Man, if there were ever a more controversial nonprofit marketing communications case study, I'd be surprised! The recent Susan G. Komen For the Cure decision to cease its allocations to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings caused such an outcry that within days, the nonprofit reversed its decision, bowing to public pressure.
When the story first broke, nonprofit blogger and author, Allison Fine, started a page on Facebook Causes to support Planned Parenthood. Called "Komen Kan Kiss My Mammogram," the page has raised over $17,000 to date from 1855 members. It doesn't sound like much compared with the $3 million Planned Parenthood has raised in pledges from more than 10,000 donors, but it does demonstrate the outrage so many individuals have expressed.
Susan G. Komen just announced that they are dissolving their partnership with Planned Parenthood. This is a naked political ploy by Komen to defund $1 million to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings in low-income neighborhoods bowing to the anti-choice political agenda of Rep. Stearns (R-FL) and Komen's director of Public Policy, Karen Handel. But we won't let a few idealogues stand in the way of our health!
Then, it was over to colleague, Nancy Schwartz's blog on the subject.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Komen) has struck out again. Komen has acted imperiously and (much worse) carelessly against the best interests of its core stakeholders — women who benefit from its support of breast cancer screening, treatment and research—to please its major donors and nurture its political connections.
Journalists and bloggers across the U.S. were abuzz with opinions, many accusing Komen of kowtowing to the pro-life movement. According to Bloomberg News, "grant rules approved by its board eliminated donations to any group under investigation by the U.S., states or communities. Planned Parenthood said Komen’s action was spurred by pressure from anti-abortion forces, sparking a torrid Internet debate."
After reading a blog post by Gini Dietrich of SpinSucks, I discovered that the Komen board of directors were solely responsible for the decision to pull its funding, against the advice of Komen's senior management team. The board had NOT consulted its own crisis management agency before acting. That was a surprise to me and I voiced my opinion in a blog comment.
What's YOUR take? Has Komen damaged its brand? Can it recover?
Related articles:
Furor over Komen Foundation’s Planned Parenthood decisions (Washington Post)
Komen crisis self-inflicted (Boston Herald)
2 Responses to What’s Your Take on the Komen-Planned Parenthood Fiasco?
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I've made a note in my calendar to check in on this in a year. I'm really curious to see how/if it affects their fundraising and what it means to their reputation and brand. I don't know that they can recover without some serious changes internally.
Good idea, Gini. In my experience, when nonprofits make major faux pas, it can take a long time to recover their brand reputation. Unlike the corporate sector that can throw money at PR fiascoes, nonprofits haven't the will nor the bucks to do the same thing.
I'll look forward to your follow-up post. Thanks for the comment!