Reflections on 2024: NNEDV’s Year in Review

December 20, 2024

Together with our membership of the 56 state and U.S. territorial coalitions against domestic violence, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) has accomplished so much over the past year as we work to create a world where domestic violence no longer exists.

To further this work, NNEDV proudly welcomed Stephanie Love-Patterson as our new President & CEO this past June. Previously, Stephanie was the Executive Director of Connections for Abused Women and their Children, as well as both the Vice President and President of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one of NNEDV’s member coalitions.

Under Stephanie’s leadership, NNEDV looks forward to this new chapter in our organization’s nearly 35-year history. We are thankful for Dr. Wendy Mahoney and Jean Treuthart, who each served as interim President & CEO and provided steady guidance during this transition.

We’re also grateful to our member coalitions, our Board of Directors, and our generous partners for making this year possible, including:

Airbnb
Amazon
Apple
Blue Shield of California Foundation
Bread Financial
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Google
Kering Foundation
Major League Baseball
Match Group
Meta
National Football League Foundation
Norton
ReloShare
Seedlings Foundation
The Allstate Foundation
Uber
ViiV Healthcare

Our work can’t happen without supporters like you. Support NNEDV today and keep reading to see what we’ve accomplished, thanks to you.

Public Policy

Team NNEDV at the Advocacy Days Congressional Reception in June (Photo Credit: The Arts by G)

In April, we spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court as the justices heard oral arguments in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the most important case impacting homelessness of the past 40 years. We called on the Court and policymakers to invest in compassionate, effective, housing-first solutions.

In May, we co-hosted “Operationalizing the U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence: Visioning for the Future” with Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community, the National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault, and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV). We brought together 60+ advocates, federal partners, and funders to discuss how to use the National Plan as an organizing and mobilizing tool.

In June, we co-hosted Advocacy Days 2024 with NAESV in Washington, DC. More than 200 coalition staff members and their invited guests joined us on Capitol Hill to meet with their Members of Congress. Securing increased federal funding was our shared priority this year, and by combining voices, we strengthened our collective ask.

Later in June, we received rulings in two key Supreme Court cases impacting survivors. We celebrated the Court’s decision in United States v. Rahimi, which upheld a federal ban keeping firearms away from abusers. However, we also rejected the Court’s Grants Pass decision, which will further trap homeless survivors in cycles of poverty and housing insecurity.

In September, the safe leave working group we participated in released The Need for Paid Safe Leave & Model Legislative Language, a resource for policymakers, advocates, and stakeholders. It provides key context for the importance of paid safe leave and includes model policy language.

Later in September, President Biden invited NNEDV and national partners to the White House to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Stephanie was honored to briefly speak with President Biden and to stand behind him and fellow movement leaders as he delivered his remarks! Following the celebration, NNEDV and our partners hosted a reception to mark the occasion.

In October, we hosted a convening for coalitions and culturally specific organizations to engage with our anti-carceral federal policy framework. The convening focused on a key question: “How can the movement to end gender-based violence develop a public policy agenda to deflate carceral responses and inflate capacity and infrastructure for prevention, community-generated solutions, and anti-carceral approaches?”

Throughout the year, we focused on Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) appropriations, calling for Congress to stave off devastating 40% cuts and pass the bipartisan Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act to support programs and survivors.

Capacity Technical Assistance

Team NNEDV at the Annual Meeting & Coalition Leadership Summit in September

In June, we organized in-person meetings for 14 Executive Directors of Color in Washington, DC. We held a second meeting for this coalition cohort in September, just prior to the Annual Meeting & Coalition Leadership Summit, with 13 attendees in Atlanta, GA.

In August, we held an in-person meeting for New Executive Directors in Denver, CO, with 19 attendees. These meetings support coalition Executive Directors who have been in their roles for less than three years.

In September, we hosted the Annual Meeting & Coalition Leadership Summit in Atlanta, GA, with the theme “Cultivating Hope for Collective Change.” Seventy-eight staff from 50 coalitions were able to join us! During the Annual Meeting reception, we presented the DREAM Award to Leanne Guy of the Southwest Indigenous Women’s Coalition.

Throughout the year, we provided more than 810 individual technical assistance sessions to coalitions on a range of issues. We also convened regular regional and peer-to-peer meetings for coalition staff and leadership and updated resources like Many Voices, Many Traditions: A FVPSA Toolkit for Working with Indigenous Partners.

Domestic Violence Counts

Team NNEDV at the Domestic Violence Counts Congressional briefing in March

In March, we launched the 18^th Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report during a bipartisan Congressional briefing held in cooperation with Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Ann Wagner (R-MO). The briefing featured remarks from Hema Sarang-Sieminski of Jane Doe, Inc.; Krittika Ghosh of the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project; and Savanna, survivor and member of Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships.

