Who we are | Autonomy & access Fighting for justice for all

Bowling (yes, bowling!) for NC abortion access

The Carolina Abortion Fund believes that income should not limit individuals’ ability to make reproductive decisions.

The Carolina Abortion Fund (CAF)is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization that helps those who are seeking an abortion but cannot afford the full cost.

Established in 2011 to respond to new state laws that made it more difficult for women to access abortion, the Carolina Abortion Fund believes a person’s income should not limit her ability to make her own reproductive decisions.

The Fund operates a helpline that people seeking financial assistance for an abortion can call at any time. Carolina Abortion Fund board members and volunteers are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year in order to ensure callers receive the help and advice they need. Volunteers are trained to be responsive and compassionate,

providing a judgment-free zone for those calling the helpline.

At the Carolina Abortion Fund, we hear from callers every day about the sacrifices they make in order to afford an abortion. They go hungry to feed their children, borrow money from friends, and sacrifice their rent payments. In addition to the challenges of scraping together funds, many must travel more than an hour to reach a clinic, as well as arrange for childcare and time off from work.

The truth is: the Carolina Abortion Fund would need a budget of $375,000 per year just to meet the needs of those who call our helpline. Our current budget is a fraction of that number, and our funding constraints mean that we say “no” to callers much more often than we can say “yes.”

Recognizing that the extreme actions of the NC General Assembly had significant consequences for the patients we serve, members of the Carolina Abortion Fund were consistently on the front lines of the Moral Mondays movement to protect the rights of North Carolinians.

Board chair Ali Nininger-Finch spoke out at rallies and was arrested for peaceful protest at the General Assembly, and CAF’s social media coverage of legislative hearings and rallies was recognized nationwide and shared by national organizations including EMILY’s List and prominent writers including Katha Pollitt of The Nation.

While the Carolina Abortion Fund works to improve access to reproductive health care in North Carolina on a person-by-person basis, state policies that address this issue on a systemic level are clearly needed.

We will continue to welcome opportunities to fight for the rights of our patients and other low-income North Carolinians, and we remain committed to maintaining strong collaboration with reproductive justice organizations and other progressive groups in the coming months.

More than 250 bowlers, team captains and spectators came out to the AMF Durham Lanes in April 2013 for the second annual Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon, CAF’s signature fundraiser event.

The event raised more than $43,000, a 126% increase from our total of $19,000 in 2012, our first year of participation!

For the second year in a row, CAF won the national “Best Bowl-a-Thon” award from the National Network of Abortion Funds. We hope you’ll help us defend our title — and break our fundraising record — in April 2014!

Photo courtesy of Amber Ball

Photo via the Raleigh News & Observer

CAROLINA ABORTION FUND DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA2012-2013 ANNUAL REPORT

2012-2013 Board of DirectorsAli Nininger-Finch Board Chair

Ali Nininger-Finch Board Chair

Julie GrubbsSecretaryDylan EllerbeeTreasurer

Kristi SwansonVice Chair

Jennifer Clark Kristin CruzCynthia GreenleeLeah JosephsonKelsea McLain

It has been a year of exponential growth for the Carolina Abortion Fund. We’ve expanded not just in the amount of funds we are able to distribute, but also in our capacity to respond to the legislative attacks from the North Carolina General Assembly this year. With this first annual report, we’re excited to share all of our accomplishments from the past year.

We’ve been able to greatly increase our number of patient pledges this year, thanks in large part to our second, wildly successful Bowl-a-Thon, which you can read about on page 1. There are also statistics on the folks our fund has been able to help, and a table showing just how far our funding goes on page 3.

North Carolinians experienced a barrage of vicious attacks to reproductive rights during the most recent legislative session. You can read about the specifics of these policies and how they could affect the work of the Carolina Abortion Fund on page 7.

We would not be able to do any of our work without the generous support of our donors, volunteers and board of directors. There are times when working for abortion access in the South can be exhausting and overwhelming, but all I need to do to be rejuvenated is talk with a helpline volunteer who just finished a shift and is eager to sign up for another, or remind myself that North Carolina was, incredibly, second in the nation in Bowl-a-Thon fundraising. The Carolina Abortion Fund is a success because of you, and I cannot thank you enough for your support. I look forward to another year of this critical work for North Carolina.

A message from our board chair | Ali Nininger-Finch

BOARD & CONTACT INFORMATION

Chair Ali Nininger-Finch (second from left) and the CAF board members address the more than 250 bowlers and spectators who attended the 2013 Bowl-a-Thon.

