Looking for a domestic violence survivor support nonprofit that you can donate to, or maybe you're a similar nonprofit looking to draw inspiration from the best ones? Whatever your reason for landing on this blog, we have curated some of the top organizations over here to help you get started.
Domestic violence is a widespread, horrific issue that occurs regularly in the United States.
Defined as a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship, domestic violence involves far more than just physical abuse. And it definitely doesn’t discriminate – as any perpetrator or survivor of domestic violence can involve persons of any race, age, gender, sexuality, religion, or economic status.
Studies show that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to increases in domestic violence in the US, which is why providing support for survivors of domestic violence is more critical now than ever. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking.
The following nonprofit organizations are in no particular order but are a diverse set of excellent resources for survivors of domestic violence.
Mission: We answer the call to support and shift power back to those affected by relationship abuse.
Services: Contacts to the National Domestic Violence Hotline are matched with highly-trained, expert advocates to offer free, confidential, and compassionate support, crisis intervention information, education, and referral services in over 200 languages. These advocates attend extensive training sessions to prepare for crisis intervention support, safety planning, education, advocacy, and referrals for survivors. They also undergo training to support friends, family members, and others’ concerns about loved ones experiencing situations of abuse.
In the last 25 years since its inception, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has answered more than 5.5 million calls, chats, and texts from survivors and their loved ones, advocated for policy change, forged lasting and meaningful partnerships, and shifted its advocacy to best meet the evolving needs of survivors.
How to support:
Mission: For more than 30 years, FUTURES has been providing groundbreaking programs, policies, and campaigns that empower individuals and organizations working to end violence against women and children around the world.
Services: FUTURES trains professionals such as doctors, nurses, judges, and athletic coaches on improving responses to violence and abuse. They also work with advocates, policymakers, and others to build sustainable community leadership and educate people everywhere about the importance of respect and healthy relationships. They’ve lead campaigns to address child domestic abuse, global violence prevention, and even human trafficking.
When shelter-in-place orders went into effect during the pandemic, FUTURES immediately responded by training more than 25,000 professionals who were responding to domestic violence during the pandemic. Their team helped secure $45 million in the CARES Act for domestic violence shelters and emergency needs created by COVID-19 and made sure that $4 billion in housing grants set by the CARES Act set aside a portion for domestic violence survivors specifically and $3.5 billion for emergency childcare.
How to support:
Mission: The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)’s mission is to lead, mobilize and raise their voices to support efforts that demand a change of conditions that lead to domestic violence such as patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism. They are dedicated to supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable and supporting advocates.
Services: The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is involved in a variety of programs. From involvement with other national organizations to promote legislation and policies that serve and protect victims and survivors of domestic violence to programs that empower victims of domestic violence to seek financial independence, the NCADV’s work is widespread and powerful. Their Cosmetic and Reconstructive Support (CRS) Program even assists survivors of domestic violence who cannot afford the cosmetic and reconstructive surgery needed to repair injuries caused by an abusive partner.
How to support:
Mission: The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), a social change organization, is dedicated to creating a social, political, and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists.
Services: NNEDV engages in cross-sector collaborations at the state, national, and international levels, to change the way our society addresses and works to prevent domestic violence. NNEDV is involved in a variety of programs. For example, its Capital Technical Assistance program provides comprehensive, specialized consultation, assistance, and training to coalitions, FVPSA State Administrators, and local programs in order to best address the needs of victims of domestic violence. Additionally, NNEDV’s Domestic Violence Counts Report is an annual noninvasive, unduplicated count of adults and children who seek services from U.S. domestic violence shelter programs during a single 24-hour survey period.
How to support:
Mission: CUAV works to build the power of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) communities to transform violence and oppression.
Services: CUAV supports the healing and leadership of those impacted by abuse and mobilizes their broader communities to replace cycles of trauma with cycles of safety and liberation. As part of the larger social justice movement, CUAV works to create truly safe communities where everyone can thrive. CUAV provides three, ongoing programs to those who come to CUAV for support. These include Advocacy-Based Peer Counseling and hotlines, ongoing weekly support groups, and a membership program that cultivates leaders and change at a systemic level. CUAV was founded in 1979 following the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone, as well as police attacks on LGBTQ people, as an organized effort to promote community safety in San Francisco’s Castro District.
How to support:
Mission: FaithTrust Institute provides faith communities and advocates with the tools and knowledge they need to address the faith and cultural issues related to abuse.
Services: FaithTrust Institute provides multi-faith and religion-specific intervention and prevention training, consulting, and educational materials for national, state, and community faith-based and secular organizations in the following areas:
People in crisis often look to their faith leaders for guidance and assistance. FaithTrust Institute provides faith communities and advocates with the tools and knowledge they need to address the faith and cultural issues related to abuse.
