At Allstate, we are the Good Hands™ people. We help individuals realize their hopes and dreams. We protect them from life’s uncertainties and prepare them for the future. Through The Allstate Foundation’s Economics Against Abuse Program, we are doing just that. We’re helping survivors of domestic violence, who haven’t always felt they could hope or dream, realize that they can, and we’re helping to prepare them for better futures.
Survivors of domestic violence and economic abuse need targeted tools and strategies to help them deal with their financial struggles and plan for safe, secure futures; however, there is a significant gap in resources for programs designed to assist survivors with the economic challenges they face. The Allstate Foundation is taking action to not only spread awareness about this important women’s issue, but also to directly empower those touched by domestic and economic abuse.
The Foundation developed a priority program called Economics Against Abuse with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) to address how economic abuse can impact personal safety and financial security of victims and their families. Since its inception in March 2005, The Allstate Foundation has given more than $6 million in grants to domestic violence organizations across the country. The program provides a comprehensive network of services for domestic violence survivors and advocates, including:
Direct services:
- Provides programming and funding support through a Financial Empowerment Curriculum and training materials
- Includes community volunteerism by Allstate employees, agents and agency staff
- Highlights best practices in economic advocacy at the state domestic violence coalition level
- Supports a grant program that allows service providers to address the complex, broad and often immediate range of survivors’ needs. The Education and Job Training Assistance Fund provides grants directly to domestic violence survivors, helping them access education and job training opportunities
Thought leadership:
- Includes Allstate employee, agent and agency staff volunteerism
- Supports domestic violence advocates and service providers through national conferences and other events and research, such as The Allstate Foundation National Poll on Domestic Violence, which revealed that approximately six out of 10 respondents strongly agree that the lack of money and a steady income is often a challenge faced by survivors of domestic violence when leaving their abusers.
- Hosts an annual Economic Empowerment Conference for advocates to share best practices, research and promote economic advocacy
Public awareness:
- Provides a national effort to raise awareness and change societal attitudes about domestic violence and the devastating effects of economic abuse. The campaign includes media outreach, online initiatives and grassroots involvement.