Photo courtesy of Amber Ball

Contact usEMAIL | info@carolinaabortionfund.orgWEB | www.carolinaabortionfund.org TOLL-FREE PHONE | (855) 518-4603

carolinaabortionfund.org/donate

Stories from the CAF helpline | Fighting false information

Carolina Abortion Fund by the numbers | 2012-2013

Maurisa* (name has been changed) called the helpline after we had maxed out our weekly budget and after she had already contacted the National Abortion Federation, so unfortunately our helpline volunteer wasn’t able to offer her any financial assistance that day.

Before she hung up the call, our helpline volunteer made sure to ask if Maurisa had any further questions, as we do at the end of every call. Maurisa said she wasn’t sure about the clinic address and asked if we could verify it.

When the address didn’t appear in our records, our helpline volunteer googled the clinic. It turned out Maurisa had unknowingly made an appointment for a late second trimester procedure at a crisis pregnancy center. These non-medical anti-abortion “clinics” lure women with promises of medical assistance but ultimately try to convince them not to choose abortion, often using misleading or false information. After a moment of shock, our helpline volunteer was able to direct Maurisa to a nearby clinic that would provide genuine medical care.

Even when we can’t provide funding for our callers (which is too often), the Carolina Abortion Fund serves as a crucial resource for women seeking abortion services.

CAF BY THE NUMBERS 3carolinaabortionfund.org/donate

“I am inspired by our callers because it takes so much courage to call a stranger and ask for money for an abortion. Calling my legislator or showing up to protest just seems easy in comparison.”JEN Carolina Abortion Fund volunteer & donor

“Every time I have to return a call to a caller and tell her that we’re out of funds, I remember that women in this state still need our support, our time and our donations.”CLAIRE Carolina Abortion Fund volunteer

0

$50,000

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14(budgeted)

$11,604

$47,474

$200

FUNDS DISTRIBUTED TO PATIENTS low-income patients’ medical bills funded since 2011234North Carolina clinics currently accepting CAF pledges22new volunteers trained to keep the helpline running 24/715lanes occupied by 250+ bowlers & supporters at Bowl-a-Thon ‘1332percentage of your donation that will go directly to patients in 201495

But we get an average of 48 helpline calls each week - and can only fund 7 patients weekly at our current budget.

Thanks to you, we’ve made incredible progress.

FISCAL REPORT 2012-20144

FISCAL REPORT | FY 2012 -2014

Fiscal year 2012 Fiscal year 2013

As a new organization with limited donor history and funding sources, our annual budget is designed to operate off of the previous year’s income. This strategy, which may be revisited as the organization builds capacity, allows us to operate within our means and provide patient grants every week of every year while simultaneously building our budget for the following year.

Our first year in existence was 2012, and efforts that year were primarily dedicated to making the fund structurally and fiscally operational. Thus, the few costs incurred were related to administrative set-up, research and network building. The charts below illustrate how much was raised and spent by the brand-new Fund in FY 2012.

In FY 2013, we started the year with a budget of $18,000 based on funds raised in FY 2012 that had not been spent in FY 2012. In the fall we began funding clients, eventually settling on a pledge total of $300 per week. In FY 2013, 91% of all expenditures went to patients. This was largely possible because of extremely low operating costs and our all-volunteer efforts.

FY 2012 income

Other fundraising efforts

Bowl-a-Thon*

$6,010.38

$14,125.70

FY 2012 expenditures

$1,055.93*

$200.00

$190.00

Client grantsAdministrative expenditures

Travel costs

*Travel costs were comprised exclusively of costs related to the National Network of Abortion Funds conference in Chicago, IL, which was attended by five founding board members.

Note: Funds raised in FY 2012 were designated for the FY 2013 budget.

*The Bowl-a-Thon is a collaborative fundraising effort with the National Network of Abortion Funds. These totals indicate our gross income after sharing some costs with NNAF.

FY 2013 expenditures

Client grants

Other expenditures

Administrative expenditures

*Other expenditures consisted of organizational membership fees, supplies and materials, etc.

$11,604.04

$749.78 $449.15*

FY 2013 income

Other fundraising efforts

Bowl-a-Thon*

$11,474.00

$38,500.00

carolinaabortionfund.org/donate

FISCAL YEAR 2014 BUDGET 5

2014 BUDGET | The year aheadIn our first year of funding, we underestimated the number of women to whom we would pledge funds but ultimately did not show up to their scheduled appointment. This number, which accounted for 30% of the money we pledged to callers, amounted to $4,097.03. These funds have been set aside for an emergency fund. In FY 2014, we accounted for a 30% “no show” rate and increased our weekly budget accordingly.

We project that an even greater percentage (95%) of our budget will be dedicated to client grants in FY 2014. We are proud to pledge $1,300 per week to clients, a 430% increase from FY 2013!

