Economic Empowerment Program

99% of relationship abuse victim/survivors

experience financial abuse.*

 

Learn more about the impact of the Survivor Fund:

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Violence Free Minnesota’s Economic Empowerment Program focuses on providing advocates and member programs with tools and resources to help survivors gain financial empowerment. This includes accessing financial literacy education, developing budgeting skills, building credit, building savings, finding affordable housing, and gaining meaningful employment.

 

In 2017, Violence Free Minnesota launched the Survivor Fund with the support of the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse. These funds are a one-time, low-barrier cash grant to domestic and sexual violence victims and survivors for the purposes of increasing and/or maintaining housing stability and building credit. Funds are accessed by survivors who are connected with an advocate at a Violence Free Minnesota member program.  

 

Funds are used for specific items, such as rent:

 

“I feel more secure. With the money, I was able to move out of the town that all the bad things were happening in. Now no one knows where I live and we feel safer.”

 

Survivors’ needs for stability extend far beyond housing: 

 

“Without this financial help I would not have been able to go back to work because I would not have had childcare.”

 

The Survivor Fund makes accessing these funds as simple as possible: 

 

“It was an easy experience and I'm so grateful and thankful this funding was available. I'm so thankful for all the help that was provided.”

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Moving Ahead: Financial Empowerment Course

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Violence Free Minnesota no longer requires advocates to complete the Moving Ahead: Financial Empowerment Course before completing a Survivor Fund application. However, we still encourage interested advocates to access the course through the National GBV Learning Community page.

 

Donations

Please support survivors with a donation to the Survivor Fund. A gift of $25 can help a survivor replace the locks on their home.

 

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*Adams, A. E., Sullivan, C. M., Bybee, D., & Greeson, M. R. (2008). Development of the Scale of Economic Abuse. Violence Against

Women, 14(5), 563