As Komen Loses Leaders, Donations to Planned Parenthood Skyrocket
After the Komen Foundation kicked off a controversy by withdrawing its funding from Planned Parenthood, Michael Bloomberg has announced that he'll be donating up to $250,000 towards breast cancer screenings.
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According to The New York Times, Bloomberg "would give Planned Parenthood Federation of America a $250,000 matching gift — he will donate $1 for every new dollar Planned Parenthood raises up to $250,000." Before withdrawing funding, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation had been giving Planned Parenthood $700,000 a year.
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Update (4:15 p.m.): Funnily enough, it's not taken anytime at all for Planned Parenthood to make up for the funds that the Komen Foundation won't be giving them. "In the 24 hours since Komen announced its decision, Planned Parenthood has gotten $650,000 in donations, nearly enough to offset the losses from Komen’s funding," says The Daily Beast. "The group raised $250,000 from its newly launched Breast Health Emergency Fund, which it created to make sure affiliates would still be funded even after the Komen decision -- and it raised an additional $400,000 from 6,000 online donors as of Wednesday night."
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Meanwhile, the Komen Foundation is already starting to lose its leadership. Around the time that news broke about Bloomberg's big donation -- is the the same $250,000 that went to the new fund? -- the executive director of the Los Angeles County chapter Deb Anthony resigned. "There are several decisions that Komen has made in the past year that have led me to decide that my skills and talents no longer fit their model," Anthony told the local CBS affiliate. "I wish them the best."
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Update (5:35 p.m.): More and more women from Komen's leadership are stepping down. The Huffington Post broke the story of Dr. Kathy Plesser, a member of the foundation's medical advisory board, resigning. "I’m a physician and my interest is women’s health, and I am disturbed by Komen’s decision because I am a very strong advocate for serving under-served women," she told the Internet newspaper."Eliminating this funding will mean there’s no place for these women to go." Additionally, we've learned that Komen's leading public health official, Mollie Williams is done. And perhaps most curious, The Decemberists have withdrawn their support of the Komen Foundation and have vowed to raise money for Planned Parenthood. We doubt these names will be the last. To quote a Decemberists song, "Hold tight -- it's just beginning."
