Abortion Access Project
50
16
"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: Cambridge, MA
Founded: 1992
Mission: The Abortion Access Project is committed to access to safe abortion for all women in the U.S. We believe that by being clearly focused on abortion within the context of our broader values we will make a significant contribution to women’s health and autonomy.
Tags:
national, women's reproductive health, health reform, advocacy, abortion, health care, reproductive justice, resource services, abortion safety
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Melanie Zurek.
Melanie Zurek is AAP’s Executive Director, providing vision for the organization. Since 2004, she has led the organization to strategically respond to growing disparities in abortion access and stewarded AAP’s continued growth as a national resource for innovative approaches to improving access. Melanie has spent more than 10 years working on issues of reproductive health. Prior to AAP, Melanie… See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
16.42%
Total Revenue:
$648,058
From the Nonprofit
|
Brooke McConnell
Development Officer Sep 30, 2010 |
We hope you will consider a gift to AAP and deeply appreciate your commitment to women. As an organization within the pro-choice movement, we hold guard over the full continuum of reproductive health, including and especially abortion. We work with… Read More. |
Contact Info
Website:
abortionaccess.org
E-Mail:
info AT abortionaccess.org
Phone:
617-661-1161
Address:
PO Box 410164
Cambridge, MA 02141, USA
Story:
As a catalyst for change, the Abortion Access Project (AAP) has a rich legacy of ground-breaking programs that shapes the strategic nationally-focused reproductive rights organization it is today. Founded in 1992 by physicians and social justice activists, its origins reflect the intersections between reproductive health and justice that are the foundation of the AAP approach. AAP’s pioneering strategies to advance concrete and lasting improvements in the accessibility of abortion care as well as its emphasis in building cross-sector relationships and alliances are core values since the organization’s grassroots inception. While the organization has matured into a rigorous professional organization, AAP has never lost the activist spark that ignited it. Its current efforts and future directions build off what has been unique and most successful about AAP in the past and are inspired by the compelling story of ground-breaking ideas born of an activist vision. The history of AAP, a marriage of activism and professionalism, is the strong foundation for the organization’s current work with its own unique contribution to reproductive health and rights movement.
Expert Reviews of Abortion Access Project
Evidence of Impact Summary:
The Abortion Access Project was noted for its commitment to supporting the accessibility of reproductive health resources. Their reproductive health framework and on the ground treatment received praise.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
The Abortion Access Project is repeatedly praised for its willingness to collaborate and the strength of their leadership.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
Improving fundraising in light of the economy was frequently mentioned as an area for improvement.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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Foundation Professionals (F)
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Impact |
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They have stayed focused on issues that are amenable to real change and stayed with those areas over the long-haul. For example, they work on the licensing of medical professionals other than MDs to do abortions at the state level and on ensuring that hospital mergers do not result in the termination of abortion or other reproductive health services. | ||
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They have successfully integrated abortion care into primary care settings in rural and other underserved areas. | ||
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They have helped to make it legally possible for mid-level practitioners to perform abortions in several states, promoted appropriate teaching of reproductive health care in nursing programs, and facilitated the provision of abortion services by physicians in underserved areas. | ||
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They are doing advocacy and research to address provider scarcity. | ||
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They apply community activism methods to improving access to abortion care. They use field organizers who are embedded in their communities and building long-term and diverse strategic networks. This is the only organization that focuses on building capacity in nursing practice/education communities (ROE-Reproductive Options Education Consortium). | ||
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Abortion Access Project is innovative and creative in identifying and initiating new ways to improve access to abortion and reproductive health care, especially in rural and under-served areas. The organization has pioneered work in the areas of mid-level clinicians being able to perform abortions, and in finding new venues for training doctors. It also does well at identifying potential partners, and treats those partners with respect, which amplifies its success and its community. | ||
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Abortion Access Project provides a framework for state level advocates helping increase access to abortion. | ||
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Increasing the number of abortion providers is key to the accessibility of abortion service delivery in the future. The Abortion Access Project looks at non-traditional providers and trains them to become integrated abortion providers both in their practices and community. | ||
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I believe the Abortion Access Project is unparalleled in having shown a generation the way to leverage local lessons learned and strategy-building and how to build linkages through collaborative work. | ||
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They work in creative ways to make abortion access a reality through multiple routes; they expand the scope of practice of midlevel providers and review of laws and regulations that permit provision of medical abortion by midlevel providers. They also provide training and advocacy. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Foundation Professionals (F)
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Leadership |
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Their leadership is strong, committed and they function effectively on a national level despite a small budget. | ||
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The management team and ED are exceptional; they're competent and play well with others. They have a strong and committed board. They convene meetings that have been implemented twice that blend networking, strategic planning with innovations across multiple objectives. | ||