How to support:
Mission: Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP) promotes systemic change within the civil and criminal justice systems to ensure an effective and just response to victims and perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV), and the children exposed to this violence.
Services: BWJP is involved in six project initiatives. SAFeR is one such project and promotes domestic violence-informed decision-making in family law matters. The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms along with the Safer Families, Safer Communities Project, work to prevent domestic violence-related homicides involving firearms by promoting and supporting the implementation of firearm prohibitions in domestic violence. A third project is BWJP’s National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit. This program promotes procedures for the issuance, service, and enforcement of protection orders that effectively respond to the needs of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
How to support:
Mission: The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)’s mission is to improve the national response to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation by gathering, housing, disseminating, and stimulating innovative, validated methods of practice, education, research, and policy.
Services: The NCEA disseminates elder abuse information to professionals and the public, also provides technical assistance and training to states and community-based organizations. The NCEA:
How to support:
Mission: INCITE! is a network of radical feminists of color organizing to end state violence and violence in our homes and communities.
Why women of color: Women of color who survive sexual or domestic violence are often told that they must pit themselves against their communities to address their experience of violence. Communities of color, meanwhile, often advocate that women keep silent about sexual and domestic violence in order to maintain a united front against racism. Furthermore, women of color also experience institutionalized violence such as law enforcement violence, incarceration, and sterilization abuse.
How to support: The INCITE! website provides a variety of resources for organizing. These include a Law Enforcement Violence Toolkit, Community Accountability Toolkit, gender violence, and race reader, anti-militarism resources, and resources to imagine movement-building beyond the non-profit industrial complex.
Mission: Advance the dignity, rights, and liberty of immigrant survivors of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
Services: Asista has three programs: Case Assistance (TA), Policy Advocacy, and Training. Their TA program is individualized case help that is intended exclusively for attorneys, DOJ accredited representatives, and advocates who are serving immigrant survivors of violence in a professional capacity. Asista’s Policy Advocacy program connects individual case problems and identifies systemic trends and issues that require policy change. Finally, Asista’s training program provides in-person and online training opportunities to attorneys and advocates who service immigrant survivors of crime, including enhanced safety planning and topics of survivor-based forms of immigration benefits.
How to support:
Mission: The Parasol Cooperative empowers and accelerates the work of member organizations, who protect lives, by offering them technology tools, knowledge, and services so that more individuals can live safe and healthy lives, especially those affected by domestic violence.
Services: The Parasol Cooperative is a group of survivors, advocates, and technologists who believe that everyone deserves to live in a safe and healthy environment, devoid of violence and abuse. They use the existing organizations’ ability to reach survivors and enhance their reach and services through technology. Parasol hopes to create a multiplier effect and protect more lives. Their priorities this year are to launch their safe communication and case management technology and critical technology services to reduce risk and costs for member organizations.
How to support:
Donate today! Every penny helps and is instantly used to build and support technology to protect lives!
Mission: To promote women’s independence, economic empowerment, and well-being by helping domestic violence survivors with advocacy, support, and education.
Services: Narika has a comprehensive variety of services promoting women’s independence, economic empowerment, and well-being. For example, Narika’s toll-free helpline 1-800-215-7308 enables any individual who has been a victim of domestic violence to call in and speak to any one of our sensitive and knowledgeable advocates. Narika’s Fremont Food Justice Program distributes groceries and essentials to survivors and families in need. With this program, Narika provides basic needs for low-income survivors, like cleaning supplies, baby wipes, hot meals, pantry staples, and fresh produce. That is to ensure they can focus on finding employment and housing, safety, and empowerment.
How to support:
Mission: To educate, support, and lead to raise awareness towards domestic violence and promote healthy relationships.
Services: VOW raises awareness towards domestic violence and works to see improvement on college campuses and in the community by educating on the importance of healthy relationships. VOW provides circle groups, mental health counseling services, teen healthy relationship talks, educational outreach, and launches donation drives to secure funds. It also secures in-kind donations for back-to-school supplies, food, hygiene products, professional clothing, educational costs, and more. These products go to the survivors at schools, churches, community-based organizations, and shelters.
How to support:
Whether you’re a female, male, person of color, LGBTQ+ identifying individual, immigrant, child, or senior adult who’s been impacted by domestic violence, there is a nonprofit organization working tirelessly to ensure you can become safe and healed from trauma.
The scope of the issue of domestic violence is complicated and widespread. This list is meant to be a helpful guide for individuals who are looking to associate themselves with this noble cause. It can be by volunteering with a nonprofit, donating to their programs, fundraising through an event, or simply gathering information. We hope you found it useful.
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