Thank you so much for looking into how to get involved with this network. That is so exciting that you want to support abortion funding! We appreciate you.
If you are living in an area where there are already abortion funds operating, we strongly encourage you to support the work existing groups are doing, as opposed to starting a new fund, unless you’re a Black, Indigenous, or People of Color-led group of organizers who see a need in your community landscape for a new abortion fund. Please read this article for more context on why supporting existing funds, not starting a new fund, is important! You can check out this list of NNAF member funds on our website to find funds that might be local to you whose efforts you can support. The only states that do not have operating abortion funds are Delaware and Hawaii. There is also a new fund in Connecticut that you can reach out to if you are based there (here is their website). They are not yet an NNAF member fund which is why they are not listed on our website.
At the moment, we have limited capacity to offer support to funds who are not NNAF members. But if you are a Black, Indigenous, or People of Color-led group of organizers who see a need in your community for a new fund or there are no funds in your region, here are a few steps that we recommend in starting your fund:
- If you haven’t done so already, we strongly encourage you to first connect with any abortion funds that are operating in or neighboring the region you hope to serve. Please check out this list of NNAF member funds on our website to find funds that might be local to you. Funds are the experts on abortion funding in their area. These regional relationships are crucial in coordinating support for folks that are seeking abortions in your region.
- Please expect that response times may be slower at this time, as abortion funds are holding a lot and prioritizing responding to callers!
- We strongly recommend doing a community scan of the community your fund hopes to operate in. This will help in identifying what services your community needs and what partnerships with local organizations you want to develop.
- If you are interested in applying for NNAF membership, please email fundmembership@abortionfunds.org and we will send you a community scan worksheet and an application packet.
- We might start a support group for funds that are just starting out! If this group would be of interest, please let us know when you email us with your interest in applying for NNAF membership!
Thank you so much! If you have questions, feel free to reach out to this email address and we will try to get back to you as soon as we can.