PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN’S 2014 ANNUAL REPORT

Pro-Life Wisconsin exists for a singular purpose: to restore and protect the inalienable right to life of all citizens of our state, whether born or preborn, young, old, disabled or terminally ill. We affirm that the right to life exists from the moment of conception and extends until natural death; this truth being handed down by God and articulated in the Declaration of Independence.

Founded on the bedrock principle of the pro-life movement - that all innocent persons share the inalienable right to life, Pro-Life Wisconsin educates the public and lobbies elected officials. We are a Christian organization relying on God to change hearts and minds toward His most precious creation of human life.

Our Mission

It is my great privilege to share with you Pro-Life Wisconsin’s 2014 Annual Report. I trust that you

will be as encouraged as I am with the progress we have made, sending us into 2015 stronger than ever.

The future is bright, as evidenced by the 2014 surge of Pro-Life Wisconsin concrete victories in the closing of the Fond du Lac Planned Parenthood, the nullification of part of the Wisconsin birth control insurance mandate, and the Madison city council rescinding their unconstitutional buffer zone ordinance. God is truly answering the vigilant prayer and public witness of so many faithful Pro-Life Wisconsinites.

Summer of 2014 we were blessed with the ability to expand our staff and welcome Matt Von Rueden as Director of Development. Along with our expanded staff we have launched a number of new programs this year including the “Awakening Hope” youth retreat, the “Campus Alive” college outreach grant, the “Loving Life” 5K Run/Walk, and a number of other events.

After a busy October, we wrapped up Respect Life Month with an affiliate leader training day followed by our Annual Auction Dinner. At that dinner over 400 people enthusiastically showed their support

a message from ourstate director

for our mission to educate, legislate, and activate on behalf of vulnerable human life. This special evening also featured the big announcement that Dan Miller would be succeeding me as state director at the onset of 2015.

We are thrilled to welcome Dan Miller who officially assumed the role of State Director of Pro-Life Wisconsin on January 1, 2015. I will continue to serve in an emeritus role for the first quarter of 2015 and in a consulting role and on the speaker’s bureau in the future.

Dan has been enthusiastically welcomed and given a great vote of confidence by our Pro-Life Wisconsin volunteers, supporters, leadership and the Wisconsin pro-life community in general. The future is bright for Pro-Life Wisconsin!

May God, the Author of all Life, bless you and your families in 2015.

Matt Sande - Legislative Director, Peggy Hamill - State Director Emeritus, Dan Miller - State DirectorSTATE DIRECTOR EMERITUS

OUR STAFFDAN MILLERState Directordmiller@prolifewisconsin.org262-796-1111 ext. 11

EMMA SCUGLIKOutreach Directorescuglik@prolifewisconsin.org262-796-1111 ext. 14

MATT SANDELegislative Director/Deputy State Directormsande@prolifewisconsin.org262-796-1111 ext. 13

SAM GUZMANCommunications Directorsguzman@prolifewisconsin.org262-796-1111 ext. 12

MATT VON RUEDENDevelopment Directormvonrueden@prolifewisconsin.org262-796-1111 ext. 15

BONNIE ZAMORSKIOffice Manageroffice@prolifewisconsin.org262-796-1111 ext. 10

OUR BOARDPRO-LIFE WISCONSIN EDUCATION TASK FORCE OFFICERS

President: Brad ConnersVice President: Todd Miller, M.D.Secretary: Charmaine Herbert Treasurer: George Kriegl Spiritual Advisor: Bishop Donald J. Hying

PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN, INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Tom ZignegoVice President: Todd Miller, M.D.Secretary: Charmaine HerbertTreasurer: George Kriegl

Board Members: Brad Conners, Charmaine Herbert, George Kriegl, Todd Miller, M.D., Michael J. Phillips, M.D., Charlie Van Hecke, Tom Zignego, Steven Donley, D.C.

