Interactive Case Study
Erika × Intercambios · A 3+ year journey of acompañamiento
DVSA Communities
A survivor-centered, culturally grounded partnership supporting Erika’s transition from advocate to Executive Director— and a volunteer initiative into a federally funded organization.
Focus
Culturally specific victim services (Latina & Indigenous communities)
Where
Illinois, USA
Acompañamiento Modes
Journey Highlights
From crisis-born cafecitos to federal funding and operational strength.
BEFORE INTERCAMBIOS ENGAGEMENT
Cafecito Community Conversation (National Org)
A rapid-response space, born during COVID-19, to honor connection, saberes, leadership, and dreaming—long ignored by institutions.
Founder of Intercambios continues Cafecito independently (2 more years)
We kept holding the circle after leaving the national org—prioritizing care, consistency, and cultural accountability. Erika named the vision: from a volunteer initiative to DVSA Communities—an established, grant-funded organization.
Founder leads an Exchange of Saberes & Healing retreat (Puerto Rico)
Five cultural leaders (incl. Erika) gather for healing, strategy, and peer exchange with LÃderes Puertorriqueños.Â
DURING INTERCAMBIOS ENGAGEMENT
First Federal Win: OVW
DVSA Communities becomes federally funded; legitimacy + momentum to scale survivor-centered services.
Grant-writing & Budget Partnering (Intercambios)
We walk with Erika as writer, strategist, and cultural mirror; flexible fees while seeking support to cover our time.
OVW Renewal & Expanded Ops Support
OVC Award
With this win, Erika became a full-time ED and ended the two-job juggle.
Intercambios SecuredÂ
$925.000
In Awards
Federal: OVW (first award)
OVW (U.S. DOJ)
Role: Intercambios as grant writer & budget partner; supported meetings & submission.
Impact: DVSA Communities became a federally funded organization.
Dunham Foundation: Grant-writing support (salary buffer)
Writing support micro-grant
Role: Closed the grant-writing funding gap—together we secured salary support for Intercambios (replacing volunteer/low-cost hours).
Impact: Sustained acompañamiento capacity without burdening the org.
Federal: OVW (renewal/refund)
OVW (U.S. DOJ)
Role: grant writting; funded again
Impact: Sustained growth & program stability.
Leadership & Grant Capacity
The Network (IL Coalition)
Role:Â Secured additional funding for grant writing and leadership accompaniment
Impact: Institutionalized grant-writing and leadership support, strengthening federal compliance readiness.
Federal: OVC (award)
OVW (U.S. DOJ)
Role: Grant-writing (presentation format) and coached/acompañé Erika during delivery.
Impact: Enabled Erika to transition from full-time external job to full-time ED.
Principles in Practice​
How acompañamiento shows up in real deliverables.
Acompañamiento
Walk-with-you approach rooted in confianza, not extraction.
Trauma-Informed
We honor pace, safety, context, and identities—and center them in every workstream: grant writing, budgeting, administration, IT, and communications.
Cultural Lens
Center saberes; bilingual/bicultural framing; Honor the lived and inherited wisdom of our communities.
Grant & Budget Co-Learning
Peer networks, narrative strategy, and compliant budgets tied to on-the-ground practice.
Leadership Mirror
Affirm the ED within, especially for leaders long seen only as advocates.
Healing-Woven Coaching
Healing is integral, not separate. Every interaction creates a moment to reflect, support, and uplift.
Comprehensive Offering
Integrated Admin, Budget, IT & Communications delivered with trauma-informed, culturally rooted acompañamiento.
Outcomes & Signals
Simple snapshot of growth across the relationship.
Lessons & What We’d Do Again
Portable insights to apply with other partners.
- Affirm cultural leadership. Name and validate the ED within.
- TA = relationships. Trust before tools; start with a cafecito.
- Trauma-informed pacing. Slow the timeline to protect people & quality.
- Storytelling = visibility. Invest in Communication
- Interconnected capacity. Weave Admin × Budget × IT × Storytelling from day one—no silos, all matter in the first years.
- Invest in healing & leadership retreats. Create spaces where leaders name the dream (e.g., PR healing retreat → clarity for Erika’s ED path).
- Peer budget networks. Learn budgets together—templates, scenarios, and review circles.
- Healing is the sazón that makes capacity stick. Pace, pause, restore.
- Trauma-informed across teams. Train IT and Communications staff when working with cultural leaders.