2014 ANNUAL REPORT I used to think population growth was an environmental issue, but it’s a human rights issue as well. —Kenneth Weiss, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Capitol Hill Days Keynote Speaker
Raising Public Awareness
Educating Our Youth
Campaigning For Change
PRESIDENT’S NOTE:
A YEAR OF PARTNERSHIP, A YEAR OF CHANGE Dear Supporter: Population Connection marked a significant milestone in 2014. Our 47th year brought tremendous growth in our scope of work to stabilize population, with thanks to our community of generous supporters like you. As our organization’s capacity has grown, so too have our programs. In 2014 we engaged close to half a million new people—supporters gaining awareness about population growth’s impacts on our environment, food and water sources, women’s empowerment, and the wildlife sharing this one small planet with us. We’ve expanded our educational and outreach programs, adding new staff members to develop alliances with more educators, schools, college groups, and policy makers. We’ve strengthened our bonds with other nonprofit organizations in the women’s rights and environmental worlds—leading the way on international family planning with national coalitions of women’s reproductive rights groups and environmental organizations. Your voice matters when it comes to population stabilization. In everything we do, we keep you in mind. We bring the population perspective to the table no matter where we go—advocating in Congress for increased funding for family planning programs, educating children in schoolrooms, or screening films on college campuses. Every step of the way, we are grateful to the people like you who make it possible for us to work on human population growth—the greatest challenge of our day. Thank you for being a partner in this movement. Sincerely,
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GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY
John Seager President & CEO
Campaigning For Change Population Connection works closely with our sister organization, Population Connection Action Fund, to support progressive family planning legislation in the U.S. Congress and White House. Together, the two organizations and our loyal members and activists represent the nation’s leading voices advocating for population stabilization through international family planning funding. In 2014 we embarked on an ambitious agenda: • Defending family planning funding levels against cut-backs; • Urging President Obama to use his executive authority to improve women’s access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care around the world; and • Establishing new roots in additional battleground states across the country, where the future of U.S. family planning programs will be decided.
Family planning funding levels Last year, we were successful in holding steady against our opponents, by maintaining the $610 million allocation that we have seen since President Obama took office and raised funding levels by more than 40%. We also successfully defended the United Nations Population Fund’s funding at more than $35 million, protecting this critical family planning agency from desperate attacks by foes in Congress.
Establishing new roots Population Connection’s field program expanded its targeted efforts in Ohio, Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, and North Carolina. We raised awareness and galvanized advocates to take action to end population growth and empower women. The generous support of our members allowed us to add new field staff in 2014. They are dedicating their time to inspiring and encouraging activists around the country to create a climate of support for family planning programs.
CAPITOL HILL DAYS 2014 Population Connection’s signature advocacy event grew in 2014, welcoming more enthusiastic and passionate activists than ever before. Nearly 150 participants hailing from 28 states across the United States met in Washington, D.C. to learn about population challenges and the value of family planning access.
2 Participants immersed themselves in population and reproductive rights issues, training to become effective lobbyists and learning from leading population, environmental, and women’s rights experts and advocates. Capitol Hill Days activists took this training and sent a clear message to their government representatives. Lobbying nearly 130 congressional offices, our activists urged national leaders to help millions of women around the globe through increased federal aid for family planning programs. Top LEFT Capitol Hill Days 2014 Attendees
Top Right Population Connection member and teacher-trainer, Jean PerryJones, with Senator Harry Reid
Middle Students meeting with Senator Sherrod Brown’s staffer
Lower Left Johns Hopkins graduate student, Emmanuelle Calvet, with Rep. Jim McGovern
Lower Right Lehigh University students with Rep. Charlie Dent’s staffers
POPULATION EDUCATION Educating Our Youth
Our supporters have helped to make Population Education (PopEd) the leading source for K-12 curricular materials and professional development on human population trends.
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PopEd prepares young people to make educated decisions about their futures and the future of our global society and environment. Our teacher outreach wouldn’t be possible without the invaluable work of volunteers, who facilitate three-quarters of our workshops. In 2014, our volunteer trainers (K-12 teachers, university faculty and non-formal educators) conducted 404 of our workshops nationwide, providing an in-kind contribution of more than $242,000. In 2014 we expanded our reach by hosting two weekend-long Leadership Institutes, in Bainbridge Island, Washington and San Marcos, Texas. These annual events prepare educators from around the region and country to facilitate workshops in their local communities. We sponsored attendance for 56 university educators from 12 states and two Canadian provinces in 2014—and they left the event excited to contribute their talents to Population Education as future volunteers. We also expanded the Population Education staff by two in 2014 to enable us to reach more colleges of education and school districts nationwide.
