EMPOWERING SERVICE PROVIDERS THROUGH COALITION ORGANIZING AND ADVOCACY

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) is a collection of over 50 nonprofit service providers supporting victims of domestic violence (DV) with comprehensive services like shelter, legal aid, and mental health services. ODVN members advocate together at the state level to provide testimony on DV issues and to acquire funding through the state’s budget process. As ODVN works to broaden its advocacy efforts, it enlisted a Capstone team to evaluate opportunities for strengthening its advocacy processes and the advocacy capacity of its member organizations. Through a combination of in-depth interviews and surveys, the team designed an advocacy toolkit, tailor-made to activate and inspire ODVN’s diverse service provider membership to take on advocacy roles in their community and network. The team produced a final report offering recommendations on how to use the advocacy toolkit and further develop the client’s coalition organizing strategy.