Bucks Victim Assistance Non-Profit Receives $350K Donation

A Bucks County-based organization that provides counseling and support for victims of domestic violence received a major donation from one of its volunteer members.

With the receipt of a pledge of $350,000 from one of its own volunteer victim advocates, Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) has exceeded its capital campaign goal of $1.9 million.

The gift to the Voices Against Violence Campaign is the largest individual gift received by the 40-year-old grassroots nonprofit and brings the campaign to a successful conclusion. The gift is earmarked to fund NOVA’s Mobile School Counseling Program for a period of five years.

The donor, who has not been identified, began working with NOVA in 2004 after retiring from her full time position in the health care field. After receiving NOVA’s intensive volunteer training, she started on the 24-hour Crisis Hotline that NOVA operates in Bucks County. Afterwards, she helped out in NOVA’s Jamison office with everything from stuffing envelopes to covering for the office manager when that person was on a long-term leave.

More recently, she has found a niche in victim advocacy work where she assists victims to navigate the criminal justice system: attend criminal court hearings, help the client get connected to the district attorney in their case and explain the court process to help them prepare for the hearing.

“This is an immensely satisfying conclusion to our Voices Against Violence Campaign on so many levels,” says Barbara P. Clark, NOVA’s executive director. “Beyond her unprecedented financial generosity, we are so grateful for the ongoing generosity of spirit and time from this member of our NOVA family.”

The Voices Against Violence Campaign, co-chaired by former Pennsylvania governor Mark Schweiker and local art gallery owner Kim E. Gronendahl, was conceived to put the only comprehensive crime victim services agency in Bucks County on firmer financial footing.