Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence

What Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence does

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, recognized as the nation's first state domestic violence coalition (founded 1976/1977). It functions as a statewide collaborative membership organization that funds, trains, and coordinates a network of 59 local domestic violence programs covering all 67 Pennsylvania counties, with member program operational budgets dependent on up to 85% state budget funding.

PCADV serves approximately 90,000 domestic violence victims/survivors and their children annually (roughly 250 per day) through free, confidential services delivered by member programs, including crisis counseling, emergency safe house/shelter, civil legal assistance (PA Safe Law), economic empowerment, and child/youth support. Its core technology stack consists of a LearnUpon-hosted Online Learning Center restricted to PCADV-funded program staff, an IPV Risk & Protective Factors Dashboard and Homicide Dashboard co-developed with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Penn State Data Center, and an interactive "Is This Abuse" quiz alongside a Find Help directory spanning all 67 counties. The organization also publishes annual fatality reports spanning more than 20 years of tracking domestic violence homicide in Pennsylvania and runs prevention toolkits such as Healing Roots (Latine outreach), Coaching Boys Into Men, Medical Advocacy Program, Faith Communities, and Brain Injury.

PCADV's business model is grant- and donation-funded rather than revenue-generating: primary revenue streams include federal pass-through grants (Family Violence Prevention and Services/State Domestic Violence Coalition, VOCA, STOP Formula Grant via PCCD, McKinney-Vento), Pennsylvania state budget appropriations, and private donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners. All direct victim services are provided at no cost under a freemium-style model. Governance is by member programs; CEO Susan Higginbotham leads the organization, which is actively engaged in federal litigation and FY27 state budget advocacy (pursuing an $8 million DHS line-item increase).

Name

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Legal name

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Website

https://pcadv.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) is a Harrisburg-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the nation's first state domestic violence coalition. It funds, trains, and coordinates 59 local programs delivering free, confidential services across all 67 Pennsylvania counties, serving roughly 90,000 victims/survivors annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services / Domestic Violence Advocacy

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD)

Keywords

• Domestic violence services
• Victim advocacy programs
• Crisis intervention services
• Nonprofit coalition network
• Survivor support resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrisburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Federal Grants: Primary funding from federal sources including Family Violence Prevention and Services/State Domestic Violence Coalition (Grant Number 2401PASDVC), Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), STOP Formula Grant Program through PCCD, and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
2. State Budget Funding: State funding through Pennsylvania budget; domestic violence programs depend on up to 85% funding from state budget to operate.
3. Private Donations: Donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners to support mission activities.
4. Program Services: Free confidential direct services including crisis counseling, shelter, legal, and economic services for domestic violence victims and their children.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PCADV is a statewide coalition that coordinates 59 community-based domestic violence member programs providing free, confidential direct services—including crisis counseling, emergency shelter, civil legal help, and economic empowerment—to victims/survivors and their children across all 67 Pennsylvania counties. It operates statewide resource lines, training infrastructure, fatality tracking, public dashboards, and policy advocacy to prevent and respond to intimate partner violence.

Product overview

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) operates as a statewide collaborative membership organization rather than a traditional technology product company. Its offerings consist of a portfolio of service programs and educational resources centered on its network of 59 community-based domestic violence programs. The core service offerings include PA Safe Law (a free legal information helpline), the Online Learning Center (a restricted-access training platform on LearnUpon), various toolkits (Healing Roots, Coaching Boys Into Men, Medical Advocacy, etc.), educational webinars for advocates and legal professionals, annual fatality reports, an interactive 'Is This Abuse' quiz, a homicide dashboard data visualization tool, and a program locator tool. These offerings work together as a comprehensive ecosystem supporting domestic violence victims, advocates, and legal professionals across Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PA Safe Law: A unique civil legal information project by PCADV, providing free legal information, resources, and referrals for domestic violence victims through a network of experienced attorneys.
• The Real Cost of Domestic Violence