Budget category

TOTAL

Operations Donor management system (Nationbuilder), Quickbooks, P.O. box fees, helpline management system, phone support, website hosting fees

$1,700.00

Patient pledges Pledges to clients for assistance with abortion costs (pledges go directly to clinics)

$47,474.00

Conference travel Supplemental travel funds for board members and volunteers to attend the annual National Network of Abortion Funds conference

$500.00

Fundraising expenses Printing and postage; miscellaneous event-related costs

$500.00

$49,974.00

Projected annual cost Description

Sincere thanks to our volunteers - we couldn’t do it without you!

CAF helpline volunteers have contributed countless hours to ensure our helpline is running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Volunteer support has enabled us to designate more than 90% of our annual budget directly to patient pledges rather than administrative costs. Thank you to the 2012-13 helpline volunteers:

And a special thanks to the volunteers who planned and staffed the 2013 Bowl-a-Thon:

carolinaabortionfund.org/donate

Ali S Allison GCarmen MClaire LElizabeth HHilary T

Katelyn B-CKatherine PJaimie LJen FMaggy BMary G

Jessica RSam CSara CSarah CSarah O

Allison LClaire L Elese SElizabeth H Jaimie LJennifer SKate DKristen A

FUND HISTORY & VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR6

In August 2011, a small group of folks had a meeting with the intention of starting an abortion fund in North Carolina. We started off slowly, meeting occasionally in cafes and restaurants to discuss the process for founding a federally recognized nonprofit as well as what to call ourselves (“Sweet Potato Justice Fund” will always be my favorite). We met at each other’s homes to develop bylaws and a pilot patient intake system.

By December 2011, we had received our 501(c)3 status from the IRS, rented a P.O. box, purchased a toll-free number, set up a bank account and received our first donations. The Carolina Abortion Fund became a real entity.

Between February and April 2012, the board organized its first Bowl-a-thon Fundraiser with the assistance of the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF). Our goal was modest: sign up 50 participants and raise $5,000. In the end, we signed up over 100 people and raised nearly $19,000 the first year. Our overwhelming (and admittedly somewhat surprising) success was recognized by NNAF, which awarded us the “Best Bowl-a-Thon” award for 2012.

A year after the Carolina Abortion Fund was just an idea, and a few months after we raised the seed money from the first Bowl-a-Thon, we expanded past our pilot funding system and opened our helpline to anyone needing financial assistance to pay for abortion services in the state of North Carolina.

In its first two years, the Carolina Abortion Fund established a secure fundraising program — including 100% board giving, a signature fundraiser in the annual Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon, house parties and an end-of-year campaign.

Having raised nearly $50,000 in our second fiscal year, we were able to triple the number of callers we can help each week. To date, we have given out grants to over 200 callers across the state, and now have a roster of 17 committed volunteers who help us return calls every day.

History of the Fund | Where we’ve been

2013 Volunteer of the Year

Speaking out for NC women

We’re proud to recognize Kelsea McLain as our first volunteer of the year. Kelsea was the very first trained CAF helpline volunteer, and her contributions to the intake system throughout our first full year of funding have been invaluable.

Having previously worked at a women’s health clinic, Kelsea’s prior experience with patients made her transition to become our overall volunteer coordinator seamless. We were so impressed by the scheduling and reminder system she created that we asked her to join the board of directors.

In her “free time,” Kelsea organizes volunteers to serve as patient escorts at clinics throughout the Triangle and tweets about local reproductive justice issues at @Triangle4Choice. Congratulations, Kelsea!

CAF served as a communications resource for statewide and national organizations throughout the state legislative session.

Board members attended committee meetings and live-tweeted legislative action. They created lighthearted images like the one above to draw attention to serious issues in a humorous way. Throughout the summer, CAF social media posts were frequently cited by national organizations like EMILY’s List as well as prominent progressive writers.

carolinaabortionfund.org/donate

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 7

Legislative update | Abortion restrictions in NC

Having heard significant confusion and misinformation regarding the many new anti-abortion restrictions enacted during the summer legislative session, we wanted to use this opportunity to share a detailed description of the new laws and their current status.

We want to reiterate that, for now, the clinics are still open. The Carolina Abortion Fund is still funding every week. We are committed to continuing our work and collaborating with reproductive justice community partners to ensure North Carolinians have access to safe and affordable abortion services regardless of the actions of the General Assembly. We will continue to adapt to all new circumstances that arise, and we’ll continue to use your contributions wisely to help low-income North Carolinians get the medical care they deserve.

In July, Gov. Pat McCrory went back on his campaign pledge to not support further abortion restrictions. He signed Senate Bill 353 (the notorious “Motorcycle Vagina” bill, nicknamed for the sneaky inclusion of anti-abortion provisions in a totally unrelated motorcycle safety bill) into law.

