Your Support Made it Possible! Where National Right to Life Works

Your Support Made it Possible!
Where National Right to Life Works
BY Wanda Franz, Ph.D.

Pro-life icon Rep. Henry Hyde gave National Right to Life a wonderful tribute at the Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner April 25th, when he called NRLC the leader of the pro-life movement in Washington, D.C. Other speakers, including members of Congress and a representative from the White House, echoed similar praise.

But did you know that National Right to Life almost had to leave Washington a few years ago? Had we relocated and not been minutes away from the Capital, the impact on NRLC’s ability to affect the legislative process in our nation’s capital would have been considerable. Let me give you a little background on this disaster averted.

In 2001, National Right to Life was informed that the rent on our old office on 7th Street in Washington would almost double over the next year. We could not afford such an increase. The options were to cut programs – programs that save lives; try to find another office with enough space in Washington, D.C.; or move to cheaper quarters in the suburbs of Washington.

The first choice was not an option. We were never going to cut into programs that we know save lives. So we had to look even harder to find another way.

Rent was going up everywhere in Washington. And the problem with moving to the suburbs is that it would limit quick access to the U.S. Capitol for our staff who lobby to enact protection for unborn children.

This is more important than you might think. An amendment can sometimes be offered that requires immediate action by our lobbyists, either to support it or defeat it. Pro-abortion members of Congress would love it if they could get things through the process without having us around watching what they are doing.

Our old office was minutes away from the Capitol. We needed to find a new headquarters with the same advantage. Easier said than done!

Analysis showed that if Washington-area rents were going to rise at the estimated rate, it would actually be cheaper for us to buy a small building than to look for new quarters to rent. But this would mean we would have to rely on the generosity of some of the greatest people in the world – our members – to pay for it.

I am so pleased to say that the two Building Fund Campaigns we conducted were very successful! In December, 2001, we were able to move into our new building at 512 10th Street, NW, directly across from the historic Ford’s Theatre in downtown Washington. Our new headquarters is just three blocks from our old offices, and we are still just minutes from the U.S. Capitol—and even closer to the White House!

We are deeply indebted to all those who supported this important milestone in the pro-life movement here in Washington. We communicated to those supporters both during and after the campaign that their donations have allowed us to save on rent money, with the promise that the savings would go to fund the heart of our work, our pro-life programs. Many expressed their appreciation that we would be able to put funds to use in our life-saving projects, instead of seeing them go for higher rents. Donors to the building fund are acknowledged or memorialized in several ways throughout our building. An attractive “Tree of Life” greets visitors inside our lobby. On it are hundreds of “Leafs” honoring those who donated $1,000 or more to the Building Fund Campaign. Also on the Tree are larger “Acorn” plaques with the names of those who gave $5,000 or more.

Donors could also sponsor an office or room within the building. Supporters who contributed $10,000 or more were given plaques to be placed outside of the rooms they sponsored. Some gave gifts of $25,000 or more to sponsor whole departments or meeting areas.

All of us at National Right to Life are deeply grateful for all those who helped us find and fund this headquarters with their gifts of any amount. There were hundreds of gifts of $100 or less, and all of these gifts added up to our being able to move to a more productive office, one that lets us better carry out our mission of saving babies’ lives.

We are deeply indebted to all those who supported this important milestone in the pro-life movement here in Washington, and we welcome further donations that will help us pay off the mortgage entirely and commit the money we save to programs that directly save lives!

After the two fundraising campaigns, I am happy to say that we have paid off about half of our mortgage in just 4 years. This has sharply lowered our mortgage payments. As we promised, we use the savings to fund pro-life programs that save lives.

However, we could do even more if the mortgage were paid down even further, or paid off completely. Then all of those funds could go toward National Right to Life’s life-saving programs and projects.
We still need donations toward our Building Fund, and will be grateful for any support you can give.

If you wish to donate at one of the higher levels, your name or a memorial in honor of someone you designate would also be included as a plaque in our office or as a leaf or acorn on the Tree of Life in our lobby. If you wish to donate, or have any questions, please send in the coupon below or call our Development Office at 202-626-8813.

Having worked with pro-life members and supporters for so long at both the state and national level, I know you are the most wonderful, supportive people whenever there is a need or opportunity to help save more babies’ lives. I thank all of you for your ongoing support, and hope you’ll prayerfully consider what help you might be able to offer for our Building Fund this year.