staff. While its primary focus was to provide programming for black women and girls, for decades, the YWCA was also one of the few places in town where black and white people worked together as equal partners on a daily basis.

Ironically, as the Civil Rights and Feminist movements succeeded in expanding opportunities in education, business and politics for women, the YWCA membership and grant support declined, while expenses increased and the property aged. By the early 1990's, the financial support was not sufficient to meet the costs of sustaining the large facility and the organization endured a decade of financial challenges. Beginning in June 2001, during three years of intensive analysis and research, the Boards of Trustees and Directors decided to act in the vision of the founders and move forward with a different strategy that would continue to help women and girls, with an emphasis on helping women of color, to realize their full potential as Americans.