Hawaii Community Foundation Criticized for Planned Parenthood Donation

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 1, 2004   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Hawaii Community Foundation Criticized for Planned Parenthood Donation

by Paul Nowak
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
March 1, 2004

Honolulu, HI (LifeNews.com) — A Hawaiian community organization donated nearly $50,000 to Planned Parenthood of America and its Hawaiian affiliate in 2003.

The grants, $10,000 to Planned Parenthood of America and $38,875 to Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, were included in the Human Services category of the Designated/Donor Advised Grants section of the Hawaii Community Foundation’s (HCF) 2003 annual report.

A representative of HCF said the donation to the abortion business came at the request of an individual donor, rather than the foundation’s board.

"A donor advised fund is established by private individuals who retain the privilege of making grant recommendations for the charity of their choice," Kim Vierra, Communications Officer of the Foundation explained to LifeNews.com. "If the recommended grantee is a tax-exempt, public charity, then the Hawaii Community Foundation will ordinarily follow the donor’s recommendation."

Vierra added that a designated fund is an ongoing, donor-selected fund to an eligible non-profit. The Planned Parenthood groups are only 2 of the over 300 funds administered by the charitable services and grant-making institution. All funding comes from individuals, businesses, and organizations.

"As a public charity, the Hawaii Community Foundation may make grants to any recipient for charitable purposes," concluded Vierra.

John Long, Executive Director of Hawaii Right to Life, told LifeNews.com that the Hawaii Community Foundation’s report reminded him of struggles with the United Way’s funding practices.

"Because we get an annual printout of their distribution, it’s frustrating to see Planned Parenthood of Hawaii get more than 10, 20, or even 25 times the amount that’s given to us here at Hawaii Right to Life," said Long.

"The Media repeats whatever the pro-aborts say without question, and they seem at times to have more money than they know what to do with," Long continued. "But we also have two great advantages over them. We really do have the ‘Truth,’ the facts and science on our side, and we have the grassroots numbers."

Long concluded that, as there has been a groundswell of opposition to gay marriage recently, similar force can be gathered for the pro-life movement.

"We can, at times get the people to stand up and say, ‘We’re not gonna take it anymore,’" said Long. "I would love to see the people rise up and overthrow some of our "entrenched" liberal politicians from office this election cycle."

Related Sites:
Hawaii Right to Life – https://www.hrtl.org
Hawaii Community Foundation – https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org