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Their leadership is excellent. They also make good use of consultants, leveraging existing expertise in several different states, while maintaining a small staff and managing its expenses carefully. | ||
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The leadership demonstrates tremendous vision. | ||
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Albeit centered in MA, their presence across the country makes them understand the needs of the states they serve better than a 'tops down' organization. Melanie Zurek, ED, is young and understands how to navigate organizers, foundations, and medical providers. | ||
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They've always had strong leadership and used a very smart grassroots informed model of communications/marketing that, while it isn't sophisticated, it spoke to population groups in a very succinct way. | ||
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Leadership, staff, and collaboration are strengths. | ||
Leadership & Program Design |
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They have an excellent executive director, a clear strategy, and excellent partnerships with a wide range of other organizations at the national and state levels. | ||
Innovative |
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They are entrepreneurial and nimble. | ||
Collaboration |
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Abortion Access Project's special talent is working with other organizations and bringing them together to improve services. Their staff is also highly effective. | ||
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I have witnessed them making meaningful connections between researchers, providers, and policy makers. | ||
Program Focus |
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The Abortion Access Project takes on risky projects that no one else will try. | ||
Operations |
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They make very creative use of limited resources to enhance provider training and access to a wider range of primary care providers trained to do abortions (a critical need at this time). They have effective leadership, good spokespersons, and are well managed. | ||
Mission |
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A strength is its unique mission and targeted projects to further that mission. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Show:
X
Foundation Professionals (F)
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Fundraising |
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They need to develop a broader funding base and higher visibility among potential donors. | ||
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They need to diversify their funding base. They could strengthen their communications capacity. | ||
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The organization is trying to improve its fundraising from individual donors but has a long way to go. | ||
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They could strengthen their reputation within the medical provider community and their fundraising efforts would be an asset. | ||
Funding |
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They need funds to take their programs to scale and reinforce their core operations. | ||
Website |
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Their website needs improvement especially the ROE section. | ||
Scalability |
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The Abortion Access Project is growing very fast and needs to develop a way to maintain its culture and perpetuate its track record of success while it expands. Also, the staff members are virtually all very young, and are all white: some diversity of background and perspective would help it be an even better organization. | ||
Capacity |
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They could improve with greater capacity to do local work. | ||
Misrepresentation |
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They have an interesting collaboration-based operating model, but they often take credit in their newsletter for others' results. On two occasions, they used another organization's name and letterhead without permission to increase their credibility. | ||
Collaboration |
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I wish there was more opportunity for model-sharing with other state and region-focused organizations and younger activists in the southwest and northwest. | ||
Brand |
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They need to enhance their profile. They're a small organization but have had high impact in their area of endeavor. | ||
Leadership
Melanie Zurek
Executive Director
Executive Director
Melanie has spent more than 10 years working on issues of reproductive health. Prior to AAP, Melanie served as the Education Outreach and Training Manager for the Family Planning Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. At the Department of Health, she managed the program’s sexual and reproductive health education initiatives as well as provided training, outreach and community education resources to contracted family planning provider agencies across the state. Melanie has also served as the Coordinator of Professional Education at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. There she provided training in comprehensive sexuality education to parents, educators, and health professionals.
An educator and writer by training, Melanie’s career began teaching autobiographical writing workshops in New York City battered and homeless women’s shelters and has included work with government agencies, Native American tribes, and adjudicated minors. She has consulted on numerous health communications, curriculum development and professional training projects and served on the Board of Directors of the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund. She received her B.A. from the New School for Social Research in New York and her Masters in Education from Harvard University.
Melanie continues to be a sought after voice in the reproductive health movement, sharing her perspective and AAP’s innovative strategies with colleagues at reproductive and public health venues.
From the Nonprofit
|
Brooke McConnell
Development Officer Sep 30, 2010 |
We hope you will consider a gift to AAP and deeply appreciate your commitment to women.
As an organization within the pro-choice movement, we hold guard over the full continuum of reproductive health, including and especially abortion. We work with clinicians who provide abortion care and on behalf of the women who need it. As a generous supporter of AAP, you are part of a unique and prolific approach to expanding access to abortion through strategies that unfold on the ground instead of in the political arena. Your generosity supports AAP's work with health care providers, expanding services where they are most absent but undeniably needed, and on behalf of all women. |