HAWC Healing Abuse Working for Change

What HAWC Healing Abuse Working for Change does

HAWC Healing Abuse Working for Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1978 and headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts. It operates as the leading regional domestic abuse services agency for Massachusetts' North Shore, serving 23 cities and towns and approximately 2,500 families per year through offices in Salem, Lynn, and Gloucester. Its service portfolio spans a 24/7 crisis hotline (1-800-547-1649), one-on-one individual advocacy, court-based legal advocacy (with presence at Salem, Lynn, Gloucester District Courts and Essex County Probate and Family Court), an emergency family shelter capable of housing up to 7 adults and 18 children, children's services including the 12-14 week Parent-Child Trauma Recovery Program in partnership with North Shore Medical Center, time-limited support groups (10-12 weeks), and multilingual outreach materials in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and Haitian Creole. The organization does not operate a technology product; its underlying infrastructure consists of standard nonprofit case management and donations processing (SalsaLabs), with virtual and in-person appointment delivery channels.

HAWC is mission-driven rather than commercially oriented: all services are free, voluntary, and confidential to survivors regardless of gender, immigration status, or background. The revenue model is a diversified nonprofit funding stack rather than a transactional pricing model. Sources include government grants (Community Development Block Grants from Salem, Peabody, Gloucester, and Lynn; Massachusetts Department of Public Health; Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance via SAFEPLAN and VOCA; federal Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice), private philanthropy (Cummings Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, Essex County Community Foundation, Tower Foundation, Marigold Charitable Trust, and others), tiered corporate partnerships (Changemaker, Catalyst, Ambassador sponsors including Eastern Bank, Agero, and Solimine), and planned giving (Healing Circle membership for gifts of $5,000+, charitable bequests, and remainder trusts). Go-to-market is community-led: HAWC reaches survivors through the hotline, courthouse and hospital partnerships, schools, religious organizations, social media, and community events such as the annual Walk for HAWC and the Working to Heal Breakfast. The organization is led by Executive Director Sara Stanley (appointed 2018) and a Board of Directors, with no parent company or subsidiaries.

Name

HAWC Healing Abuse Working for Change

Legal name

Healing Abuse Working for Change

Website

https://hawcdv.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HAWC Healing Abuse Working for Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1978 that provides free, confidential domestic abuse services, including a 24-hour hotline, emergency shelter, legal advocacy, and children's programs, to 2,500+ families annually across 23 North Shore Massachusetts communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropy: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, HAWC relies on individual donations, corporate partnerships, and charitable foundation support. Donations are tax-deductible.
2. Government Funding: HAWC receives government funding from Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) from cities including Salem, Peabody, Gloucester, and Lynn, as well as Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, and federal funding through the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) - U.S. Department of Justice.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Annual corporate partnership program with tiered sponsorship levels (Changemaker, Catalyst, Ambassador) providing recurring annual commitments from businesses.
4. Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts: Healing Circle membership requiring tax-deductible gifts of $5,000 or more, charitable bequests, and charitable remainder trusts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HAWC provides a continuum of free, confidential services to survivors of domestic abuse across Massachusetts' North Shore, including a 24/7 hotline, emergency shelter, individual and group counseling, court-based legal advocacy, and community/teen prevention education. All services are provided at no cost to survivors and are delivered across 23 cities and towns from offices in Salem, Gloucester, and Haverhill.

Product overview

HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for Change) is a nonprofit domestic abuse services organization that provides a comprehensive suite of direct services to survivors of domestic violence. The organization operates as a single integrated service delivery model rather than a software product platform. Core services include a 24-hour crisis hotline, individual advocacy, children's services including the Parent-Child Trauma Recovery Program (PCTRP), emergency family shelter, legal advocacy with court-based services and pro-bono legal clinics, and support groups. HAWC serves 23 cities and towns on Massachusetts' North Shore and provides multilingual resources in English, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Services are free, voluntary, and confidential, with appointments available in-person or virtually at offices in Salem, Lynn, and Gloucester.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 24/7 Domestic Abuse Hotline
• Emergency Shelter
• Individual and Group Counseling
• Legal Advocacy
• Teen Peace Prevention Education
• Community Education and Outreach

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves more than 2,500 families per year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Salem State University - PEAR ProgramsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2021Partnership for virtual community conversation on dispelling domestic abuse myths and empowering survivors. Jessica Stevens from Salem State's Prevention, Education, Advocacy and Response Program collaborated with HAWC.
• North Shore Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Parent-Child Trauma Recovery Program providing dyadic, play/expression-based therapy for children ages 2-12 and their protective parents. Clinical partnership for trauma-informed care.
• Paul Kurker, Vice President & Team Leader, Commercial Banking at Eastern BanksupportingOthersBoard of Directors member who nominated Executive Director Sara Stanley for the Diamond Award.
• SafeLink - Massachusetts Statewide Domestic Violence Housing HotspotcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide partnership to ensure available shelter space is accessible to survivors who need it. Coordinates with HAWC's emergency shelter program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Victim Rights Law Center: Massachusetts-based legal advocacy nonprofit focused on serving trafficking and sexual assault survivors. Specialized peer in the legal advocacy component of HAWC's service mix, particularly pro bono attorney network development.
• SafeLink - Massachusetts Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline: Statewide Massachusetts DV hotline operated by Casa Myrna Vazquez that HAWC partners with for shelter coordination. Comparable in mission, but focused on hotline and referral rather than the full direct-service suite HAWC delivers.

Regional players

• YWCA of Greater Newburyport: Provides domestic violence and sexual assault services on Massachusetts' North Shore with a similar advocacy and shelter model. Regional peer with overlapping but more limited geographic coverage compared to HAWC's 23-city footprint.

Direct peers

• Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center: Massachusetts-based domestic violence agency operating emergency shelter, advocacy, counseling, and youth services. Comparable in mission, funding mix (government + private), and integrated service model, but serves the North Shore-adjacent Merrimack Valley region.
• REACH Beyond Domestic Violence: Waltham-based Massachusetts domestic violence nonprofit providing shelter, hotline, counseling, and community education. Direct service-model peer with similar 501(c)(3) nonprofit structure and government/private funding mix.
• Casa Myrna Vazquez: Greater Boston's largest domestic violence services nonprofit, providing shelter, hotline, legal advocacy, and economic empowerment. Operates an almost identical integrated service model to HAWC across a different Massachusetts region, making it the closest geographic comparable.
• Transition House: Cambridge, Massachusetts domestic violence shelter and services agency operating the region's oldest DV shelter. Direct peer with comparable service mix including emergency shelter, hotline, advocacy, and children's services.

Broad incumbents

• Safe Horizon: New York City's largest victim services nonprofit, operating domestic violence shelters, hotlines, legal advocacy, and counseling. Significantly larger in scale but offers the same integrated service model that HAWC delivers regionally.
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline: National 24/7 hotline and resource service for domestic violence survivors. HAWC partners with SafeLink (the Massachusetts affiliate); The Hotline is the national-scale analog for the hotline component of HAWC's services.

Others

• Salem State University PEAR Program: Campus-based Prevention, Education, Advocacy and Response program that has partnered with HAWC on community education. Adjacent ecosystem partner in survivor outreach and awareness rather than a direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/hawcnorthshore
• Facebookfacebook.com/HAWCNorthShore
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hawc-healing-abuse-working-for-change
• Instagraminstagram.com/hawcnorthshore

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 HAWC Healing Abuse Working for Change