About Us

Move to End Violence (MEV), a 10-year program of the NoVo Foundation, is designed to strengthen our collective capacity to end violence against girls and women in the United States.

Social transformation of this magnitude requires effective collaboration of well-resourced leaders from strong organizations -– working strategically toward a common vision of social change. Accordingly, this comprehensive program focuses on: transformative leadership development, organizational development, movement building, and social change.

The program is designed to make deep investments in and have transformational impacts at the individual, organizational, and movement levels. 

Investing in Movement-Minded Individuals

Activists working for social change too often find themselves consumed by the immediate and overwhelming demands of their work. Rarely do they have the opportunity to step back, reflect on how change is achieved, align around a shared vision, and develop bold strategies for moving forward with trusted and talented colleagues. This program creates that critical space for individuals working to end violence against girls and women in the United States.

MEV selects a cohort of individuals -– we call them Movement Makers –- every two years. Once selected, Movement Makers participate in a two-year intensive program which includes a series of in-person convenings as well intersession work. The work of each cohort builds on the work of the cohort before -- propelling the movement towards its goal of ending violence against girls and women in the United States.

Specific opportunities for Movement Makers include:

  • A series of convenings in restorative locations;
  • Training and facilitation by some of the country’s most renowned experts in transformational leadership development, social change, and movement building;
  • The development of a peer learning community;
  • Exposure to and conversations with innovative and thought-provoking leaders;
  • The opportunity to develop and integrate self-care and strategic thinking practices into one’s life, work, and organization; and
  • An international learning exchange that will provide the opportunity to learn from and with allied social justice leaders outside of the United States.

Learn more about Movement Makers.

Supporting Innovative Organizations

Large-scale social change cannot be achieved through individuals alone. Movements require leaders in well-resourced, healthy organizations that can effectively collaborate and work for social change. 

To that end, 501c3 advocacy organizations with a staff person in Move to End Violence will receive a two-year general support grant. In addition, these organizations will be eligible to receive a one-time organizational development grant. To receive that grant, key organizational staff must take an online organizational assessment, work with a coach to analyze the results, and submit a proposal to the NoVo Foundation.

Organizations will also benefit from the individual participant’s experience as well as select opportunities for broader staff involvement. The program is designed so that all of the learnings are relevant and easily applied to the organization -– ultimately strengthening the organization’s capacity to end violence against girls and women.

 Specific opportunities include:

  • A two-year general support grant;
  • An organizational assessment, coaching, and an opportunity to apply for an organizational capacity building grant;
  • Programming designed to help integrate the learnings of Move to End Violence into your organization;
  • A two-day workshop for the organization that explores the linkages between sustainable practices and the ability to work strategically (any organizations returning to MEV for the second cohort will instead have the opportunity to participate in a 1-2 day advanced workshop);
  • Staff eligibility to participate in a virtual practicum focused on strengthening social change; and
  • Possible attendance of the cohort’s final, movement convening.

Note: Grants are awarded to participating 501c3 advocacy organizations. Grants to other types of entities will be on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the NoVo Foundation.

Moving the Movement

Over the course of 10 years, Move to End Violence aspires to make an impact well beyond the direct investments made in Movement Makers and their organizations.

Our purpose is to support the leaders and organizations whose work will ripple outwards to influence the theory, strategy, and action of the broader movement. We place a high value on openness, engagement, and collaboration, and pursuant to the leadership and direction of our Movement Makers, expect that the thinking, progress, and work products that emerge from Move to End Violence will be widely shared. The movement convening and the On the Move blog are two of the vehicles for engaging the broader movement community.