Why Wouldn’t Planned Parenthood Take $500,000?
I tried. I really did. I was ready to arrange a $500,000 donation to Planned Parenthood in Texas. The donor was in the car on the way to meet the CEO, checkbook in hand. But then Planned Parenthood called and told him to turn around. They didn’t want his money.
Want is the only word for it. Because, Planned Parenthood sure as hell needs it. See, in Texas, Governor Rick Perry has viciously attacked family planning and health organizations like Planned Parenthood. Not only eliminating local funding, but depriving them, this year, of more than $35 million in federal funding. The situation has already become “acute:”
“Nearly 25% of Tarrant County (Fort Worth) residents lack health insurance, and 15% live below the poverty level… The 2011 legislative session was an especially difficult one for Planned Parenthood in Texas. The Legislature cut family planning funding by more than two-thirds, and now the non-partisan Texas Legislative Budget Board estimates than more than 300,000 Texans will lose access to family planning, cervical cancer screenings, breast health exams and other critical preventative health care services…”
Those are their words, not mine. So why did Planned Parenthood turn down nearly a half a million dollars they could put to good use?
Because the donor was bestselling author Tucker Max.
As an advisor and strategist for big authors and big brands, I find myself solving strange problems. The problem Tucker had come to me (that led to this) was one them:
“Ryan, I have a huge tax burden this year. I can reduce it with a large donation to charity, but I want to promote my new book at the same time. Can you come up with something cool that does both?”
The first thing out of my mouth stunned him—which isn’t easy to do considering the audience.
“What if you gave a bunch of money to Planned Parenthood and they named a clinic after you? They need donors, it’d be awesome and you’d get a ton of positive press out of it for a change.”
I wasn’t joking but I figured the idea was crazy. But whatever the origins of the idea were, we ended up seriously considering it out of a genuine desire to contribute to Planned Parenthood in a state where it was desperately needed. As long as I’ve known Tucker—a card-carrying member of the University of Chicago School of Economics who also has a law degree from Duke—he has been pro-choice. He was a wild partier for a long time, and by extension, a strong advocate for the use of contraceptives and regular STD testing.
Tucker thought about it for a few days and called me back, “They really did help me and my girlfriend when I was poor, I really do believe in their mission, and if this money doesn’t go to them it goes to the government anyway. Let’s do it.”
His excitement was quickly reciprocated by Planned Parenthood’s Dallas office. When Tucker’s assistant reached out and expressed our interest in making a donation large enough to name a clinic in Texas (fully disclosing his bosses name and occupation), Aimee Boon, a VP there, gushed over email:
“I am so pleased that your employer is interesting in considering a named gift…We would be honored to have his support, and his gift would make an enormous impact in our ability to meet the needs of our rapidly growing community in North Texas.”
The crazy idea looked like it could actually happen. Several more emails were exchanged laying out the donation tiers and what naming rights would cost (between $250,000-$500,000). After discussing the details over the phone expressing how serious we were about this and proving Tucker’s financial qualifications, a final lunch was set with between Tucker and the CEO Ken Lambrecht a few days later in Dallas. Tucker set out to make the 3 ½ hour drive from his home in Austin.
And then Planned Parenthood got in its own way.