Safety Fund
The Safety Fund is FreeFrom's flexible, no-strings-attached cash assistance program for survivors of intimate partner and gender-based violence, launched in April 2020 as a rapid COVID-19 response. FreeFrom is a national, survivor-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Los Angeles that works to end gender-based violence by building survivors' economic freedom. The Fund is financed almost entirely by philanthropic donations (foundations, corporations, and individual donors, including an initial GoFundMe campaign). Since 2020 it has disbursed more than $2.2 million across over 8,800 one-time emergency cash grants to survivors in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. It is one of several FreeFrom programs, alongside a Savings Matching Program and the Compensation Compass tool.
Domestic Violence, Gender-Based Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Emergency Cash Assistance, Unrestricted Cash, National, Puerto Rico
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- FreeFrom
- City
- Los Angeles
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Website
- https://www.freefrom.org/
- info@freefrom.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 8,800
- Funding type
- Philanthropic, Corporate
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 250 USD
- Payment frequency
- Lump Sum
- Distribution Type
- PayPal, Direct Deposit, Check
- Benefit details
Safety Fund grants are one-time, unrestricted cash payments; in the program's initial 2020 cohort, FreeFrom disbursed $266,000 in $250 grants to 1,100 survivors, with an average grant of about $244 across a wider distribution of 36 states and Puerto Rico. Survivors could choose to receive funds via check in the mail (52%), PayPal (27%), or ACH/direct deposit (21%), with checks the most common option due to many survivors lacking safe bank access. Funds have no spending restrictions or documentation requirements and can be used for any need the survivor identifies, such as rent, utilities, transportation, or relocation. By 2024, cumulative disbursement had grown to over $2.2 million across more than 8,800 grants nationwide, though the current per-grant amount was not independently confirmed.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Applicants must self-identify as survivors of intimate partner, gender-based, or domestic violence; FreeFrom uses a trust-based model requiring no police reports, proof of abuse, or documentation. The online application has been offered in both English and Spanish. The seed data's claim that eligibility requires coming through a partner community-based organization (CBO) was NOT corroborated by FreeFrom's own program materials, which describe the Safety Fund as an 'open-application' program that survivors apply to directly; this should be treated as an unverified/likely inaccurate seed claim. The Fund is not open year-round; survivors apply during periodic windows or join an interest list when it is closed.
Demographics
- Language
- English, Spanish
Geography
- Countries covered
- United States
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Research / participation requirements
FreeFrom itself designs, conducts, and publishes the research on the Safety Fund. Grant recipients were invited (not required) to complete optional surveys about their experience and needs; this data informed FreeFrom's published reports, including 'Survivors Know Best' (2020) and 'Trust Survivors: Building an Effective and Inclusive Cash Assistance Program' (March 2021). Findings from these reports, including survivors' reported need of roughly $730 to achieve immediate safety, have been cited by federal agencies and the Biden-Harris Administration in support of direct cash assistance policy for survivors.
Application Process
- How to apply
Survivors apply directly to FreeFrom through an online application (offered in English and Spanish), self-attesting to their status as a survivor of gender-based/intimate partner violence; no supporting documentation is required. The application is only open during specific windows rather than year-round; when closed, prospective applicants can complete an interest form to be notified when it reopens.
- Selection process
During open application windows, eligible survivors who complete the online application are awarded grants; in the original 2020 rollout, of 2,165 applications started, 1,323 were completed, and once funding was exhausted additional applicants were placed on a waitlist. No case management, income verification, or proof of abuse is used to screen applicants.
