Salute to Women

The first Salute to Women awards dinner was held on March 15, 1974, nearly a year after the Tippecanoe County Task Force on the Status of Women submitted its final report to local governmental bodies.

As part of this final report, presented to city and county officials in April 1973, task force members revealed their findings of disparities in education, employment, laws and other areas in the community. Because of these findings, they requested that a permanent, funded Commission on the Status of Women be created to hear and rule on cases of sex discrimination. However, the city councils and county commissioners ultimately tabled the ordinance that proposed the creation of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Realizing that the local community lacked an environment of support for women and that many women were not being recognized for their achievements, the Lafayette Women’s Political Caucus conceived the idea of a Salute to Women awards dinner. The Purdue Women’s Caucus joined in as a sponsor.

During its first two and a half decades, the Salute to Women program was coordinated by several local women’s organizations – the Lafayette Women’s Political Caucus, the Purdue Women’s Caucus, the American Association of University Women, Lafayette Business and Professional Women, the Lafayette Altrusa Club, the Association for Women in Communications, the American Business Women’s Association, the Association of Women Business Owners, and the YWCA Greater Lafayette.

Although members of the original groups remain involved with Salute to Women, the YWCA became the sole sponsoring organization in 2000. The YWCA had many resources to offer the program, including the physical facility to house the program’s records and publicly display the names of award recipients. The YWCA added to the slate of awards the Mary Keller Ade Woman of Wisdom Award and, in 2008, the Woman of Innovation Award to honor a woman under 40.

Eligibility

All outstanding women age 18 and over in the Greater Lafayette area (Tippecanoe, Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Warren and White counties) are eligible for nomination and new in 2024 we have added a Rising Star award, which is for a female under 18.

The following are ineligible for recognition at this event:

• YWCA staff and current members of YWCA Association and Foundation Boards of Directors.
• Posthumous nominations will not be considered.
• Women currently running for political office.

How to Nominate

Please download the nomination form using the link below. The questions on the nomination form are intended to be a guideline for the nomination. Additional materials may be requested by the search and selection committees after the initial nomination has been reviewed. Send nominations to YWCA Salute to Women, 605 North 6th Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 or e-mail communications@ywcalafayette.org.

Nomination Deadline - Coming soon

Completed nomination forms must be received or postmarked by deadline. NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DEADLINE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

DOWNLOAD NOMINATION FORM HERE

2025 Salute to Women registration information coming soon!

Your support of Salute to Women will insure the continuation of this event for another 50 years. Help us showcase the necessary and unsung work women do to help keep our communities safe, healthy, and welcoming.

$5,000 Sponsor

• Full-page ad in program
• Logo on all advertising
• Eight complimentary event tickets
• Recognition from the podium
• Logo and hyperlink on social media and Salute website

$2,500 Sponsor

• Half-page ad in program
• Name on all advertising
• Two complimentary event tickets
• Recognition from podium

$1,500 Sponsor

• Quarter-page ad in program
• Name/Business name on website
• Two complimentary event tickets
• Recognition from podium

$500 Sponsor

• Name/Business name in program
• One complimentary event ticket

$125 Sponsor Salute Society (available to past honorees only)

• Name listed under well-wishes from the Salute to Women Hall of Fame

Download a sponsorship form here.

Purchase your sponsorship online.