Komen cuts ties with Planned Parenthood

great explanation from the CEO and founder of Susan G. Komen  msnbc.msn.com


Komen cuts ties with Planned Parenthood. The headlines are everywhere. Planned Parenthood is shocked. I laughed out loud, several times, as I read an article from the New York Times.  I found myself laughing because of the stupidity of the media and their lack of knowledge regarding nonprofits.

I'm going to start off with the statement from Komen Foundation:

"February 1, 2012-  ...some organizations are no longer eligible to receive Komen grants. Some might argue that our standards are too exacting, but over the past three decades people have given us more than just their money. They have given us their trust and we take that responsibility very seriously. ...our focus always and will continue to be the women we serve. ...we are working to ensure that there is no interruption or gaps in services for the women who need our support most in the fight against breast cancer."  (for full statement)

 Before I jump into this topic, let me break down a few basics for nonprofits...Nonprofits apply for grants from foundations, corporations, government, etc. meaning...

1. No nonprofit can assume they will get a grant each year. It's an application, which may change year-to-year. 
2. Receiving grants is not a right. It is a privilege. Let me repeat that one, it is a privilege to receive money from anyone. If a nonprofit wants to change who they give their hard earned money to, they have every right to do so, as long as they stick to their mission.
3. The biggest point I've been taught to obey in nonprofits is to be 'donor-centered'. Think about it, nonprofits don't have owners, they have donors, your donors are giving because they want trust you will put their money in the best interest of the mission...
4. I've always been taught that no nonprofit should ever rely so greatly on a given funder for when the funding stops. It happens all the time, tragic stories of nonprofit organizations doing amazing things when a major donor dies or they do not get a certain grant and baam, no more organization. (don't put all your eggs in one basket, ever heard of it?)

Now let's go back up to that statement... some organizations are not eligible for the grants any longer because  they are changing the applications (it happens, they have the right to change things). They are doing this for the best interest of the organization (focusing on it's mission, being donor centered). They pledged at the end "As we move forward, we are working to ensure that there is no interruption or gaps in services for the women who need our support most in the fight against breast cancer." If you truly desire an end to breast cancer, you will trust Komen knows what is best for breast cancer prevention, as that is their mission (why so much criticizing then people!? They're doing what they feel is best!).

"A spokeswoman for the Komen foundation, Leslie Aun, told The Associated Press that the main factor in the decision was a new rule adopted by Komen that prohibits grants to organizations being investigated by local, state or federal authorities. Ms. Aun told The A.P. that Planned Parenthood was therefore disqualified from financing because of an inquiry being conducted by Representative Cliff Stearns, Republican of Florida, who is looking at how Planned Parenthood spends and reports its money." (I got that from a New York Times article and it had some hard-core liberal media bias. Getting off my soap box now...)

Komen is a foundation who decided to change the requirements of grants. It happens all the time. Yes, even to large nonprofits like Planned Parenthood. It's all part of the 'finance game' for nonprofits. Countless times I've been told in my nonprofit classes: "as a nonprofit, never rely so much on one donor, grant, special event so much that if you were to lose it your organization would fail". Ahh, and why? Because it happens all the time.

The president of Planned Parenthood, Celie Richards explains that “Until really recently, the Komen foundation had been praising our breast health programs as essential, this really abrupt about-face was very surprising. I think that the Komen foundation has been bullied by right-wing groups.” (I got that from the New York Times too...)

Oh, so the fact that Planned Parenthood is being investigated wasn't enough of a reason for a foundation to stop funding you. Last I checked a donor has the right to be protective of the money its donating...and for some reason Komen foundation wants to be sure Planned Parenthood is spending their hard-earned donated money in an efficient, life-saving way. Sorry you're under investigation Planned Parenthood? (sarcasm...)

[sidenote: this current investigation is not the first for Planned Parenthood- what about that one time when the government almost defunded Planned Parenthood completely? Or remember that really sketchy thing that happened in Kansas with those files and Planned Parenthood and then somehow the files were shredded... oh yeah, that didn't make them look like they were hiding anything...Celie Richards, sorry you feel the need to blame 'right-wing groups' for 'bullying Komen' when in reality the nonprofit you are president of is going downhill...(again, sarcasm- I'm not really sorry...)]