In September, we held the 19^th Annual Domestic Violence Counts survey day, where local programs across the country documented the number of people they served, the types of services requested, the number of requests that they were unable to meet due to a lack of resources, and other critical information about their successes and challenges. More than 1,700 programs participated in this year’s survey.

Throughout the year, we continued making the survey process more accessible, including meeting with coalition stakeholders, holding our annual informational webinar twice to accommodate a record 970+ registrants, and translating all DV Counts program emails into Spanish.

Economic Justice

Team NNEDV at the Economic Justice Summit in March

In March, we held our 7^th Annual Economic Justice Summit in Kansas City, MO, with the theme: “Empowering Communities: Building an Equitable Economic Landscape.” More than 170 advocates, allies, and other professionals joined us to share strategies to improve economic security for survivors.

Our longtime partners at The Allstate Foundation have begun editing and updating The Moving Ahead Curriculum to make it more accessible and representative of survivors’ needs. We’re proud to represent our member coalitions on the Curriculum Advisory Council and plan to launch the new curriculum at the 2025 Economic Justice Summit.

During 2024, we disbursed 339 Independence Project credit-building microloans, helping survivors of financial abuse on the path toward economic stability. Altogether, 200 borrowers completed their loans during the year, with an average final credit score of 657 and an average credit score increase of 15 points. We also translated the Independence Project application into Spanish for increased accessibility.

We’ve also continued to work with Temple University on two research projects. One will evaluate the long-term impact of the Independence Project on survivors’ financial and overall well-being. The other will focus on contributing factors to domestic violence advocates’ financial well-being.

Throughout the year, we provided webinars and trainings for more than 650 advocates to learn about economic justice and financial abuse.

Housing

The Housing team at New Grantee Orientation in March

In February, we began releasing new episodes of the Transitional Housing podcast. This year’s episodes covered economic justice, language, self-injury, housing-first models, and trauma-informed best practices.

In March, we hosted the annual New Grantee Orientation in New Orleans, LA, supporting the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)’s relationship with transitional housing grantees. We partnered with field experts to develop new resources and materials to support participants’ grant compliance and efforts to embody the project’s values, such as employing a voluntary services model and supporting survivors’ autonomy and agency.

In June, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi coalition, we hosted an in-person gathering in Honolulu for territorial, Alaskan, and island-based transitional housing grantees. Thirty participants from Hawaiʻi, Alaska, St. Croix, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and Guam attended for peer-sharing, connecting, and learning.

Also in June, the National Low Income Housing Coalition invited NNEDV to serve on the National Steering Committee for the Opportunity Starts at Home Campaign to help set the national agenda for more robust and equitable federal housing policies for people with the lowest incomes, including survivors. In October, we delivered the keynote at their six-year celebration!

In September, we hosted our annual Beyond the Basics of Voluntary Services training in Aurora, CO, with the theme “The Fabric of Our ‘Why.’” Transitional housing grantees explored how they began working in voluntary services and why they continue to do the work.

Throughout the year, we held monthly office hours, provided technical assistance, and uploaded new materials to the Transitional Housing Toolkit.

Positively Safe

The Positively Safe team at NNEDV’s all-staff meeting in October

In February, we wrapped up season three of Expanding the Continuum, our podcast cohosted with Futures Without Violence. In April, we started season four. New episodes covered PrEP, harm reduction, sex-positive advocacy, and a two-part miniseries called “Black Women Lead.”

Later in February, we traveled to Kigali, Rwanda, as part of our ongoing partnership with the Rwanda Women’s Network to build a new training curriculum that will be presented to the Rwanda Ministry of Health and the Rwanda Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion. Our five-day training brought together 23 gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, and HIV experts from advocacy, policy, legal, health care, and disability civil society organizations.

In October, we launched a new series of blog posts called “Combatting the Stigma: Real People, Real Conversations.” Our first blog featured partner Liza Pereira sharing her courageous journey with HIV and intimate partner violence.

In November, we re-launched our newsletter, sharing project updates, new resources, and upcoming opportunities with our Positively Safe listserv.

Throughout the year, we updated the Positively Safe Toolkit, presented at panels and conferences, and conducted webinars and trainings on the intersection of domestic violence and HIV/AIDs for more than 860 attendees.

Safety Net

Team NNEDV at Safety Net’s Tech Summit 2024 in August

In April, in collaboration with the Economic Justice team and in partnership with Norton, we released a Financial Abuse and Technology guide and infographic, These materials provide an overview of the intersection of financial abuse and technology.

