Reaching Victims Mini-Grant Program 

2019 Program Overview 

Overview 

In 2018, the National Resource Center for Reaching 
Victims – a collaborative effort to increase the number 
of victims who receive victim services in the United 
States – launched the Reaching Victims Innovations 
Mini-Grant Program. The purpose of this program was 
to address unmet needs and close gaps that prevent 
survivors from underserved communities from 
accessing and benefiting from healing services and 
avenues to justice. We invited applications for projects 
that sought to better identify, engage, and/or serve 
survivors from underserved communities or who face 
particular barriers to accessing victim services. 

Priorities 

While we considered applications that focused on 
increasing services to survivors from any 
underrepresented community, we prioritized funding 
for projects that seek to better identify, engage, 
and/or serve survivors from the following communities: 
children and youth, boys and men of color, girls and 
women of color, individuals who are formerly 
incarcerated, immigrants and individuals with limited 
English proficiency, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender 
individuals, Native Americans, older adults, people 
with disabilities, and Deaf people. 

320 applications received; 14 projects funded; $657,231 total amount awarded; 2,040 victims served
applications received 
320 
projects funded 
14 
total amount awarded 
$657,231 
victims served 
2,040 

Funding and Support 

Grantees were eligible to request up to $50,000 for a nine-month period. This funding 
supported three levels of involvement in the Mini-Grant program: 

Specific Project: A specific project that makes a meaningful and lasting contribution to 
the crime victims field’s efforts to identify, engage, and/or serve crime victims from 
underserved communities. Projects could build upon practices that have shown promise or 
already proven to be successful, or they could have used innovative approaches that have 
not yet been tried. 
Learning Community: Grantees also participated in a learning community with other 
grantees and experts from the crime victims and related fields. The learning community 
was designed to build capacity through training, and to foster relationship building 
among colleagues working toward similar goals in the field. 
Mentorship and Support: Each grantee was paired with a someone from the NRC team 
whose expertise most closely aligned with the project’s focus. They provided guidance, 
made connections to other grantees or experts who were relevant to the project’s work, 
and helped build capacity around grants management. 


The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims (NRC) has been an invaluable 
resource of support and capacity building of the Love More Movement, Inc. The 
NRC has helped us shape, frame and activate our mission by providing capacity 
building support for us to replicate to scale through strategic planning, 
professional development, asset mapping, networking and financial support. We 
have had capacity building opportunities in the past and this was by far the best 
experience that we have ever had. 

-Dr. Bruce Purnell, the Love-More Movement, Inc., 2019 Grantee 


Program Features 

One of the central and underlying goals of the Reaching Victims Innovations Grant Program 
was to provide mini-grants to high-performing organizations that have trust, credibility, and 
visibility within underserved communities, but face barriers to securing state and federal 
victim services funding. The Grant Program incorporated many features that were designed 
to remove the most common of these barriers. 

We leveraged the networks of the NRC’s partners to reach the broadest and most diverse 
group of organizations and people supporting survivors. We also enlisted trusted leaders 
and community members from the Program’s priority communities to promote and share 
the Request for Proposal in their networks. 
We conducted multiple informational sessions – in English, Spanish, and American Sign 
Language – to provide organizations who were interested in applying with thorough 
information about the program and its requirements and to answer questions. 
We specifically encouraged small, grassroots organizations, organizations that serve 
survivors but aren’t considered traditional victim services organizations, and organizations 
that have yet to receive victim services funding to apply. 
Organizations did not need to have the administrative and financial capacity required to 
manage state and Federal funding to be eligible to apply or receive funding. They had to 
commit to working with us to build their administrative and financial infrastructure as part 
of their funded work and with support. 
We accepted applications in any language. Any applicant could submit a video instead of 
a written abstract, and American Sign Language users could submit their entire 
application in sign language through a video instead of an English-based written 
application. 
We cultivated a pool of 28 peer reviewers who had specific and extensive expertise and 
practical experience serving survivors from the Program’s priority underserved 
communities. We prioritized peer reviewers who identified as members of those 
communities and had reviewers who were fluent in English, Spanish, and American Sign 
Language. 
The application review process focused on the content and concepts of applications, and 
not their format, delivery, or grammar. The scoring system allowed for a holistic 
assessment of each applicant and application. 