What We DoeducatePro-Life Wisconsin’s True to Life media campaign and Speakers Bureau educate the public on a variety of pro-life issues. In communities throughout our state, Pro-Life Wisconsin’s local affiliates change hearts and minds by spreading the Gospel of Life. By educating friends and neighbors about the connection between contraception and abortion, our affiliates help build strong families thereby reducing sexual promiscuity, unplanned pregnancies, and chemical and surgical abortions.

legislateThrough advocacy at the State Capitol in Madison, we urge our elected officials to ban surgical abortion without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life and health of the mother. We advocate passage of a state constitutional amendment to establish the legal personhood of every preborn child from conception. We defend the conscience rights of medical professionals who refuse to prescribe or dispense abortifacient drugs or devices, and we work to stop all efforts to legalize euthanasia, assisted suicide and infanticide.

activateGrassroots activism is at the heart of the pro-life movement’s efforts to build a culture of life. Real cultural change – the type of change that saves lives – will only happen neighbor to neighbor through a network of educated, caring and compassionate pro-lifers. Pro-Life Wisconsin’s affiliates bring attention to the impact of abortion on Wisconsin’s local communities through public, peaceful protests, providing local churches with pro-life materials and resources, sidewalk counseling, participating in civic parades, hosting information tables and so much more.

true to life mediaPro-Life Wisconsin seeks to educate a broad demographic of Wisconsin citizens through media and advertising. When you join the True to Life Media campaign through your tax deductible gift, you are ensuring that the message of personhood and the dignity of every human are being promoted in your local community. In 2014, Pro-Life Wisconsin Education Task Force (ETF) made an estimated 4.5 million impressions through all advertising media outlets. These ads were broadcast statewide in movie theaters, on television, on the radio, in newspapers, on the internet, and on city buses.

educate

online presenceTwo educational websites, prolifewisconsin.org and personhoodwisconsin.com, make educational content available to people worldwide. Our mobile friendly website, crisispregnancies.org, provides resources and tools for sidewalk counselors who offer life-saving alternatives to abortion-minded women.

social media The last two years have seen tremendous growth in Pro-Life Wisconsin’s social media outreach orchestrated by Communications Director, Sam Guzman. Pro-Life Wisconsin maintains an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Blog called Personally Speaking. 2014’s most successful Facebook post reached 12,299 people! Social media channels were also used to broadcast live updates from the annual March for Life and other events.

personhoodwisconsin.com

Everyone deserves a birthday. 1 in 4 babies doesn’t have one.PersonhoodWisconsin.com . 262-796-1111

public speaking The Pro-Life Wisconsin Speakers Bureau is designed to spread the pro-life message through speaking engagements across the state at churches, schools, rallies, prayer vigils, and other organizations and events. In 2014, Pro-Life Wisconsin had dozens of speaking engagements through the Speakers Bureau, many of them directed to students and young adult audiences. To view our Speakers Bureau or to request a speaker for your event, visit prolifewisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111.

awakening hope teen retreatOur first annual youth retreat, organized by Pro-Life Wisconsin Outreach Director, Emma Scuglik, sold out with 40 high school age youth converging in La Crosse, WI at the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe for a day of learning, prayer, sharing ideas, and fun! Many of the youth in attendance expressed the desire for a more in-depth retreat, so Pro-Life Wisconsin looks forward to offering an expanded weekend “Awakening Hope” teen retreat in the Summer of 2015.

total protection missionPro-Life Wisconsin seeks to end abortion, not simply regulate it. Recognizing this as the end goal of the pro-life movement, and keeping in mind the dignity of every human life created in God’s image, Pro-Life Wisconsin will not support legislation with exceptions allowing for abortion in some cases. We do not have the moral authority to negotiate even one precious life away. To do so would undermine the very foundation of the pro-life movement. Every piece of legislation we support recognizes and promotes the dignity of all human persons, from conception to natural death.