In July, we partnered with the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and the Center for Democracy and Technology in a new working group to address image-based abuse. This partnership came in response to a call to action by the White House Gender Policy Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

In August, we held our Tech Summit 2024 in Washington, DC, welcoming more than 270 advocates and allies to Washington, DC. We spent a wonderful three days in our nation’s capital discussing the intersection of technology and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking. We published two recaps on our blog: Tech Summit 2024 and Leading in Living Color: The Legacy and Impact of the Women of Color in Advocacy and Tech Reception at Tech Summit.

In December, in partnership with Ring, we announced the third year of our Ring Donation Program for Domestic Violence Survivors. The program will provide an additional 15,000 Ring Doorbells, Stick-Up Cams, and Ring Home subscriptions to eligible organizations supporting survivors.

Throughout the year, we held webinars and trainings on confidentiality, tech misuse, tech safety, privacy, digital services, agency use of technology, and other related topics, reaching more than 10,400 people. We also released many new and updated materials on TechSafety.org.

WomensLaw

The WomensLaw team at NNEDV’s all-staff meeting in October

In February, we distributed our National Updates to the 54 states and territories currently covered on WomensLaw.org and dozens of criminal justice stakeholders across the country. The National Updates are available in both English and Spanish.

Beginning in March, we translated several of our Quick Guides into Korean. These guides provide easy-to-understand overviews of legal topics such as custody, court processes, restraining orders, divorce, and immigration.

In September, we translated our 37^th state or territory into Spanish on WomensLaw.org! We continue to make progress in adding all 56 states and territories to the website, with the Northern Mariana Islands being the most recent addition.

In October, as part of our Reimagining Enhanced Access and Capacity of the Hotline (REACH) project with Esperanza United, we launched the “Between Amigas: Introducing the WomensLaw Email Hotline PSA” in both English and Spanish, featuring the voices of Gloria Estefan and Paulina Chávez!

Throughout the year, we helped 6,182 people in English and Spanish on the WomensLaw Email Hotline. This free resource provides individualized, confidential legal information for survivors, their advocates, and their loved ones.

Communications

Stephanie (center-right) at the Kering Foundation’s Caring for Women Dinner in September (Photo Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Kering)

In September, for the third consecutive year, NNEDV was honored to be a beneficiary of the Kering Foundation’s Caring for Women Dinner in New York City. Funds will benefit our Positively Safe, WomensLaw, and Public Policy teams, along with general operating support.

In October, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, we launched the fourth year of the #Every1KnowsSome1 Domestic Violence Awareness Month campaign and the #GiveForDV giving coalition for GivingTuesday. Participating organizations have raised more than $17,500 in total.

Throughout the year, our social media content generated more than 2.6 million total impressions and more than 132,000 total engagements, and our emails reached more than 26,300 subscribers. More than 4.5 million people visited NNEDV.org, TechSafety.org, and WomensLaw.org to learn about our work.

We were mentioned in more than 800 unique press pieces, with more than 4.5 billion total impressions, at a total advertising value equivalency of more than $56 million. Media highlights during the year included:

A librarian in Massachusetts is hiding burner phones in books to help victims of domestic violence (CNN, February 14)
“What Can I Even Say Without Having to Go to Jail?” (Mother Jones, February 22)
Critical fund for US domestic violence victims faces major cuts (The Guardian, May 16)
Supreme Court upholds gun ban for domestic violence abusers (NPR, June 21)
The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban Survives Yet Another Attack (Ms. Magazine, June 21)
Nowhere to Turn: Survivors are Unsafe at Home and Criminalized on the Streets (Ms. Magazine, June 28)
Ruling on homelessness raises the risks for domestic violence survivors, experts say (The 19th, June 28)
Senators seek answers on dwindling fund for crime victims (Roll Call, July 26)
Salma Hayek! Kim Kardashian! Lauren Sánchez! Inside the 3rd Annual Caring For Women Dinner (Vogue, September 10)
How Salma Hayek Pinault and her husband are working to end violence against women globally (CBS News, September 10)
Headed by a Billionaire and a Movie Star, a Foundation Fights Gender-Based Violence (Inside Philanthropy, September 18)
The Consequences of Huge Federal Cuts to Domestic Violence Funding “May Be Death” (Mother Jones, October 18)
Why Is Congress Leaving Abused Women and Children in The Lurch? (Mother Jones, December 19)

NNEDV is grateful to the supporters and partners who make this work possible, and we look forward to another impactful year ahead. We invite you to sign up if you haven’t already and stay involved in our work to create a world where domestic violence no longer exists.