The recent leak of the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overrule Roe v. Wade has spurred giving to nonprofits on both sides of the abortion debate — but the impact appears to be greater for organizations that help people access abortion care.
Organizations weren’t eager to talk about the impact the news had on their fundraising. The Chronicle contacted 18 groups, but only seven responded. Of those that agreed to speak, many said the leak has created a sense of urgency.
The news energized fundraising at the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, a Santa Monica, Calif., organization that provides financial assistance to health clinics and doctors throughout the county who provide abortions and emergency contraception to women who can’t afford such services. The organization saw a steep increase in donors since the disclosure of the draft opinion, according to executive director Sylvia Ghazarian.
She said her group communicates regularly with its supporters through direct-mail, phone calls, and social media anytime abortion-related news breaks, so she suspects the increase in donors came from a combination of direct outreach and people searching the internet for like-minded organizations to support.
That increase includes new donors, annual donors who have signed up to give monthly, and donors who have increased the amount of their gifts. Ghazarian says she has seen a roughly 10 percent to 15 percent increase in new donors to her organization since the leak and an approximately 11 percent increase in the number of supporters who are men.
“When these types of emergency events happen, whether it’s an earthquake or something of that nature, people reach deep into their pockets to give, and this is like that,” Ghazarian said. “This is a time of crisis.”
She says the group has raised about $250,000 since news of the leak, nearly tripling what the nonprofit usually raises in a week’s time. She says the nonprofit is now about $60,000 over the amount it raised last May.
“We’re getting a younger audience right now who are giving and also interested in volunteering, whether that’s doing a fundraiser for us or reaching out to their followers on social media. We’ve seen a surge there,” said Ghazarian, who added that the group’s donors typically range in age from 30 to75.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a national women’s health-care and abortion-rights advocacy organization, saw an uptick in support since the draft opinion disclosure, but Jethro Miller, the nonprofit’s chief development officer, would not disclose how much money it has received since May 2. He said giving has been “a healthy combination of existing donors making additional gifts or increasing the size of their monthly gift and then thousands of people who are new donors.”
Miller said 70,000 new supporters have signed on with the organization as either donors or volunteers and it has received “tens of thousands” of new one-time gifts. He thinks if Roe is overturned, the organization’s base of supporters will grow even more.
“I fully expect that after Roe is overturned and state bans go into effect and people see what it means for individuals, they’ll start giving to us and all kinds of other organizations that are trying to ensure patients have what they need and are able to get care,” Miller said.
Wendy Sealey, vice president for development at the Guttmacher Institute, which researches the impact of abortion access, says the group has seen a muted response from donors — but that doesn’t worry her. “It’s important for donors to also fund abortion funds and reproductive-justice organizations,” Sealey says.
The Guttmacher Institute is a legacy advocate for abortion rights. In February, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott made a $15 million unrestricted gift to further its work. That support sets it apart from less well-funded abortion funds and other grassroots groups that offer practical support for people seeking abortion care and are often led by women of color, Sealey says.
“We recognize that even though we have a need for resources, there are other organizations that are on the front lines that have the need for resources as well,” she says.
Additional Gifts
The Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia, a small Catholic charity that primarily provides housing and other services and programs for low-income pregnant women and new mothers, saw a slight increase in gifts in the week following the disclosure, said Tom Stevens, the organization’s CEO.
Stevens said the group normally receives about $2,500 a week but got seven additional contributions totaling $1,700 that probably would not have come in if the draft opinion had not been leaked. But he says his charity has not sent additional solicitations.
“Groups on both sides have put out emergency solicitations, but we didn’t do that because we didn’t feel the leak changed anything,” Stevens said, noting that the state’s current governor is pro-choice, and he anticipates the next governor will be pro-choice as well. Abortions in Pennsylvania are currently legal but with a number of restrictions. The state does not have “trigger” laws that would make abortion illegal if Roe is overturned.
If the Supreme Court does overturn Roe v. Wade this summer, Stevens isn’t worried his donors will think the fight against abortion is done and stop supporting his organization. He thinks such a move could lead to greater awareness in the state about abortion in general — and could possibly lead to a decrease in the number of women there opting for abortions.
“If abortion becomes less available and more women have babies, then what’s going to happen to those babies and moms, especially the impoverished moms? So we’re going to be increasing efforts to create more awareness and ask for more donations to help impoverished moms,” Stevens said. “We’ll be fundraising around that side of things.”
ProLife Across America has not seen a rise in donations since the leak, according to director Mary Ann Kuharski. The Minneapolis media and advocacy charity runs a hotline and pays for nationwide billboards and radio, print, and online advertisements that encourage women not to have abortions.
She said there’s a slim possibility some of her donors might stop giving if the justices overturn Roe, but she isn’t that worried about it.
“There’s always the possibility, but I think our people know there’s always going to be a need for pregnancy support,” Kuharski says. “All this decision would mean is it will go back to the states and it will be decided state by state, so this is not going to turn overnight.”
Increased Demand for Services
In Minnesota, where the constitution ensures the right to abortion, Our Justice, the state’s abortion fund, is bracing for a 371 percent spike in demand for its services if Roe falls. “For many people across this country, Roe has never been enough,” says Leah Soule, the group’s development manager. State legislation, such as the Texas law that bans all abortions after six weeks, has shone a spotlight on groups like Our Justice, which provide free emergency contraception and cover the costs of abortion pills and procedures.
“What we are trying to do is fill a much larger gap that is a part of a much larger structural problem,” Soule says.
Since the leak, Our Justice has seen a “significant” increase in individual donations and a roughly 50 percent rise in monthly donors, Soule says. If Roe falls and more states curtail abortion access, she says, these donors will be essential to ensuring abortion care for Minnesotans and people across the country.
