WEAVE (Women Empowered Against Violence) saved!

I mentioned in a What We Missed post two weeks ago that an organization based in DC had decided to close it’s doors after the DC government slashed their budget almost completely. A group of volunteers and founders from the almost ten year old domestic violence organization (one of the biggest in the District) got together to try and save WEAVE. And save they did!

I am very, very excited to tell you that it’s official… we have saved WEAVE!
On the morning of September 30th, the Board of Directors officially voted to keep WEAVE open. This is a long-term commitment not just a temporary reprieve. Every dollar of the more than $85,000 you helped the team behind the SaveWEAVE.org effort raise was pivotal in convincing a consortium of foundation funders to make a significant investment that will keep WEAVE going in the coming months.
All in all, more than 700 gifts were made to SaveWEAVE.org in just 10 days! This campaign has truly been one of the most amazing things I’ve ever been a part of and I cannot thank you enough for being part of it, too, by making a gift and helping us get the word out. Every one of you has a special place in WEAVE’s history for helping us make sure that domestic violence survivors still have WEAVE to turn to.
We have all been overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of support WEAVE has. This proves that WEAVE is viable and is necessary in our community. WEAVE has had to make some changes in order to stay strong and continue to pay a key role in the community. Unfortunately, that has meant some lay-offs of staff and the transfer to SAFE (another domestic violence organization in DC) of a very long-standing program that WEAVE adopted in the early 2000s that helps people file the necessary paperwork to seek court-ordered protection orders. WEAVE is very grateful to SAFE and so many other partner organizations that were willing to help during this tumultuous time.

I know the work of WEAVE in the DC community and chipped in what I could to this campaign. I’m really happy to know that the larger community values their work as well, and as tight as times are, folks were willing to chip in. Their struggles are still ahead of them, as $85,000 does not replace the budget of a large organization, but hopefully we can ensure women in DC still have access to their import domestic violence support and services.
If you still want to support WEAVE, they are continuing their push to raise money.