Dressember Network’s Funding Priorities
When we challenge our advocates to fight for the dignity and freedom of all people, we know there is no simple approach. Every survivor’s story is a complex, intersectional experience with layered needs and outcomes. We built the Dressember Network so that you and your donors can see exactly how your fundraising and their donations transform into impact. Every dollar raised is distributed across a diverse range of programming that addresses prevention, intervention, rehabilitation and advocacy. So when you join in community with Dressember, you become a part of a strategic approach to fighting human trafficking as an intersectional social justice issue. Let’s take a look at how this network is crafted with the complex needs of at-risk communities and survivors in mind.
To ensure that your gift is making a long lasting difference, we vet our partners annually across five criteria: collaboration, cultural sensitivity, measurable impact, innovation and sustainability. We rely on survivors and field experts to guide our vetting process and we track both financials and impact to determine the validity of the programs.
Dressember Network partners must understand the complexity of human trafficking and seek to empower others and work together toward ending this injustice, particularly with locals who understand an area's nuances and culture on a deeper level. They must have work that is proven to protect victims, increase convictions of perpetrators, and/or prevent the spread of trafficking. And lastly, all of our partners' work should use innovative methods and trauma-informed practices to dismantle a shrewd and manipulative industry and be structured to have an impact that will last.
Once we determine that an organization has proven efficacy across our vetting criteria, we invite them to apply for partnership. Within the Dressember Network, we have four fundraising priorities that we look to align with our partners: we strive to center survivors, partner with local organizations that employ local leaders, address intersectional issues and risk factors, and ensure long-term sustainability for survivors.
Our Grant Advisory Committee is 80% survivor-led, the members of which remain confidential for privacy reasons and to remain equitable to all applying organizations. We ensure that all of our international partners have programs that are culturally sensitive and run by local leaders. We are committed to addressing the link between systemic issues and vulnerability so that we can prevent more people from becoming victims in the first place. For at-risk youth, this can include homeless and runaways, being in the foster care system and identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Research shows that survivors most value economic empowerment and financial security for their restoration, and we aim to empower them long-term by providing the resources necessary to sustain freedom.
Dressember-Led Initiatives
We carefully strategize where and how we can maximize our impact, and when we see gaps in programming or there are urgent needs we have to respond to, we initiate our own strategic efforts.
In March of 2020, Dressember launched a COVID Relief fund and raised over $50k to support survivors in New York City and the Philippines. Survivors and victims of human trafficking are still at risk of heightened exploitation as a result of job loss, travel and movement restrictions, reduction of services available and resource cutbacks. An urgent need remains to protect women and children from the pandemic, as they are at an increased risk due to school closures, violence at home, and the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC). The Philippine Department of Justice noted an increase of nearly 300 percent in referrals for potential online sex trafficking and OSEC cases from March to May 2020. the period during which the Philippines was under lockdown or quarantine measures.
This past spring, all funds raised through our 4th Annual 5k: Run For Tiffany went directly towards supporting Dressember’s Survivor Justice Initiative. The Survivor Justice Initiative supports incarcerated survivors by providing direct social and legal support during their unjust incarceration and on their pathway to freedom. We recently announced another Dressember-led initiative that aims to help close the gap between physical freedom and long-term economic empowerment for trafficking survivors: Dressember’s Survivor Scholarship Program. Our goal is to reduce attrition as a result of economic hardship and improve the pathway to high-demand, sustainable, and steady careers for more survivors.
Linking arms with Dressember is a strategic move you can feel good about: we’ll always be transparent with you about where your money goes, how we vet our partners, and our fundraising priorities–both foundational and the ones we must urgently respond to. Help us ensure that we can make this impact year-round: become an advocate, join the collective or make a one-time gift.