Innovation Grants

In 2019, we award 14 grants to service organizations with innovative ideas on how to improve our ability to reach and serve victims and survivors. Read more about each of our 2019 grantees to learn about their work. Sign up to our newsletter for news and timing related to future funding opportunities.

Victims’ Healing and Recovery Program

The goals of the Victims’ Healing and Recovery Program were to increase access to a seamless continuum of evidence-based healing services; promote trauma resolution and recovery; and reduce incidents of repeat or ongoing victimization, and/or …

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Victims’ Healing and Recovery Program

The goals of the Victims’ Healing and Recovery Program were to increase access to a seamless continuum of evidence-based healing services; promote trauma resolution and recovery; and reduce incidents of repeat or ongoing victimization, and/or retributive violence. The target population for this project was boys and men of color (and their families) who were previously incarcerated or otherwise involved with the criminal justice system, and who are victims of gun violence. This project engaged in information sharing across criminal justice system partners; pro-active family-inclusive outreach to victims and families in target population; peer-to-peer support; a holistic, individualized and family-inclusive healing and recovery plan with access to appropriate and necessary services; and viable and realistic non-violent lifestyle opportunities and stabilization services. The project partnered with the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission to share crime, demographic and contact information for victims with the Alma Center on a bi-weekly basis. Additional collaborators included the Milwaukee Police Department; WI Department of Corrections-Community Corrections; the Milwaukee District Attorney; the U.S. Attorney’s Office; City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention; Employ Milwaukee; and Aurora Health Care.

Grantee Organization

The Alma Center
The Alma Center, Inc. is a national nonprofit community-based agency in Milwaukee, WI, founded in 2004 as an evidence-based trauma-informed alternative to prevailing punitive methods of working with men in the criminal justice system. The Alma Center works to heal, transform and evolve the unresolved pain of trauma that fuels the continuation of cycles of violence, abuse and dysfunction in families and community. The Alma Center works primarily with men at-risk or involved in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on men who have a history of domestic violence. Their vision is that healing-focused care becomes a leading approach for re-imagining the criminal justice system, particularly in regards to intervention and prevention of family violence, and moves the system toward more restorative and effective models. The Alma Center works locally and nationally to provide pioneering trauma-informed healing, education, supportive services and a positive peer community to promote lifestyle transformation for men and to break the cycle of domestic violence in families.

The Alma Center
+ http://almacenter.org

Point of Contact:
Terri Strodthoff
+ terri@almacenter.org
+ 414-265-0100 ext. 107
Transforming LGBTQ Survivor Access

Through this innovation grant, VRLC conducted focus groups and listening sessions with LGBTQ survivors, their allies, and victim service providers, to identify and develop strategies to eliminate the barriers faced by LGBTQ sexual assault survivors …

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Transforming LGBTQ Survivor Access

Through this innovation grant, VRLC conducted focus groups and listening sessions with LGBTQ survivors, their allies, and victim service providers, to identify and develop strategies to eliminate the barriers faced by LGBTQ sexual assault survivors seeking services. The project also enhanced the capacity of VRLC lawyers to provide culturally-informed, survivor- centered legal services to LGBTQ clients; increased awareness statewide of VRLC’s free legal services; provided training to victim service providers across Oregon to make their services more accessible and responsive to the needs of LGBTQ survivors; and increased the number of lawyers who can provide free, culturally-responsive, trauma informed, and survivor-centered legal services to adult and minor LGBTQ SA survivors. To accomplish this, VRLC partnered with the Sexual Assault Task Force and the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, as well as many informal partners who include but are not limited to LGBTQ-focused providers such as the Sexual and Gender Minority Youth Resource Center, TransActive, the Q Center, Outside In, and a score of other domestic violence, sexual assault, and other victim service providers.

