Economics Against Abuse Program

Money and finances play an important role for many women when considering leaving an abusive partner. The devastation of leaving a home, income, benefits, and economic security behind are struggles that all survivors of domestic violence must overcome, regardless of their education, job skills and personal earning potential. Many survivors of domestic violence have nominal or no access to money or have had their financial security destroyed by their abuser.

As the corporate foundation of a financial services company, The Allstate Foundation brings specific resources and expertise to economic empowerment work for survivors. Through support of direct services for those touched by domestic violence and economic abuse, creative public awareness campaigns to encourage more people to help and thought leadership activities geared toward learning more about economic abuse and effective ways to build financial independence, The Allstate Foundation in partnership with the National Network to End Domestic Violence is making our communities and our nation a better, safer place to live.

The Allstate Foundation's Economics Against Abuse Program helps survivors build financial independence by providing knowledge, skills and opportunities to survivors. The Foundation recognizes that state domestic violence coalitions and local domestic violence programs are uniquely situated to identify and respond to the economic advocacy needs of survivors. However, the Foundation encourages collaborations among a larger group of service providers on the national, state and local levels to help more victims get free and live free from abuse.

The Economics Against Abuse Program utilizes a competitive grant process that seeks to build the capacity of service providers to respond to the unique economic needs of survivors. These grant funds provide an opportunity for national, statewide and local domestic violence organizations to collaborate on the cutting edge service area of economic justice, as well as to engage Allstate agents and employees in a volunteer capacity.

Priority is given to programs that:

• Include national organizations with ability to deliver programming across the country
• Articulate the national impact of the proposed project
• Reflect a collaborative effort based on formal collaborations that recognize the distinct roles and responsibilities of each participating agency or entity
• Demonstrate the capacity of the project to reach a range of survivors, bringing service providers together in ways that challenge them to consider different perspectives and new solutions to the complex economic problems that survivors face
• Reflect an understanding of the positive, systemic, social, economic, and cultural changes that are needed to end violence against women
• Incorporate or reflect the experiences of survivors and victim advocates
• Appropriately reach diverse audiences, with culturally-sensitive program tactics and messages
• Demonstrate a capacity to execute on communications and/or public awareness initiatives
• Outline plans to engage Allstate agents and employees as volunteers

Successful applications will include one or more of the following strategies:

• Financial education: Providing education and support to survivors in areas of budgeting, investing, retirement planning, debt reduction, etc through the use of The Allstate Foundation Moving Ahead through Financial Management curriculum
• Individual Development Accounts (IDAs): Helping survivors establish IDAs and/or assisting survivors in utilizing IDAs for asset-building
• Job readiness and training: Helping survivors with resume writing, developing interviewing skills and/or providing job training to gaining meaningful employment
• Micro-enterprise: Assisting survivors in credit repair, obtaining micro-loans and establishing small businesses

Examples of program success metrics include the number of survivors:

• Creating a financial plan
• Opening a savings account
• Participating in Individual Development Account programs
• Meeting their IDA savings goals
• Completing college courses, job training programs, or certificate programs