Products and services

• PA Safe Law A free civil legal information project of PCADV that connects victims of domestic violence with a network of experienced licensed attorneys for free legal information, resources, and referrals across domestic violence, divorce, custody, and immigration matters.
• Online Learning Center Restricted-access training platform built on the LearnUpon LMS, offering introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses for advocates, volunteers, and interns working at PCADV's 59 local anti-domestic violence programs.
• Toolkits Resource collections covering domestic violence topics including best practices, laws, policies, assistance programs, FAQs, templates, and lessons learned across themes such as Healing Roots, Coaching Boys Into Men, Medical Advocacy, Faith Communities, and Brain Injury.
• Webinars Pre-recorded educational webinars built for advocates and legal professionals on topics such as trauma-informed services, protection orders, human trafficking, secondary trauma, intimate partner violence in later life, campus crime, and housing protections.
• Fatality Reports Annual reports providing the single most reliable source of information about domestic violence-related deaths in Pennsylvania for over 20 years, documenting victim demographics, methods, perpetrator information, and historical trends.
• Is This Abuse Quiz Confidential interactive quiz that helps individuals concerned they may be in an abusive relationship by walking them through questions on controlling behavior, physical abuse, financial control, and threats, then offering tips and resources.
• Homicide Dashboard Publicly available interactive dashboard, developed with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and Penn State Data Center, that visually summarizes domestic violence-related homicide data from news accounts, domestic violence programs, and police departments.
• Find Your Local Domestic Violence Program Online directory that lets users find the closest domestic violence program by city, zip code, or location, with filtering by service type (Civil Legal Representation, Domestic Violence, Emergency Safe House, Sexual Assault Services) across all 67 Pennsylvania counties.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90,000 victims/survivors served annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Democracy Forward FoundationcoreOthers · 25 July 2025National legal organization providing litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. Lead counsel representing PCADV and 21 other organizations in lawsuit challenging Trump-Vance administration funding restrictions.
• National Women's Law CentercoreOthers · 25 July 2025Legal advocacy organization serving as co-counsel in lawsuit Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence v. Kennedy challenging unlawful funding restrictions targeting diversity and transgender rights.
• State Domestic Violence Coalitions (22 organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 July 2025Coalition of state domestic violence, sexual assault, housing, youth, and homelessness organizations including Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, California Partnership To End Domestic Violence, and others jointly challenging administration funding restrictions.
• ACLU Foundation of Rhode IslandcoreOthers · 25 July 2025Legal counsel providing representation in lawsuit challenging funding restrictions that would require organizations to abandon inclusive practices.
• IntercambioscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2024Collaboration with Intercambios on Healing Roots campaign, the first Latine-focused domestic violence prevention campaign in Pennsylvania. The partnership involved tejiendo redes (weaving relationships) with cultural leaders and community partners over more than a year to develop culturally responsive prevention materials and toolkit.
• Healthcare SystemscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Since 1996, PCADV has funded Medical Advocacy Project (MAP) sites at healthcare facilities. Grown from 3 pilot sites to 33 funded projects as of 2020, embedding domestic violence advocates in hospital settings.
• Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState administering office for STOP Formula Grant Program; funding partner for PCADV webinars for legal professionals and court personnel, and for the Homicide Dashboard initiative.
• Penn State Data Center, Institute for State and Regional AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the IPV Risk & Protective Factors Dashboard and Homicide Dashboard, creating publicly-available interactive digital resources summarizing domestic violence-related homicide data from news accounts, domestic violence programs, and police departments.
• Futures Without ViolencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreator of Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) evidence-based curriculum. PCADV adapted and implements this curriculum in Pennsylvania domestic violence programs for high school athletics settings.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• AEquitas: AEquitas is a national nonprofit that provides prosecution-focused legal training and resources on DV and related crimes. PCADV and AEquitas serve overlapping audiences (advocates, legal professionals) through training and technical assistance, making AEquitas an adjacent peer in the DV legal-support ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Texas Council on Family Violence: Texas Council on Family Violence is Texas's state DV coalition, providing member-program coordination, training, and fatality analysis analogous to PCADV. It serves as a comparable scale benchmark for a large-state coalition model.
• California Partnership to End Domestic Violence: California Partnership to End Domestic Violence is California's state domestic violence coalition and a co-plaintiff with PCADV in the federal funding lawsuit. Both organizations coordinate member programs, deliver training, and lead statewide policy advocacy on DV.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: The National Domestic Violence Hotline operates the 1-800-799-SAFE line that PCADV directly refers Pennsylvania victims to. Both provide crisis response, safety planning, and resource referral — though the Hotline operates nationally and PCADV coordinates local program delivery.
• New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV): NYSCADV is a state-level DV coalition serving New York with a comparable structure of member programs, training, and policy advocacy. It is the closest large-state functional analog to PCADV's Pennsylvania operations.
• Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence: RICADV is a state-level DV coalition with the same operational model as PCADV — coordinating local member programs, channeling federal grants, and providing direct services. The two are direct legal co-plaintiffs in the federal funding lawsuit, underscoring their parallel structures.
• Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence: ICADV is Illinois's state DV coalition with the same member-program and pass-through funding model. It provides a regional Midwestern peer for benchmarking advocacy, training, and member services delivery.

Broad incumbents

• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV): NCADV is a national grassroots organization focused on public awareness, survivor support, and policy advocacy. It overlaps with PCADV on national DV policy work but does not coordinate local member programs the way state coalitions like PCADV do.
• National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV): NNEDV is the national umbrella organization for state domestic violence coalitions, including PCADV. Both operate as coalition membership bodies that channel federal funding, deliver training, and conduct policy advocacy — but NNEDV covers all U.S. states while PCADV is Pennsylvania-specific.
• Futures Without Violence: Futures Without Violence is a national nonprofit that develops evidence-based DV curricula (including Coaching Boys Into Men, which PCADV licenses in Pennsylvania). Both organizations focus on prevention programming, training toolkits, and healthcare-system integration of DV response.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/PCADVorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/PCADVorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pcadv
• Instagraminstagram.com/pcadvorg
• Xx.com/PCADVorg

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence