The National Football League (NFL) and RALIANCE announced last week that we would renew a three-year grant partnership. As we expand our efforts at the intersection of preventing sexual misconduct and advancing social justice, we’re reflecting on where this fantastic partnership started and how it changed the sexual violence prevention landscape.
RALIANCE was created in 2016 with the NFL’s support to strengthen and centralize the national presence of the sexual violence field in order to better support survivors and drive the culture change needed to make communities and organizations safer. Partner organizations NSVRC, NAESV and ValorUS came together with a united purpose to elevate the conversation around sexual harassment, misconduct and abuse. The NFL’s support was critical for three major reasons:
1. The league recognized that the issue of sexual violence was critical and in need of attention and support.
2. The league demonstrated that sports could be part of the solution to end sexual violence, rather than part of the problem.
3. The league enabled RALIANCE to elevate the work of dozens of organizations working with survivors and vulnerable communities, including HEART Women and Girls, Mirror Memoirs, Ya Basta Center and more. Across 68 projects and several years, we’ve granted $3 million in funding for prevention programs and projects like these that support survivors and make communities safer.
Today, RALIANCE cumulatively brings hundreds of years of experience preventing and responding to sexual violence. We have established ourselves as key advisors in a number of industries and sectors to help them address sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse and work toward prevention. With increased public awareness, more leaders and organizations have stepped up and now look at their prevention efforts as an important step toward culture change.
We appreciate the NFL’s commitment to our progress and their recognition that culture and societal change take time and long-term investment. ICYMI: Check out these Associated Press and Sports Law Expert stories that covered our big partnership news!
RALIANCE provides consulting, assessment, and employee development services to help build more equitable workplace cultures and create environments free from sexual harassment, misconduct and abuse. We stand ready to support your organization’s goals – contact us today at [email protected] to get started.