National Network of Abortion Funds records
Scope and Contents
The NNAF records document the organization's mission and work to increase access to abortion for low-income women and girls across the U.S. The majority of the collection covers NNAF’s work with their member funds to create easier access to funding for abortions and reproductive justice projects. These files include their membership directory, forms and administrative records of member funds, grant applications and correspondence with grant recipients, and publications aimed at researching or educating about the funding of abortions. NNAF hosted annual summits and conferences which brought together many of their member funds and which allowed them to disseminate information and training. These and other conferences are also well documented.
In addition to NNAF’s work in philanthropy and grant writing, they also had several public advocacy campaigns and projects which are documented in the collection, including their emergency contraception initiative and their advocacy campaign against the Hyde Amendment.
Financial and administrative material is also included in the collection.
Types of materials include publicity, conference materials, Board of Directors' files, funding materials and other financial records, foundation materials, research, publications, correspondence, newsletters, posters, brochures, media kits, advocacy guides, outreach to new organizations, presentations, photographs, focus group recordings, and administrative records. There are also documents generated by numerous other organizations are, e.g. Catholics For a Free Choice, People for the American Way, National Abortion Federation, Campaign for Access and Reproductive Equity, and the National Women's Health Network.
Dates of Materials
- Creation: 1989 - 2020
Creator
- National Network of Abortion Funds (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for use without restriction beyond the standard terms and conditions of Smith College Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
To the extent that they own copyright, the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) has assigned the copyright in their works to Smith College; however, copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by NNAF, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.
Biographical / Historical
The National Network of Abortion Funds is a national social justice organization dedicated to increasing access to abortion for low-income women and girls across the U.S. It was founded by twenty-two grassroots abortion Funds at a conference held May 1-2, 1993 at the National 4H Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland; the NNAF incorporated in 1994. A six-person national board was elected at the 1993 conference, and each board member was assigned several Funds for which they had networking and communicating responsibilities.
Since 1994, the NNAF has charged its board with increasing the organization's diversity of age, race, and ethnicity. From 1993 to 2003, the NNAF functioned with minimal paid infrastructure: office space was donated by Hampshire College (Amherst, Mass.); Marlene G. Fried served as unpaid executive director and fundraiser; Shawn Towhey acted as unpaid communications director; and other national board members coordinated and implemented the programmatic work of the organization through task forces.
Beginning in 1998, grants from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation enabled the NNAF to hire three consultants (development, organizational, and technology), which enabled it to reach new levels of sustainability and growth. In 2005, the board created the position of National Case Manager to oversee distribution of monies specifically designated for abortion funding.
The NNAF works to facilitate networking and to provide support and technical assistance to local member funds, which in turn provide direct assistance to women seeking abortions. The organization also conducts national and state-based advocacy to ensure that those most in need (low-income women, women of color, and young women) have access to abortion and full reproductive health care. NNAF is a member of several national coalitions, including the Training and Access Working Group (TAWG), the Communications Group (communications directors from pro-choice organizations), and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective. For more information see the NNAF Web site: http://www.nnaf.org/index.html
Extent
25.105 linear feet (26 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Spanish; Castilian
Abstract
Abortion rights advocacy group. The records document the organization's mission and work to increase access to abortion for low-income women and girls across the U.S. Their emergency contraception initiative is also well-documented. Types of materials include publicity; founding conference materials; Board of Directors' files; funding materials and other financial records. There are also documents generated by numerous other organizations are, e.g. Catholics For a Free Choice, People for the American Way, National Abortion Federation, Campaign for Access and Reproductive Equity, and the National Women's Health Network.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into six series.
Series:
- Administrative records
- Conferences and meetings
- Publications
- Member funds
- Funded organizations and projects
- Projects and public campaigns
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
As a preservation measure, researchers must use digital copies of audiovisual materials in this collection. Please consult with Special Collections staff or email specialcollections@smith.edu to request the creation of and access to digital copies.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The National Network of Abortion Funds records were donated to the Sophia Smith Collection starting in 2006.
Appraisal
In 2020, while processing the collection, archivists removed duplicate materials, widely available publications produced by other national organizations, the CV of Marjorie Hutter, and materials related to the "Legal But Out of Reach" public campaign.
Processing Information
In 2020, the Processing Archivist, Madison White, created a new arrangement and description for the collection. The material was already largely in titled folders, so these existing folders were simply rearranged into new series. After the new arrangement was complete, a new description was created to reflect the new structure.
Subject
- National Network of Abortion Funds (Organization)
Source
- Fried, Marlene G. (Person)
- National Network of Abortion Funds (Organization)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Abortion -- Economic aspects -- United States
- Abortion -- Political aspects -- United States
- Abortion rights movement
- Abortion services -- United States
- Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations -- United States
- Feminists -- Massachusetts
- Pro-choice movement -- United States
- Reproductive and sexual health
- Women -- Charities -- United States
- Women -- United States -- Economic conditions
- Women's health services
- Title
- Finding Aid to the National Network of Abortion Funds records
- Status
- Enhanced Finding Aid (Completed)
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Madison White.
- Date
- 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 07/26/2017: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)
- 2017-07-26T17:48:19-04:00: This record was migrated from InMagic DB Textworks to ArchivesSpace.
- 2020-11-11: Updated to reflect new arrangement after processing
Repository Details
Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository
