To the Editor:
Thank you for the recent op-ed on the lack of funding in the field of gender-based violence — “Nonprofits Fighting Gender Violence Have Struggled Since Losing Buffetts’ Funding. They Urgently Need More Support” (May 26).
I am the director of Day One, which works to end dating abuse and domestic violence and was a NoVo Foundation grant recipient. We, too, have had to contend with the loss of the foundation’s support after it decided to shift funds away from women and girls two years ago. With that shift, we lost both our largest funding source and, critically, our single biggest allotment of unrestricted dollars.
Funding directed toward domestic-violence causes is rare. And targeted funding for young survivors or for prevention is even more uncommon — even though young people experience domestic violence more than any other age group.
As a result, Day One relies heavily on government grants, which are restrictive in their use and burdensome in their reporting requirements.
The NoVo Foundation offered resources to an underserved population of women and girls while recognizing that unrestricted institutional funding has tremendous value for nonprofit organizations. The foundation reduced the reporting requirements for grantees and allowed them flexibility in how funds were used. The loss of NoVo’s support and its approach to the anti-domestic-violence community is substantial.
Stephanie Nilva
Executive Director
Day One