Three Lessons from Building Survivor-Led Solutions

What if I told you one of FinAbility's biggest accomplishments this year was ending a program?

Every year, we pilot new ideas designed to challenge the status quo of survivor services and move us closer to a future where all survivors are financially empowered. Some become permanent. Some don't. All challenge our assumptions.

The following are a few mid-year lessons we’ve learned from our 2026 pilots.

Lesson #1: Friction is the death of impact

Earlier this year, we piloted FinAbility Circle, a monthly peer support community where survivors could discuss financial topics and build community with others who understood their experiences.

The idea came directly from survivors in our other programs who wanted more opportunities for peer connection. Our Survivor Advisory Board felt strongly about the need for this program and helped thoughtfully shape the pilot.

After launching, the feedback FinAbility Circle received was overwhelmingly positive. The program received a Net Promoter Score of 90 out of 100.

However, the attendance was staggeringly low. In fact, fewer than 10% of those who RSVP'd ultimately attended a session.

At first, that seemed contradictory. If survivors valued the program, why wasn't attendance higher?

The answer came down to one word: friction.

Between rebuilding finances, finding stable housing, raising children, navigating court systems, working, and healing from trauma, another recurring meeting often became one commitment too many. Survivors also shared that their schedules were simply too unpredictable to commit to a recurring invitation.

As we spoke with nonprofit leaders, we realized this wasn't unique to FinAbility. Across the social services, organizations are seeing declining attendance at recurring workshops and support groups, whether virtual or in person.

So we ended the pilot. Not because it failed, but because it taught us something essential.

Friction is the death of impact. Even the best-designed program can't change lives if survivors can't realistically access it.

For survivors, flexibility isn't just a convenience. It's a critical part of accessibility.

Survivors need support that is available when they have the time, energy, and capacity to engage. That insight has only strengthened our belief in flexible, survivor-driven programs like our 1:1 Financial Mentorship Program, where participants choose when they meet, how often they meet, and what they want to work on.

Lesson #2: Banks are ready

One of the most encouraging things I've seen this year is how much interest there is from the banking industry in supporting survivors—not just here in Oregon, but across the country.

As we kicked off three national task forces to help build FinAbility's certification for frontline banking professionals, leaders from banks and financial institutions across the U.S. stepped forward to share their time, expertise, and ideas. A special thank you to the American Bankers Association and the Foundation for Financial Planning for helping bring so many voices to the table.

This fall, we'll begin piloting the certification. Like all of our pilots, we're approaching it with curiosity. We don't expect to have all the answers after one pilot, and that's exactly the point.

Instead, we're hoping to better understand:

• How do we best equip frontline banking professionals to confidently support survivors?
• How do we meaningfully bring the banking industry into the movement to end domestic violence—not just as funders, but as leaders helping create safer financial systems for survivors?

Lesson #3: The barriers are the same. The consequences aren't.

Over the past several months, we've held listening sessions across Eastern Oregon and the Oregon Coast, meeting with domestic violence organizations serving rural, frontier, and Tribal communities.

One thing has stood out in nearly every conversation.

The barriers survivors face are remarkably consistent: housing, transportation, childcare, employment, and financial stability.

What changes is the impact those barriers have.

In communities with fewer resources, those same challenges become compounded. A lack of transportation can mean there's simply no way to get to work, meet with an advocate, or access financial services. Limited housing can mean there isn't a safe place to go. Fewer community resources can leave survivors with nowhere to turn for specialized support.

Several organizations shared something that has stayed with me: survivors are often told that if they want access to the services they need, they'll have to leave their communities and move to an urban area.

Every survivor deserves access to financial empowerment, regardless of where they live. By December, we'll publish a statewide landscape report on survivors' access to economic empowerment across Oregon. Those findings will guide the next phase of our work as we partner with advocates, survivors, and communities to pilot what we hope becomes the nation's first statewide model for financial direct services for survivors of domestic violence.

Why this matters

We're living in a time when funders and nonprofits alike are looking for certainty. We want proven models, measurable outcomes, and clear evidence of impact—and for good reason.

But every proven model started as an unproven idea. Meaningful innovation begins with a question, a hypothesis, and a willingness to discover you were wrong.

At FinAbility, we believe the status quo isn't enough. Survivors deserve more than incremental improvements to existing systems. They deserve bold new ideas, shaped by lived experience and built in partnership with the communities they serve.

That's the work we're committed to.

We're creating space for survivors, advocates, bankers, and community leaders to come together to reimagine what financial empowerment can look like. Some ideas will succeed. Others will teach us something even more valuable. Either way, we'll continue listening, adapting, and building toward a future where every survivor has the opportunity to achieve lasting financial security.

If you believe in an approach rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, we'd be honored to have your support. Your gift makes it possible for us to continue asking difficult questions, piloting bold ideas, and building the solutions survivors deserve.