Grantee Organization

The Victim Rights Law Center
The Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) was the first non-profit legal services organization in the country dedicated to meeting the legal needs of sexual assault survivors. They provide free legal services to sexual assault survivors throughout Massachusetts and Oregon. VRLC also provides training, consulting, mentoring, and other services nationally to support the work of victim service providers. Specifically, in MA and OR, VRLC provides holistic, trauma-informed, and survivor-centered legal services to victims of rape and sexual assault on privacy, safety, employment, housing, immigration, education, criminal advocacy, and financial matters. VRLC priorities include but are not limited to serving survivors from marginalized, high risk communities such as minors, undocumented, LGBTQ, older, rural, and older survivors. Their Oregon-based Transgender ID project serves transgender survivors throughout the state in need of legal and financial assistance to access appropriate identity documents. In addition to VRLC's work representing individual survivors, VRLC is funded by the Office of Violence Against Women to serve as national technical assistance (“TA”) providers. VRLC is the designated comprehensive TA provider for campus grantees. They also have two privacy-specific TA projects addressing: (1) confidentiality for survivors of domestic, sexual, and dating violence; and (2) campus sexual assault, minors, and privacy resources for non-English speaking survivors and providers. Their SAJE (Sexual Assault Justice Education) project is dedicated to strengthening legal service providers’ capacity to meet the comprehensive needs of sexual assault survivor. VRLC is poised to complete their mini Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) project addressing privacy considerations for survivors who are incarcerated, confined, or detained.

The Victim Rights Law Center
+ http://www.victimrights.org

Point of Contact:
Jessica Mindlin
+ jmindlin@victimrights.org
+ 503-274-5477 ext. 1
Trafficking of Children and Youth with Disabilities Outreach and Education Project

The International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), in collaboration with the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group (NHTDWG), partnered together through this project to increase identification of children and youth with disabilities who are victims …

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Trafficking of Children and Youth with Disabilities Outreach and Education Project

The International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), in collaboration with the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group (NHTDWG), partnered together through this project to increase identification of children and youth with disabilities who are victims of human trafficking and improve their ability to access appropriate services. IOFA and NHTDWG through this innovation grant, provided targeted education, training and outreach materials and tools to organizations serving trafficked youth; youth with disabilities; and at-risk youth; and to youth themselves.

This project’s goals were to 1) Increase the number of children and youth with disabilities in the U.S. identified as victims of human trafficking; and 2) Improve the capacity of youth-serving organizations across the U.S. to identify and serve youth with disabilities who are victims of trafficking.

Grantee Organization

The International Organization for Adolescents
The International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA) is a small, independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1999 by graduate students from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in response to the gap in programming and services for vulnerable adolescents around the world. Based in Chicago, IOFA’s mission is to eliminate human trafficking and exploitation of adolescents worldwide through innovative programming and solutions to empower and protect young people. For the past 20 years, IOFA has carried out its mission through building effective community-level partnerships to impact vulnerable children and youth including those who are parentless, in foster care, orphaned, LGBTQ, juvenile justice involved, have disabilities, born to immigrant parents, living in poverty, or otherwise marginalized. IOFA works with partners to 1) build institutional capacity and conduct policy advocacy at the state and federal level; 2) train and provide technical assistance to service providers in social service, health care, law enforcement, and other sectors; and 3) carry out research, education, and outreach to the public. IOFA advises several anti-trafficking task forces; is a co-founder and coordinator for the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group; founding member of the Freedom Network USA; and current training and technical assistance provider to the United States’ Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) on issues related to sex trafficking of children and youth.

The International Organization for Adolescents
+ http://www.iofa.org

Point of Contact:
Ali Boak
+ aboak@iofa.org
+ (917) 757-4180
Sisters in Strength

The Sisters in Strength Program (SIS) is a survivor-centered circle model for young people that have experienced childhood sexual abuse and their allies. SIS engages self-identified survivors of sexual violence and allies to survivors of …

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Sisters in Strength

The Sisters in Strength Program (SIS) is a survivor-centered circle model for young people that have experienced childhood sexual abuse and their allies.

SIS engages self-identified survivors of sexual violence and allies to survivors of sexual violence who are in 10th or 11th grade (15-18 years old). Individuals who apply share a vision for ending violence, desire to build sisterhood/siblinghood, engage in healing tools, and willingness to advocate for change.

