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I don’t know that there will BE a Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure for much longer, but let the record show that they have been forced into a complete reversal on their high-profile effort to defund Planned Parenthood. This exposed the right-wing tendency inside the foundation’s leadership, appalling much of their membership. It led to the resignations of several high-level staffers. And now, the foundation has been brought to heel.
Grants from the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure are flowing to Planned Parenthood, as the women’s health organizations seek to rebuild their relationship after the controversy in February over the breast cancer charity’s unsuccessful attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.
At least 17 Planned Parenthood affiliates will be funded this year, about the same number that received grants in 2011, according to a tally provided by Komen. The total amount of the grants, which are for breast-cancer screening and other breast-health services, is still being worked out. Most recipients this year also received funds last year.
A half-dozen applications were turned down, mostly because the local Komen affiliates lacked funds, executives said. It is not unusual for there to be more applicants than available funds, although in some locations the controversy has hurt donations.
So to the extent there is any gap in funding Planned Parenthood, it’s because donations are significantly lagging at the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure. And remember that Planned Parenthood raised hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars at the height of the Komen controversy. So they get that on top of the continued grants.
Let this be a reminder to those who try to bring their politics into the realm of charity fundraising. Planned Parenthood grants are one of the main things of value that the Komen Foundation bestows. That money doesn’t go to pink ribbons and hats. I think eventually, donors who want to fund health services for women may skip the middleman and just give to Planned Parenthood rather than the tarnished Komen Foundation. And that would be exactly what the foundation deserves.
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I read that earlier but like NARAL, Komen has jumped the shark for me and there’s no going back. I can give to Planned Parenthood without the Komen filter. They’ve done noble works but that’s a bygone era now.
I sure hope that happens.
Thanks for the post David.
It already is. Can’t tell you how I know but despite Perry’s clown show, PP locally is doing okay for now. But there needs to be continued support from private donors.
Complete and total ass whipping by PP and its supporters. Loud and clear message= Don’t fuck with us.
I hope PP thrives. The next town over from us has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. Contraception and sex education are sorely lacking here in Texas. PP is vital to changing that.
I donated directly and received a lovely letter from Cecile Richards. PP was the most important organization in my undergraduate experience, they saved me.
We’re starting to see some of these victories. I hope they stick. ALEC crying through their various mouth-pieces earlier today was another example.
I personally enjoy bitch-slapping neocons with my wallet. Glad to see so many other people do.
Great read Mr. Dayen, LOVE yer closing premise.
PP kicked misogynist xtian ass!!!
N so did many others . . . who bailed on the faux pink.
Non profit fundraising is FULL of marketing scams and funneled money upwards to executives and contractors.
It’s been a disgrace for decades now.
Yep. That’s nothing new though. I’ve lived here for 46 years.
it has been satisfying.
*secretCliqueHandshake*
I’m proud to say that the school district in our town is expanding the sex ed program for the upcoming school year. Heading in the right direction.
SecretCliqueEyeRoll… ;)
I keep saying that one of these days, one of these “events”, for lack of a better term, will flip this country almost overnight to the left. Then the long, slow slog back to right wingnuttiness will begin anew. I dunno that other nations got through this same cycle but our history is rife with examples.
I keep hoping that the failure to fix the financial markets will result in another crash. My fingers are crossed for the morning I wake up to see bleating headlines declaring BofA or Chase dead.
I think that catastrophe would result in a huge left shift. People despise the banks, and if the government was put in a position to bail one out again, or back other banks in buying a failing bank, I think we’d see a massive backlash.
I’m hoping, (and I actually believe), that it won’t take anything so extreme. A lot of innocents will suffer under that scenario. I believe it will be a seemingly almost insignificant event that proves to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back so to speak.
MrCE does events with local PP. We love them and they are wonderful folks. FYI MrCE’s museum houses the most comprehensive collection of historic contraceptives in the country. One could say, he has a ton of IUDs!
Oh gosh, did I kill this thread?
No. I’m here :)
PP was so important to me as an undergraduate. They made me feel healthy and good about my sexuality. I’ll always love them.
interesting thought. I’m gonna think about that. Hope you’re right
that’s interesting, too! 2 comments in a row. damn. such a quiet thread and it’s really interesting. peeps don’t know what they’re missing.
Hey BF!
Thanks, just a fact of life here in the history of medicine. I’ll send a link (hopefully). In a minute!
Dittrick Medical History Center
Wow, very quiet. Hello pups, it is Friday, um, no, it is Saturday!
I was tempted to whip out a sharpie and make a few choice comments on the pile o pink ribbon shit at the check out of the hardware store the other day.
I hope SGK goes the way of the dodo. Sooner the better.
But not PP.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/01/1060885/-Behind-the-Pink-Curtain-Komen-s-Political-Agenda
Not so noble. Brinker has always had a political agenda and an eye for the main chance. Komen has served her ambitions.
Nope, I’m giving directly to PP like a lot of others these days. Never bought into SGK from the giddyup.
Bravo!
Since it is a little quiet here, CE, I saw Art21 on PBS tonight. They had a little piece on Ai Wei Wei, but they had a great thing on El Anatsui, an artist that I have not known about.
http://www.google.com/search?q=El+Anatsui&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ypG&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=RwOJT5_9CMGQiQLt8vi5Cw&ved=0CDsQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=630
Superb. Bgrothus
i’ve been hatin’ on pink ribbons for years and i am thrilled to have all the company. no offense to anyone here, but i have been mystified as to why people who understand what is going on politically somehow suspend all judgment when it comes to sgk and other pink ribbon groups. one organization, breast cancer action (bca), based in san francisco, has been waging a campaign against pink ribbon PR for years and advocates for research for the cause(s), and focuses on environmental causes. bca is also concerned with disparate impact on minority communities. the difference between bca and sgk is night and day.
in it for the power and the bling. i saw nancy brinker’s book in a bookstore a couple of years ago and started looking through it. i felt sick. she sounded very shallow. i remember thinking she had an odd focus on people’s looks, commenting repeatedly on someone’s physical appearance, whether someone was pretty. this was something she did over and over again as i recall. her values came through loud and clear.
i meant that people suspended all judgment when it came to sgk/pink ribbons. past tense. before they got to see what was behind the curtain.
Saw some pink ribbon products at the 99 cent only store today.
Which means some company is doing product dumping, rather than selling their pink ribbon embossed product through usual channels.
Well, so much for the redneck afterglow.