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WHW renames Survivor Equity Fund after longtime advocate

Silhouette of a woman with a ponytail sitting by a window, head resting on her hand in a pensive pose, dramatic black-and-white lighting.August 22, 2025, Local 12

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Women Helping Women, a local nonprofit dedicated to preventing gender-based violence and assisting survivors, is facing a significant funding shortfall after learning it will not receive a local grant and donor program.

The organization, which operates with a budget exceeding $8 million and employs around 110 staff across five counties, could lose up to $320,000 over the next two years.

Kristin Shrimplin, president and CEO of Women Helping Women, said the lost funding would have supported the Survivor Equity Fund, which helps prevent evictions, maintain utilities, and provide emergency relocation and hotel accommodations for survivors.

“So that they’re not being evicted from their homes, so that they can keep the lights on, so that they can get emergency relocation to different counties and different states, so that they can get emergency hotels,” Shrimplin said.

The funding loss comes as nonprofits face increased competition for dwindling state and local resources while serving more people than ever. Shrimplin noted the organization served 8,500 survivors in 2024 and is on track to assist 10,000 in 2025.

“It’s impossible to serve everyone, right? Our agencies, you know, last year we served 8,500 survivors. We are surprised. We’re on track to serve 10,000 survivors; we’ve never done that. We know that’s just a tipping point; that is not the mass amount of folks who are needing help,” Shrimplin said.

A spokesperson for United Way of Greater Cincinnati explained that Women Helping Women was not selected for funding through its 2025 Community Partner Fund process. The organization received 230 funding requests, and selections were made through a community review process. The spokesperson emphasized that Women Helping Women is welcome to apply for other grant opportunities as they become available.

As Women Helping Women seeks new funding sources, the organization reminds the community that its crisis line is available 24/7 to call or text at (513) 381-5610 for anyone in need of assistance.

If you would like to donate to Women Helping Women, click here.

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women helping women cincinnati ohioAugust 21, 2025, Dayton Daily News

This column is on behalf of Women Helping Women, a nonprofit with locations in Hamilton and throughout the Southwest Ohio region that works to prevent gender-based violence and empower survivors.

The 4th of July has come and gone. Celebrations about freedom and liberty have rung throughout our Queen City. For many, it’s a day of celebration, tradition, and community.

But for far too many, “freedom” remains an idea, something they are still fighting for in their own homes and relationships.

At Women Helping Women, we believe safety and freedom should coexist. You cannot be free if you are not safe.

Systems built on power, control, and silence perpetuate domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other forms of gender-based violence. While we often think of liberty in political or national terms, we must also consider liberty in personal ones: the freedom to make your own choices, live without fear, and be your whole self.

One of the most common, but often hidden, forms of gender-based violence is economic disempowerment. When someone controls your access to money, ruins your credit, or sabotages your job, they are stripping away your freedom.

Survivors regularly tell us they stay not because they want to, but because they can’t afford to leave. If we want our communities to be safe and free, we must also work to remove the financial barriers that keep people trapped in harmful and dangerous relationships.

Being under threat and experiencing financial hardship is a day-to-day reality that undermines safety and mobility. Through our Francie Garber Pepper Survivor Equity Fund, Women Helping Women empowers survivors to regain control of their lives by providing financial assistance to cover expenses such as rent, relocation costs, emergency shelter, transportation, and other critical needs.

This ensures survivors are not financially prohibited from a chance at safety during a dangerous time in their lives.

As we continue to celebrate our country and the many freedoms it provides, let’s also focus on the freedoms some do not have yet. Ask yourself who feels trapped? Who is still stuck in the cycle of violence? Who doesn’t feel safe in their home?

If we want a future where everyone in our communities feels safe, we must invest in resources for survivors, empower our young people with education about healthy relationships, and strengthen the narrative that every person deserves to make their own choices in every relationship and situation.

Freedom is more than a concept; it is a right. And we will not stop until every person in our region can live free from fear and full of possibility.

If you or someone you know needs support, call our 24/7 crisis line at 513-381-5610. We are here. Always.

Kristin Smith Shrimplin is the president and CEO of Women Helping Women with a focus on social innovation, collaboration, and impact. She has more than 20 years of experience as a nonprofit leader with a strong focus on generating systems-based change through nuanced strategies of disruption and collaboration. 

Women Helping Women serves nearly 8,500 survivors of gender-based violence a year. Shrimplin also serves on the Board of the Human Services, Jewish Family Services, and the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio.

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women helping women cincinnati ohioMarch 11, 2025, Movers & Makers 

Women Helping Women has named its Survivor Equity Fund in honor of Francie Garber Pepper, a longtime advocate and philanthropist dedicated to supporting survivors of gender-based violence.

The Francie Garber Pepper Survivor Equity Fund provides emergency financial assistance to those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence, covering expenses such as rental assistance, relocation costs, emergency shelter, transportation and other critical needs.

In 2024, this fund allocated over $900,000 in the region to survivors in danger, per WHW. Of that, more than $500,000 went directly toward eviction prevention so that women and children could remain safe in their homes.

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