In Our Own Voices Inc.

In Our Own Voices Inc., a minority-owned and Black American-owned nonprofit based in Albany, New York, operates as a federal grant recipient delivering trauma-informed victim advocacy, safety planning, crisis intervention, and culturally specific outreach services to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The organization acts primarily as a grant recipient (63% of recent awards) and as a sub-recipient under state and federal pass-through grants (37% of recent awards), with all work concentrated in the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women programs and related victim-services funding.

In Our Own Voices serves a highly concentrated customer base. The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women accounts for 13 of 16 total awards (81% of the portfolio), with the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs' Victims of Crime program and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Planning and Development office rounding out the four-agency footprint. The organization's award concentration underscores its specialization: it does not diversify across federal agencies but deepens its focus within DOJ victim-services programming.

Recent prime grant work includes a $400,000 project grant from the Office on Violence Against Women under the Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services Program (CFDA 16.016) awarded August 1, 2026, running through July 31, 2029, to expand a mobile advocacy model delivering trauma-informed support in community settings including libraries, Department of Social Services offices, health clinics, and courthouses across the Albany area. A prior continuation grant of $600,000 under the Grants for Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations program (CFDA 16.889), running October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2026, funded outreach and direct services to Black and Latino/a LGBTQ+ victims in partnership with Centro Civico, including a dedicated victim advocate and mental health counselor. In Our Own Voices also holds a Legal Assistance for Victims grant from the Office on Violence Against Women covering comprehensive direct legal services and civil advocacy for abuse survivors, and a Culturally Specific Services grant emphasizing community-based trauma response for Black and Latino/a survivors.

As a sub-recipient, In Our Own Voices receives pass-through funding from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and the NYS Office of Victim Services, supporting the Capital Region LGBT DV/SA Anti-Violence Project and related sexual assault training and technical assistance programs. Sub-award activity spans 2022 to October 2024, with two awards from the NYS Office of Victim Services under the Victim Assistance Program and multiple awards from NYDCJS for direct anti-violence services and training delivery.

Activity volume remains modest but stable across the portfolio's five-year window — two awards in 2018, four in 2022, five in 2023, one in 2024, and one in 2026 — with combined dollars obligated at $5.6 million. The organization's federal footprint and capability set reflect its mission as a specialized provider of LGBTQ-centered, culturally specific victim services rather than a diversified service contractor.