The law requires abortion providers to have facilities comparable of those to ambulatory or outpatient surgical centers. McCrory’s refusal to block the measure means that many of the state’s estimated15 abortion clinics — not including hospital-based providers, who already meet such standards — will be faced with steep bills to renovate or relocate their facilities to comply or be forced to close their doors. This requirement, however, will be on hold until guidelines are developed by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

If that weren’t enough, other new abortion-related laws recently went into effect:

Also in July, the governor signed a state budget allocating $250,000 to crisis pregnancy centers, which actively discourage women from seeking abortion, often provide abortion-risk misinformation, and are known to involve nontrained staff members purporting to be qualified health-care workers.

Additionally, thanks to McCrory and the General Assembly, North Carolina’s seventh-grade health teachers will be responsible for teaching that abortion increases the risk of later premature births — a patently false claim that has been thoroughly contested by leading public health researchers.

Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for news as to whether part of HB 854, misleadingly known as the “Woman’s Right to Know Act,” will be enforced. Passed in 2011, this legislation required biased pre-abortion counseling, a 24-hour waiting period, and a forced ultrasound performed at least four hours before a scheduled procedure. While the counseling and waiting periods have been implemented, a judge blocked the ultrasound requirement, ruling that forcing physicians to read a nonmedical text written by politicians compromised doctors’ First Amendment rights to free speech. U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles heard arguments for the case in August, but there has been no additional news to date.

For those covered by city and county government insurance plans, abortion coverage is now limited to those cases involving rape, incest or life endangerment. This means that these public employees and their dependents have no access to insurance policies that allow elective abortion.

Abortion coverage was stripped from the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace in North Carolina aside from cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. No state funds may be spent for any insurance plan that includes abortion outside those exceptions, which means NC consumers have fewer insurance plans from which to choose.

Doctors doing surgical abortions must be present for the entire procedure, even when qualified nurses are available. Furthermore, physicians have to be in the same room with a patient when she receives the first of two dosage of abortion-inducing pills, eliminating the patient-friendly option of beginning her procedure at home with a doctor’s consultation.

carolinaabortionfund.org/donate

Please consider joining them at a minimum of just $5 per month to support the Fund all year long. Sign up online: carolinaabortionfund.org/sustain

THE CAROLINA ABORTION FUND WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PARTNERS FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT

Thanks entirely to the generosity of our donors, the Carolina Abortion Fund is able to help North Carolinians pay their medical bills. We would like to thank the 940 donors in North Carolina and across the country who supported the 2nd Annual Abortion Access Bowl-A-Thon.

Below is a list of the local businesses who supported the 2013 Bowl-a-Thon. Please take a moment to thank them for their support of abortion access the next time you stop in!

Thanks to Amber B. and Ryan T., who donated their talent and time to photograph the 2013 Bowl-a-Thon.

Because we distribute grants each week through the year, we know event fundraising is not the most sustainable way to fund our work long-term. For this reason, we started a monthly sustainer program and hope to grow it significantly in 2014. We are excited to thank our founding sustainer donors:

Carey PCorey F

Daphne M Erika W

Garrett D

Howard G Jason S

Jeffrey B Jennifer C

Jennifer C (yes, two!)

Jennifer SJohn D Kelly W

Kelsea M Kristi S

Lee S Mary G

Nancy GSarah C

Subramanian R

Thanks also to Laura L., Anu K. and Kirsten S., the special supporters who hosted house parties in support of the Fund last year.

Altered Image Hair DesignersAMF Durham Lanes

The ArtsCenterBountiful Backyards

Callaway JewelryCarrboro Yoga Company

Carrburritos TaqueriaEden Fantasys

Flyleaf BooksLaura Azar Pottery

Market Street Coffee & Ice CreamThe Painted Bird Boutique

The PinhookA Remix Art Gallery

Spotted Dog Restaurant & BarTownsend Bertram & Company

Ipas, for supporting the Carolina Abortion Fund financially as the lead sponsor of the Bowl-a-Thon for two years running, and for recognizing the need for abortion access in our own community and around the worldPlanned Parenthood Health Systems, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and NC Women United, for working tirelessly to protect the reproductive rights of all the citizens of our stateKym Register and The Pinhook, who contributed a portion of venue proceeds to CAF each Wednesday throughout the summer and fallThe North Carolina health clinics who work with us to accommodate pledges, for ensuring all patients receive the care they need and deserveThe National Network of Abortion Funds, for being a champion and financial supporter of our Fund from the beginningThe more than 100 state-based and international abortion funds, for being such a collaborative, compassionate and inspiring community of activists