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Some Lessons Learned While Starting an Abortion Fund

October 11, 2011 By 1 Comment

Several weeks ago I wrote about the frustrating experience I had trying to open a post office box for the Abortion Access Network of Arizona.  Well, I’m proud to report that AANA has gotten its feet off of the ground, and we are ready to take names and kick some ass.  We’ve had a few snafus since we started in June, but we’ve also learned several practical lessons along the way.  Here are a few tips in case you’re trying to start an abortion fund/nonprofit yourself.

There is one overall tip for all of these steps – and that is to pick a consistent physical address for your abortion fund. You will need it for your articles of incorporation, business license application, PO Box, bank account, and many other things that I’m probably forgetting. None of us wants the possibility of antis showing up on our doorstep for a home protest – but the reality is that if the antis are determined to show up your house, they’re going to do it anyway. So pick a physical address that you can use, and then use the same address on all your paperwork.

1. Establish your contact information. You will need a phone number and an e-mail account for all of the paperwork you are about to file. You can get a free phone number through Google Voice that will forward voicemail to your e-mail address. It’s pretty snazzy.

2. Get your EIN. An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is something you get for free from the IRS. You will need it to open a bank account, file for a business license, open a post office box . . . basically, everything you need to be a legit organization. [Read more...]

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A Road Bump on the Road to Our Abortion Fund

August 4, 2011 By 13 Comments

A friend of mine and I are currently in the process of getting an abortion fund established in Arizona.  The process of establishing a 501(c)3 has been moving along quite smoothly, thanks in large part to the support we’ve been getting from the National Network of Abortion Funds.  That is until now.

Today I went to the post office to open a PO Box for our abortion fund.  The first clerk I spoke to was very polite and she showed me how to fill out the paperwork, told me that I had the proper forms of identification to open up a box, and then reassured me that there were boxes available.  I left the counter to fill out the form, and then waited in line again to turn it in and get my key.

The second clerk I spoke to was less than helpful.  As soon as he saw Abortion Access Network of Arizona on my application, he told me that I didn’t have the proper identification.  He told me that I needed to bring a piece of mail that had my mailing address on it in order to open the account.  I asked him why I needed to show where I get my mail, when I was clearly trying to get my mail at the post office.  I also asked him where it said that on the paperwork, because according to the form I filled out, I needed a driver’s license and voter ID card – both of which I had.  Then he had the nerve to tell me there were no boxes available, even though the first clerk had already checked.  [Read more...]

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A Conversation With One of the Founding Mothers of NNAF

June 13, 2011 By 2 Comments

Editor’s Note: Feminist Conversations is a regular feature, where we talk to feminist activists from across the interwebs to find out what type of pro-choice activism they’re up to. Today we’re talking to Barbara Melrose, one of the founders of the National Network of Abortion Funds.

Barbara was born in Los Angeles in 1928 and attended the public schools and UCLA. At the University of Illinois, Barbara completed a Masters in Communication Disorders and was starting doctoral study, but was thrown out of the program when she married Jay Melrose, a New Yorker and fellow student. Her adviser couldn’t “waste” his time on someone who was “going to stay home and have babies.” When Barbara’s children were in junior high school, she completed a doctorate at the University of Iowa and taught at both the University of Massachusetts and Springfield College.

I was lucky to meet Barbara at the NNAF summit in Denver. Talking to her about her activism was very inspiring. Read her interview and find out what I’m talking about.

1. When was the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts founded, and what was the motivation for starting it?
ARFWM was already established when I joined. Staff at the University’s Health Center grew weary of digging into their own pockets to help students who found themselves pregnant and needed support to get to New York for abortions. Abortion was still illegal in Massachusetts when ARFWM was founded, but it was legal when I joined. [Read more...]

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Friday News Roundup

December 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Should Violence Against Women Be Considered a Hate Crime? – A Radical Profeminist
‘Tis the Season to Support Your Local Abortion Fund – The Abortioneers
The Company They Keep: Congressmembers Meet with Anti-Abortion Extremists – RH Reality Check
New York Attempts to Put Brakes on Crisis Pregnancy Centers – Women’s e-News
Should Children Wear the Hijab? – Womanist Musings

And in honor of Hannukah, here’s an article about religious tolerance during the holiday season.

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