Women's Advocacy Initiative

What Women's Advocacy Initiative does

Women's Advocacy Initiative Inc. (WAI) is a privately held 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2023 and headquartered in the Washington D.C. area, with operations also extending to California and Hawai'i. The organization provides free mental health, legal, and medical support services to survivors of sexual assault who pursue action against their assailant, with all service costs underwritten by WAI through donations, grants, and merchandise proceeds. Its core delivery vehicle, the Survivor Support Network, is a referral platform connecting survivors with a nationwide directory of trauma-informed providers, including 80+ gynecologists, across linguistic, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Complementing this clinical/legal network, WAI runs community programs (Coffee Chats, Share Your Story, and the international extension "Share Your Story: A Global Voice") that allow survivors to share narratives via private Zoom conversations, art, poetry, and written submissions distributed through Instagram and the website.

The organization generates revenue almost entirely through individual donations ranging from $10 to $1,000+ and a secondary merchandise line — the Mythos Unbound collection of Greek mythology-inspired apparel and canvas prints designed by artist Summer Peterson — sold via its own e-commerce storefront at wainitiative.org/shop. Pricing is unit-based ($26 t-shirts, $40 crew neck sweatshirts, $20+ canvas prints) on a pay-as-you-go cadence, with services to survivors delivered at no cost. Founder Sheerin Gryloo drives go-to-market through seminars and fireside chats at secondary and higher education institutions, supplemented by Instagram content, an email newsletter, and event participation such as gallery exhibitions (e.g., Ceres Gallery's "The War on Women"). The organization operates without a proprietary technology platform, relying on human-powered referral coordination and a Squarespace-hosted web presence, and is governed by a small board (Founder/Chairman Sheerin Gryloo, Vice-Chairman Cadence Dobias, Director Maura Deegan). Customer segments are bifurcated: sexual assault survivors as the primary service recipients, with educational institutions and advocates/donors as supporting segments; the model converts donor dollars into free clinical and legal access rather than capturing survivor payments.

Name

Women's Advocacy Initiative

Legal name

Women's Advocacy Initiative Inc.

Website

https://wainitiative.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Women's Advocacy Initiative is a 501c3 nonprofit that provides free mental health, legal, and medical support to sexual assault survivors through a referral network, community storytelling programs, and educational seminars, funded by donations and merchandise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Survivor Support and Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAFAD

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGABAF

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/International Development & Poverty Alleviation

SECONDARYBPAGAEAD

Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

Keywords

• Survivor support services
• Sexual violence advocacy
• Mental health referrals
• Legal aid nonprofit
• Community education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: As a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, WAI relies primarily on donations from individuals to fund survivor support services, mental health care, legal assistance, and medical support for sexual assault survivors at no cost to them.
2. Donations: WAI accepts donations in any amount, ranging from $10 to $1000+, with donors receiving personalized receipts via email. Donations directly fund free legal and counseling services for survivors.
3. Merchandise Sales: WAI sells merchandise including apparel (crew neck sweatshirts at $40, t-shirts at $26) and stretched canvas art prints (from $20) featuring Greek mythology-inspired designs that align with their mission. The Mythos Unbound collection is designed by artist Summer Peterson.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Women's Advocacy Initiative is a 501c3 nonprofit that connects sexual assault survivors with free mental health, legal, and trauma-informed medical professionals through its Survivor Support Network. It also runs community programs (Coffee Chats, Share Your Story) and delivers self-advocacy seminars and fireside chats at secondary and higher education institutions.

Product overview

Women's Advocacy Initiative operates as a nonprofit offering survivor support programs including the Survivor Support Network (a referral system connecting survivors with free mental health, legal, and medical services), community programs (Coffee Chats, Share Your Story, Share Your Story: A Global Voice), and educational seminars. The organization also sells the Mythos Unbound merchandise collection featuring Greek mythology-inspired apparel and canvas prints.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Share Your Story: A Global Voice: An initiative to represent multicultural voices of survivors of sexual violence from around the world
• Survivor Support Network
• Coffee Chats
• Mythos Unbound

Products and services

• Survivor Support Network A referral network that pairs sexual assault survivors with free mental health professionals, legal advisors, and trauma-informed gynecologists across linguistic, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds, with costs covered by WAI through donations and grants.
• Coffee Chats A non-recorded Zoom conversation platform where survivors can share their stories with founder Sheerin Gryloo, offering anonymity and agency over their narrative.
• Share Your Story A community platform inviting survivors to share their experiences through art, poetry, written formats, short stories, or quotes, with submissions posted on Instagram and the website.
• Share Your Story: A Global Voice

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce time to begin therapy post-assault by 50% within the first year of Mental Health SSN services
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• End Rape on Campus: National survivor-led organization focused on Title IX reform and sexual assault prevention at higher education institutions. Closely matches WAI's seminars, Title IX consulting, and survivor self-advocacy focus.
• Know Your IX: Survivor-led organization educating students about Title IX rights and combating campus sexual violence. Direct overlap with WAI's educational institution seminar work and self-advocacy mission.
• No More: Coalition and awareness organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault. Comparable awareness-raising and cultural-change mission via campaigns and media.
• Joyful Heart Foundation: Foundation providing healing and advocacy resources to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. Comparable survivor-services and public-awareness mission with broader scope and more established donor base.
• PAVE (Promoting Awareness | Victim Empowerment): Nonprofit promoting awareness and victim empowerment through education, advocacy, and survivor support. Comparable mission and small-org scale.
• It's On Us: Nonprofit running sexual assault awareness and prevention programs on college campuses. Closely comparable educational-institution GTM motion to WAI's seminars and fireside chats.

Broad incumbents

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: Operates the national 24/7 hotline for domestic violence and abuse survivors with extensive infrastructure. Adjacent to WAI given overlap in survivor services, but focused on domestic rather than sexual violence.
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): Operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline and is the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the US. Directly comparable as a survivor-support service provider, but operates at national scale with a much broader scope than WAI's boutique, founder-led model.
• National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC): Provides resources, training, and tools to sexual assault survivor service providers nationwide. Comparable in mission area; operates more as an umbrella support organization to other providers rather than direct-to-survivor services like WAI.

Others

• MyHooha.org: Database founded by WAI board member Maura Deegan helping trauma survivors find trauma-informed gynecologists. Directly comparable referral-network functionality to a core component of WAI's Survivor Support Network.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/wainitiative
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women's Advocacy Initiative