Politics, Religion

Top Komen Fundraiser Quits

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Eve Ellis, a major fundraiser for Susan G Komen for the Cure, has raised her last dollar for the charity. Ellis calls for the resignation of CEO and founder Nancy Brinker and the nine member board to be replace. In an angry letter, Ellis condemns the decision to end funding for Planned Parenthood’s breast screening as political and misguided.

The Komen brand may have been tarnished beyond salvation. Pulling funding for breast cancer screening for the poorest, underserved women in our society has turned a once beloved brand into a reviled brand in a mere couple of days.

While donations from the Planned Parenthood haters have helped, they may not be sustainable. Corporate sponsors may be having second thoughts. In a move perhaps unrelated to the Planned Parenthood episode, Pepperidge Farm is concluding “its sponsorship of Susan G. Komen for the Cure at the end of 2011 for business reasons.” General Mills and its Yoplait brand of yogurt “will continue to partner with organizations that will have the greatest impact in that fight.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

There are five “Races” coming up in March including the big one in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has released a statement saying they were strongly opposed to the Planned Parenthood policy. What will be the turnout? Will there be protests?

The Komen brand will be tested in the coming months. Maybe appealing to religious conservatives will turn out to be a winning strategy.

H/T: The Guardian, POLITICO, Jodi Jacobson, The Hill, US News, LA Times, Advertising Age.

54 thoughts on “Top Komen Fundraiser Quits”

  1. SwM
    Just saw it somewhere in the news that they had been defeated in a vote of some kind. Was it a post here? Anyway, it had to do with a bill proposed in the legislature I believe. At any rate, it was down south and thought such a pro-choice would not be possible there.

  2. Mike S: “The most problematic to me of these Agencies were those who dispensed money to other entities that provided the actual services. These dispensers were usually high profile entities, using political connections to get City contracts for services and then “farming” the work out to other non-profits. The problem with this was that the City should have dealt directly with the actual service provider, saving money by eliminating the middleman.”
    —

    That points up a big problem with charities that are ‘pass-through’ agents, the dollar you contribute has some percentage of it skimmed for operating costs at each step. Even if you were dealing with a 15%/85% ratio if you gave the dollar to the primary and they passed it along to one other charity and the money stopped there, 30% of your dollar is gone. Even low expense charities end up having a burdensome expense load (for the giver) if the money gets passed through. I prefer to give directly.

    Did the City take your advice and give directly?

    1. LK,
      No they didn’t my advice and when I gave it the Executive. Deputy Commissioner I reported to stopped talking to me. I refused to approve the contract though and two weeks later a similar scandal hit another Agency and the Giuliani. Admin decided to lay low for awhile and follow the rules. From what I understand it’s business as usual under Bloomberg.

  4. Swarthmore Mom,

    Your comments prompted me to do more reading. The GA Right to Life endorsed a slew of Rep. candidates – but not Handel. One reason: she supported abortion in some cases depending upon method of conception (I assume that means rape or incest). Now this will really turn your stomach…they attacked Handel as being “barren and desparate”. Seems she has been unable to have children and supports invitro fertilization. GA Right to Life is against invitro. Latest word from head of GA RtoL is much more positive towards Handel.

  7. curiouss, I assumed that since she was endorsed by Palin that she was the most right wing. I guess I was wrong.

  9. Swedes once had to go to communist Poland to get their abortions.
    Not now.
    Agree on drones and banks. I can even get rabid on both issues.
    But our chances óf influencing are perhaps greatest with social issues.
    Am so happy that pro-life was defeated in Louisiana (I think it was).

  10. Swarthmore mom,

    From the Daily Beast, 2/8/12….

    “Then she was derailed by abortion politics. After coming in first in the initial primary, she came under vicious attack from opponent Nathan Deal and from Georgia Right to Life during the runoff. They lambasted her for voting in favor of a grant to Planned Parenthood when she was a county commissioner, for her belief that abortion should be legal in cases of rape and incest, and for her support for IVF. The debate over the last issue got agonizingly personal. Handel had been open about her unsuccessful struggle to have a child. Georgia Right to Life President Dan Becker said he understood that being “barren” was painful to her, “but it should never be attempted to be addressed where a life is taken in the process.”
    Reproductive politics loomed so large that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution began a story on the race by saying, “Contrary to popular belief, Karen Handel and Nathan Deal actually have discussed more than just abortion in their runoff campaign for the GOP nomination for governor.” Handel insisted that she was anti-abortion and anti–Planned Parenthood, but it wasn’t enough. She lost the runoff by 2,519 votes.
    Next time she runs for office, she’ll be in a far better position. On Tuesday afternoon, she was on Fox News denouncing Planned Parenthood’s “vicious attacks and coercion.” For an ambitious Southern Republican, there are few messages more winning.”

    I don’t know if I can find it, but I also heard an interview where she remarked that that attacks on her were ironic given that she has lost her race by being considered insufficiently pro-life.

  11. idealist707. We should be talking about drones and banks, but the republicans want to ban contraceptives along with abortions so here we are again in a culture war. This would never happen in Scandinavia. I have been to Denmark but not Sweden.

  13. re: “Looks like the link to my post is pushing woo regarding a link between induced abortion and breast cancer. Guess I’ve got a topic for one of tomorrow’s posts.”

    I am looking forward to it. Maybe you will follow the truth wherever it leads. Maybe you won’t.

  14. SwM
    Off topic; my Tucson informant says the board of education has decided to stop free lunches for needy kids. What humiliating process got them that outrageous privilege, the kids. Sarcasm. And did they have to show a needy card when passing the cash register!

    Anyway, it is a social issue in the election year as you noted, and they were Republicans!

  19. Curious, Handel was the most pro-life candidate in the race. She was “pro-personhood”.

  20. Looks like the link to my post is pushing woo regarding a link between induced abortion and breast cancer. Guess I’ve got a topic for one of tomorrow’s posts.

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