2014
2014 Bainbridge Island Leadership Institute Attendees
total workshops 546 teachers trained 10,594 students reached 3 million
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World of 7 Billion
Student Video Contest Winners Kayla Briet (on the topic of Water Sustainability) Marius Vaitkevicuis (on the topic of Climate Change) Tim Eddy (on the topic of Global Poverty)
Kayla Briet
Marius Vaitkevicuis
Tim Eddy
2014 HIGHLIGHTS Raising Public Awareness
Thanks to incredible supporters across the country, Population Connection was more active than ever in 2014. Here are some of the year’s top achievements.
3RD ANNUAL WORLD OF 7 BILLION VIDEO CONTEST The Population Education program hosted its 3rd Annual Student Video Contest, receiving 929 entries from high school students in 27 countries. Students demonstrated the impact of population pressures on climate change, water sustainability and global poverty. All spent multiple hours researching their subject to create 45-second public service announcements raising awareness about the perils of unsustainable population growth.
5 HELMS AMENDMENT In partnership with Population Connection Action Fund, we garnered more than 400,000 signatures on our petition calling on President Obama to modify the enforcement of long standing restrictions on support for safe abortion in the developing world. Our members also generated more than 50,000 messages to members of Congress, calling on them to support expanded access to family planning services around the world.
ANNUAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE For the first time ever the Population Education program hosted two Leadership Institutes in one year. The institutes prepare educators to facilitate PopEd teacher training workshops in their local communities.
POPULATION CONNECTION IN THE NEWS Instead of tweaking taxes on middle-income earners in the name of future prosperity, we should focus on breaking the cycle of poverty by reducing teen births through real sex education, mentoring and access to contraception. — John Seager, Population Connection President & CEO, in April 2014 New York Times article “Don’t Reward or Punish Childbirth With Tax Credits”
Reproductive choice is a human right that doesn’t just benefit individual families—it also boosts entire economies and helps protect the natural resources we all depend upon. — John Seager, Population Connection President & CEO, in January 2014 Huffington Post Blog entry “Did You Make a New Year’s Resolution? Did You Break It Yet?”
The likely hero for improving planetary outcomes is family planning, made widely available and affordable for women and couples around the world. It’s effective and definitely worth the investment. — John Seager, Population Connection President & CEO, in July 2014 Huffington Post Blog entry “Hollywood’s Dystopian View of Population: Entertaining But Not Realistic”
6 NYC CLIMATE MARCH Population Connection co-sponsored The People’s Climate March with other national environmental organizations. The march was organized to coincide with the 2014 UN Climate Summit and was the largest gathering of climate activists to date. Population Connection supporters and staff joined the 400,000 people in attendance at the march.
GET OUT THE VOTE Population Connection joined forces with League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (LCVEF) to mobilize voters from traditionally underrepresented populations—including single young women and minorities—who have begun to play a key role in national elections. We helped LCVEF reach and give voting instructions to prospective voters in these critical groups.
2014 FINANCIALS Population Connection Schedule of Activities for the Year Ended December 31, 2014
Contributions 87%
Thanks to our generous 2014 donors, we’ve mounted major new efforts in the fight against rapid population growth.
| Membership 7% | Investment income 1% | Foundation Grants 1%
Government Relations 24%
Revenue $11,307,713
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Contributed Services 3% and Materials
Assets Released .4% | Other Revenue .6% | Net From Donor Restrictions
| Communications 19% | Population Education 17%
Expenses and Other Support $6,961,701
Field and 17% Outreach
11% | Fundraising 8% | General and 4% | Membership Services Administrative
BOARD OF DIRECTORS as of June 2015 Duff G. Gillespie, PhD, Professor and Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Padgett Kelly, Professor, Middle Tennessee State University Anna Logan Lawson, Conservationist Sacheen Nathan, MD, MPH, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jackson Women’s Health Organization Dara Purvis, Assistant Professor of Law, Penn State School of Law Estelle Raboni, Director, Changing the Odds at Morris Heights Health Center Tom Sawyer, (Treasurer), Ohio State Senator (D), former member of U.S. House of Representatives J. Joseph Speidel, MD, MPH, (Chair), Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Director for Communication, Development and External Relations, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health Carol Vlassoff, Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa Jo Lynne Whiting, (Vice Chair), Consultant, Former Executive of F100 Company Hania Zlotnik, (Secretary), Former Director, United Nations Population Division Affiliations for identification purposes
To view this report online visit www.popconnect.org/2014annualreport
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