December 22, 2004 October is Koufax Pledge Drive month

Turning Pickets Into Pledges

Via August J Pollak, I learned of a Planned Parenthood program to raise money as a result of anti-abortion protesters at Planned Parenthood clinics:

It's an ingenious idea. Create a no-win situation for anti-choice protesters — the more picketers who demonstrate outside a Planned Parenthood clinic, the more donations the Planned Parenthood clinic receives.

A number of Planned Parenthood affiliates have created different versions of this scenario. Here's how it works at Planned Parenthood of Central Texas (PPCT) in Waco, where the Pledge-a-Picket program is going strong: Each time a protester shows up at the clinic, a donation is made to PPCT. This campaign makes lemonade out of lemons by allowing Planned Parenthood supporters to pledge between 25 cents and one dollar per protester.

Despite the low pledge cap, which is designed to encourage donations, the money adds up, especially since the picketers never go away. Every month, participating donors get a short update on activities and a monthly billing for their pledge. It's like sponsoring a runner in a charity marathon.

Once a week, PPCT puts a sign outside its clinic that says, "Even Our Protesters Support Planned Parenthood." To date, the Pledge-a-Picket program has raised $18,000 for PPCT.


That is a brilliant tactic. Planned Parenthood should note the names of the most frequent protesters and keep a tally of how much money each such protester has raised for the local chapter. Perhaps a series of thermometer charts with the protester’s name and the amount raised by his or her protests could be posted on a local chapter’s web site.

Posted by Dwight Meredith at December 22, 2004 11:32 AM | TrackBack
Comments

This tactic is reminiscent of the sort of campaign that says "Your local loudmouth - chief, sheriff, councillor, rebel - has caused the Empire to donate Eight thousand Pounds to the cause of Undiluted Masculine Suffrage for his Refusal to Silence Himself and the Cripples and hags who form his Band. Resistance is useless!"

(cf. Wolfe Tone)

Posted by: pinch blogger at December 22, 2004 05:50 PM

Brilliant strategy.

Wish that I'd have thought of it, back in my youthful days of protecting women's clinics from the bangers and other assorted psychotics.

You know, like the Baton Rouge P.D.

Never has ceased to amaze me how much time they had to hassle the people on the DEFENSIVE side of the picket lines, whilst ignoring all the bangers who were BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRICADES to spit upon, accost and assault US. But then, the cops never noticed THAT stuff.

Posted by: Anntichrist S. Coulter at December 23, 2004 10:52 PM