2019 Grantees at a Glance 

Overview 



14 

projects funded 

$657,231 

awarded 

Key Activities 

Resource 
Development 
23.5% 

Capacity 
Building 
35.3% 

Direct 
Services 
41.2% 

Types of Crime Addressed 

Gun Violence 
7.1% 

Elder Abuse 
7.1%

Multiple Crimes 
21.4% 

Human Tr14.3% 

xual Assault 
28.6% 

estic Violence 
21.4% 


Survivor Community Focus 

Children and Youth 
9.1% 

People with Disabilities Communities of Color 
13.6% 22.7% 

Incarceration Histories 
9.1% Native American 
13.6% 

Other Rural 
13.6% 18.2% 

Location 



map of the U.S. with pins on cities in Washington, Oregon, northern California and southern California, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico

2019 Grantee Accomplishments and Impact 



Types of services provided: Emotional Support and Safety 51%; Criminal and Civil Legal Assistance 1%; Shelter/Housing Services 0%; and Information & Referral 48%
2,040 

victims served 





51 

Trainings Conducted 

896 

People Trained 

208.5 Hours of Training 

96 % 

Satisfied with Training 

95 % 



Change Policy or 

Practice After Training 

One of the best benefits of NRC was hearing 
the voices of leaders and innovators in

multiple marginalized communities. By 
bringing community leaders together, NRC is

able to develop a broad perspective on how 
those most affected by violence and abuse

are in the best position to lead the way on 
healing and recovery.

-Meg Stone. IMPACT Boston, 2019 Grantee


2019 Grantee Accomplishments and Impact 

Example Resources Created 

Human trafficking screening tool for homeless and runaway youth 
Assessment report on screening and management of elder abuse by tribal 
health care providers 
Toolkit on addressing sexual trauma for people with incarceration histories 
Public awareness campaign for Deaf victims of violence 
Toolkit on human trafficking and people with disabilities 


We produced a toolkit through the mini-grant. Our initial draft was way too long and 
muddled. NRC staff were exceptionally helpful in looking at our draft content, providing 
substantial messaging and editorial advice, and helped us cut down the content to be as 
sharp and clear as possible. They were able to help us hone our message, suggested 
really valuable word choice changes, and were willing to spend hours reading and rereading 
our drafts. Our final product is vastly stronger because of their efforts. 

-Dave Rini, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, 2019 Grantee 

Impact 

For many of these innovation grantees, obtaining funding for their projects to 
identify, reach and serve marginalized communities of crime survivors had been just 
out of reach. By filling this gap, and providing a critical resource, these projects 
began to remove barriers for underserved victims of crime that they would not have 
been able to achieve otherwise. For some, this meant building their organizational 
capacity and laying a foundation for their project that they leveraged to procure 
additional funding to grow and further their work; for others, this meant serving crime 
survivors that had been historically locked out of services; and yet for others it meant 
delivering resources that filled a critical space in the landscape of victim services. 


2019 Grant Recipients 

Alma Center, Inc. - Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

The Alma Center, Inc. through the Victims’ Healing and Recovery Program, conducted 
targeted outreach and engagement which increased access to a seamless continuum of 
evidence-based healing services; promoted trauma resolution and recovery; and reduced 

incidents of repeat or ongoing victimization, and/or retributive violence to boys and men 
of color who were victims of gun violence in Milwaukee, WI. 

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center - Boston, Massachusetts 

The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, in partnership with the Boston Mayor’s Office of 

Returning Citizens, through the Returning and Healing Project increased the quality of 
services that formerly incarcerated survivors of sexual assault can access, to ensure that 
they are able to access safer, more trauma-informed, and more empowering responses, 
both at reentry services agencies and at rape crisis centers/sexual violence victim services 
by conducting cross-trainings and developing a toolkit for providers. 

Casa Juana Colón, Apoyo y Orientación a la Mujer, Inc. - Comerio, Puerto 
Rico 

Casa Juana Colón, Apoyo y Orientación a la Mujer, Inc., through the Educando para la 

paz Project, conducted a series of workshops to provide better access to justice by 

empowering crime victims so they may have the tools necessary in order to familiarize 

themselves with the law, their rights, and the mechanisms available for exercising them. 

Deaf Unity - Madison, Wisconsin 
Deaf Unity, through the Paths to Healing in the Deaf Community Project, created a series 
of videos and supportive materials that give a voice to Deaf survivors of violence and 
help to frame their stories in a constructive manner by including information on how to 
heal from the trauma of such experiences. 

Girls for Gender Equity, Inc. - Brooklyn, New York 

Girls for Gender Equity, Inc. through the Sisters in Strength Program provided youth 

survivors of sexual violence safe, supportive, and healing environments through a youth 

focused survivorship circle program for cis girls, trans girls and gender non-conforming 

young people, centering the experiences of young people of color. 


2019 Grant Recipients cont'd... 

IMPACT Boston, a project of Triangle Inc. in collaboration with Turtle 
Mountain Empowerment Self-Defense - Belcourt, North Dakota 

IMPACT Boston, a program of Triangle, Inc., in partnership with Turtle Mountain 
Empowerment Self Defense, through the Healing and Safety Planning for Indigenous 
People with Disabilities, Women & Girls Project offered a series of programs to promote 
body oriented healing and practical safety planning skills to indigenous women, girls, 
and people with disabilities on the Turtle Mountain reservation that were led by 
members of the Tribe. 

Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative - Olympia, Washington 
Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative, in partnership with Community Youth 
Services, launched the Improving Crime Victim Identification and Access to Services for 
Homeless and Runaway Youth Exploited for Labor and/or Sex Project. They developed 
screening tools and a response protocol to ensure that runaway and homeless youth 
who experience sex and/or labor trafficking are identified as victims, and that a system 
is put in place that responds to distrust of institutional authorities and can bridge the 
gap between victims and access to services. 

International Association for Indigenous Aging -Silver Spring, Maryland 
The International Association for Indigenous Aging, through the Assessment of 
Facilitators and Barriers for Tribal Practitioners in Elder Abuse Screening and 
Management Project, interviewed and surveyed practitioners serving American Indian 
and Alaska Native (AIAN) elders to understand current needs and experiences in 
recognizing and managing elder abuse in their practice in an effort to promote and 
implement screenings, referrals, and interventions for elders who are victims of abuse. 

International Organization for Adolescents -Chicago, Illinois 
The International Organization for Adolescents, in partnership with the National Human 
Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group, through the Trafficking of Children and 
Youth with Disabilities Outreach & Education Project increased identification and 
access to services for children and youth trafficking victims with disabilities by 
developing evidence-based and trauma-informed training, educational and outreach 
materials. 


Korean American Family Service Center - Flushing, New York 
The Korean American Family Service Center, through the Engaging Clergy to Reach 
Korean American Domestic Violence Victims Project, hosted clergy conferences and 
educational events to engage clergy to better identify and reach Korean American 
survivors of domestic violence in an effort for more of these survivors to access and 
engage in healing and justice services. 

Monarch Services-Servicios Monarca -Santa Cruz, California 
Monarch Services-Servicios Monarca, through the Campos Seguros Project, provided 
the farm worker community in Santa Cruz, CA access to vital community resources as 
well as education around sexual assault and workplace harassment, human trafficking 
and domestic violence by providing outreach services, enhancing policies and 
procedures of agricultural companies, delivering education to law enforcement on 
working with the farm worker community, and providing educational workshops on 
domestic and sexual violence. 

Rape Crisis Intervention & Prevention -Chico, California 
Rape Crisis Intervention & Prevention, through the Little Feathers Project, enhanced 
their current rape crisis direct client services and programs by creating community 
awareness, education and prevention, offering direct client services, and facilitating a 
State Certified Training to create Sexual Assault Counselors who specifically respond to 
their Native American community members. 

The Love More Movement, Inc. -Hyattsville, Maryland 
The Love More Movement, Inc., through the Love More Healing Stations Project, 
facilitated healing, transformation and trauma informed journeys to release emotional 
and physical pain, move into cognitive/emotional space of healing and start building 
the type of resilience and positive motivation that leads to transformation by identifying, 
engaging and serving survivors of crime, holding healing town halls, and advancing the 
strategies to develop a media presence. 


2019 Grant Recipients cont'd... 

Victim Rights Law Center -Portland, Oregon 

The Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC), in partnership with the Sexual Assault Task Force, 

and the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, through the 

Transforming LGBTQ Survivor Access Project, increased adult and minor LGBTQ sexual 

assault survivors’ access to justice in Oregon by identifying barriers LGBTQ sexual 

assault survivors in Oregon face, strengthening VRLC’s staff ability to provide trauma-

informed, culturally appropriate legal services and increasing access to those services, 

and expanding community partners’ and other victim service providers’ ability to 

identify and refer LGBTQ sexual assault survivors for legal services. 

About the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims 

The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims (NRC) is a clearinghouse for victim 
service providers, culturally specific organizations, criminal justice professionals, and 
policymakers to get information and expert guidance to enhance their capacity to 
identify, reach, and serve all victims, especially those from communities that are 
underrepresented in healing services and avenues to justice. For more information about 
the NRC and the Reaching Victims Mini-Grant program, visit the NRC’s website at http:// 
reachingvictims.org. 

About the Vera Institute of Justice's Center on Victimization and Safety 

The Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Victimization and Safety convenes the National 
Resource Center for Reaching Victims. The Center on Victimization and Safety works with 
communities around the country to create healing services and justice options that reach, 
appeal to, and benefit all survivors. Our work focuses on communities of people who are 
at elevated risk of harm but often marginalized from the organizations and systems 
designed to support victims. For more information on the Center on Victimization and 
Safety, please contact cvs@vera.org. 

This project is supported by the Vera Institute of Justice under Award # 2016-XV-GX-K015, awarded by the 
Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, 
and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program are those of the contributors and do not 
necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

January 2020