Grantee Organization

Girls for Gender Equity, Inc.
Girls for Gender Equity, Inc. (GGE) is an intergenerational, advocacy organization committed to the physical, psychological, social, and economic development of girls and women. Through youth organizing, leadership development, and community-building for gender and racial equity, GGE challenges structural forces - racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, economic inequality - that work to constrict the freedom, full expression, and rights of trans and cis girls, young women of color, and gender non-conforming youth. Annually, GGE directly serves over 250 youth, 90% youth of color. Last year, GGE reached over 7,000 people through local and national presentations, panels, workshops, convenings, events, press conferences and in the media. Their work with girls of color, trans and gender nonconforming young people in particular has taught them that the global fight to ensure safety and basic rights of all youth and support them in becoming contributing members of our growing democracy is urgent.

Girls for Gender Equity, Inc.
+ www.ggenyc.org

Point of Contact:
Michelle Grier
+ mgrier@ggenyc.org
+ (718) 857-1393
Returning and Healing Project

The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), as lead agency, and Boston Mayor’s Office of Returning Citizens (ORC) through the Returning And Healing (RAH) Project, created an innovative initiative with an overall goal to increase …

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Returning and Healing Project

The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), as lead agency, and Boston Mayor’s Office of Returning Citizens (ORC) through the Returning And Healing (RAH) Project, created an innovative initiative with an overall goal to increase the quality of services that formerly incarcerated survivors of sexual violence can access, both at reentry service agencies and at rape crisis centers/sexual violence victims services. Formerly incarcerated people face many barriers in reintegrating into society after being released from carceral institutions, and many are survivors of sexual violence who live with physical and psychological trauma symptoms.

The RAH Project enabled BARCC and ORC to design and implement complementary cross-trainings for each other in order to serve the unique needs that formerly incarcerated survivors have. Building off of best practices and key learnings, both agencies collaborated to develop a RAH Toolkit. The Toolkit will be shared as an open source resource for other reentry agencies and sexual violence victim service agencies, building their capacity to collaborate to provide sexual trauma informed, culturally-relevant resources for formerly incarcerated survivors.

Specifically, BARCC will train ORC staff in a sexual trauma-informed responses to clients disclosing a sexual trauma history, with a focus on connecting these clients to sexual violence service providers or other resources; ORC staff will train BARCC staff to create an environment where formerly incarcerated survivors feel safe to disclose their incarceration history, and to refer them to ORC and/or relevant reentry agencies.

Grantee Organization

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)
Founded in 1973, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) is the only comprehensive rape crisis center in the Greater Boston area and the oldest and largest center of its kind in New England. Their mission is to end sexual violence through healing and social change. BARCC provides free, confidential support and services to survivors of sexual violence ages 12 and up and their families and friends. They work with survivors of all genders from the immediate crisis after sexual violence to years and decades later, and their goal is to empower survivors to heal and seek justice in ways that are meaningful to them. BARCC assists survivors as they navigate the health-care, criminal justice, social service, and school systems. They also work with a wide range of organizations and communities, including high schools, colleges, police, health-care providers, and businesses, to advocate for change. BARCC provides training in how to respond to survivors and create cultures that prevent sexual violence in the first place. Their response and prevention programs are based on research and more than 45 years of direct service experience. BARCC is frequently asked to provide expert testimony about potential policy and legislative solutions to preventing and responding to sexual violence. They also provide expert commentary in the media on these issues. BARCC is powered by a staff of roughly 50 people and more than 200 volunteers from our communities.

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)
+ www.barcc.org

Point of Contact:
Dave Rini
+ drini@barcc.org
+ (614) 649-1264

Innovation Grants

Victims’ Healing and Recovery Program

Grantee Organization

The Alma Center

Transforming LGBTQ Survivor Access

Grantee Organization

The Victim Rights Law Center

Trafficking of Children and Youth with Disabilities Outreach and Education Project

Grantee Organization

The International Organization for Adolescents

Sisters in Strength

Grantee Organization

Girls for Gender Equity, Inc.

Returning and Healing Project

Grantee Organization

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)

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