Contributed
Women Helping Women is thrilled to announce that strong community support of the organization’s mission culminated in a record-breaking $10 million fundraising campaign that nearly doubled our $5.6 million goal.
WHW’s “Rise Beyond Violence” campaign will strengthen and expand ongoing work to support survivors of gender-based violence in Hamilton, Butler, Brown, and Adams Counties. Throughout the organization’s 50 years, we continue to reach a record-breaking number of survivors — in 2023, we’re on track to break another record of serving 9,000.
“The vision of the Rise Beyond Violence campaign is to fully serve 50,000 survivors and reach 25,000 students and community members within five years,” says WHW CEO Kristin Shrimplin. “We cannot afford to stand by and continue to increase our response to the gender-based violence epidemic. Rates continue to spike, and prevention is the only sustainable solution.”
The generous support of both public and private partners highlights regional support for a comprehensive, public health response to the gender-based violence epidemic. The $10 million investment over the next five years will strengthen the agency’s commitment to intervention and innovation while expanding prevention efforts.
Francie Pepper, philanthropist, and wife of former Procter & Gamble Co. CEO John Pepper was one of the generous community donors of the campaign: “From the time I was a young woman, I was impassioned to stand with survivors. It mattered to me then, as it matters to my husband and me now, that survivors are not only supported but empowered. That is why we are honored to invest significantly in the innovative “Rise Beyond Violence” campaign. Over the years, WHW continues to “think outside the box,” and the Campaign gives the agency the freedom to expand its groundbreaking Survivor Equity Fund. Now, it will support over 800 survivors a year and aid them in tackling financial obstacles, preventing eviction, and finding safety in their homes.”
The overwhelming response to the campaign came from all corners of the region, including Fifth Third Bank and bi3.
“bi3 is leading the way to a day when every person has a just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Intimate partner violence disproportionately affects women of color, particularly mothers,” Jill Miller, President & CEO of bi3, said. “Our $1.5 million investment was a building block to fuel others to invest in this vital campaign. Expanding the DVERT program will better support women throughout Hamilton County.”
DVERT™ (Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team) is a trauma-focused crisis response team that provides an on-call, on-scene response to domestic violence survivors to avert gender-based violence and to prevent children from growing up in violent homes. DVERT™ provides on-scene safety planning, access to resources, empowerment, and engagement in ongoing support services.
“As a member of the Cabinet of the Rise Beyond Violence Campaign, I am proud of how Fifth Third showed up with a leadership investment of $300,000 to empower Women Helping Women’s vision to serve 50,000 survivors and educate 25,000 young people on prevention,” said Stephanie A. Smith, chief inclusion officer for Fifth Third Bank. “This work matters to me and matters to Fifth Third. The inequities of violence demand collaborative and innovative solutions. From the corporate boardroom to the classroom, courtrooms, emergency rooms, and the living rooms of our homes–it’s on all of us to lean in and lend influence, investment, and actions to prevent gender-based violence and to empower all survivors.”
Women Helping Women is recognizing its 50th anniversary of supporting survivors of gender-based violence. Prevention, intervention, and innovation are the core pillars of the organization’s strategic vision that will be enhanced as a result of this generous giving.