legislate

the personhood amendmentThe Wisconsin Personhood Amendment would amend the Wisconsin Constitution to apply personhood rights to preborn children at all stages of development. It seeks to end all violence toward preborn children in Wisconsin – surgical, chemical, experimental, etc. – at all stages of development. The amendment is the strongest, most comprehensive pro-life legislation ever introduced in the state of Wisconsin.

ban on abortion coverage for state employeesPLW supported legislation to ban abortion coverage in state employees’ healthcare plans. The legislation ultimately died when the State Senate refused to schedule it. However, this is the type of incremental yet principled pro-life legislation that we will continue to advocate.

ban on sale and use of aborted fetal body partsPro-Life Wisconsin lobbied for a bill that would prohibit the sale and use of aborted fetal body parts. The UW-Madison is currently conducting medical research using aborted fetal tissue. Recognizing that the ends do not justify the means and that preborn children killed by abortion deserve a proper burial, Pro-Life Wisconsin will continue to fight for this bill every legislative session.

religious liberty2014 saw a major victory for religious freedom in the Hobby Lobby U.S. Supreme Court ruling. This ruling exempted closely held, for-profit private companies from being forced to provide birth control to their employees, an act which was in violation of the Hobby Lobby owners’ deeply held religious beliefs. This ruling consequently prompted Wisconsin to halt enforcement of our state birth control insurance mandate as it applies to closely held companies.

buffer zone rescindedIn the McCullen v. Coakley case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that buffer zone laws are too restrictive of free speech. Cities may not attack free speech rights in the public way. Following this ruling, the Madison Common Council voted to repeal their own anti-speech bubble zone ordinance, which had been enacted earlier in 2014. Pro-Life Wisconsin implored the Council to slow down and refrain from enacting any speech restrictions pending the McCullen decision.

our promise Matt Sande, Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Legislative Director, is proud to be your 100% pro-life voice at the State Capitol during every legislative session. With our total protection message, Pro-Life Wisconsin raises the bar for pro-life politicians by advocating bills that push the boundaries of traditional, regulatory pro-life legislation.

You can count on Pro-Life Wisconsin to fight the good fight every legislative session and to never water down our bills for political expediency. We pray that our principled stand will change hearts and minds, within and without the state legislature, so that someday, all of Wisconsin’s preborn children will be protected in law as persons.

activatenational march for lifeThe 2014 annual pilgrimage to Washington D.C. for the National March for Life included two full buses organized by Pro-Life Wisconsin. Over 100 people traveled on the Pro-Life Wisconsin buses, including many college students, high school students and families. Hundreds of other Wisconsinites traveled independent of Pro-Life Wisconsin to attend the March as well.

The trip included peacefully protesting abortion with hundreds of thousands of other pro-lifers from around the country, group prayer outside of the Washington D.C. Planned Parenthood, and participation in the Vigil Mass, the Youth Rally for Life, and more!

loving life 5k run/walkA brand new opportunity to support life through Pro-Life Wisconsin in 2014 was the Loving Life 5K Run/Walk. This event, held in beautiful Grant Park right next to Lake Michigan, had 75 participants and volunteers with 13 sponsoring businesses and organizations. In its first year this race raised over $8,000 for Pro-Life Wisconsin’s crisis pregnancy outreach!

crisis pregnancy outreachA critical aspect of saving lives is Pro-Life Wisconsin’s commitment to offer help to women who find themselves in crisis pregnancy situations. Pro-Life Wisconsin has open communication with Wisconsin’s numerous crisis pregnancy centers, supporting them financially, providing publicity for their events, and directing customers to them through advertising. One of the major projects of the True to Life Media Campaign was a crisis pregnancy hotline city bus ad that Pro-Life Wisconsin produced and funded. This bus ad ran for 3 months in two different areas of downtown Milwaukee and made an estimated 4 million impressions.

pro-life boot campIt is a priority for Pro-Life Wisconsin to educate and empower activists to make a difference for life in our State. Our Pro-Life bootcamp provided an opportunity to learn about the importance and effectiveness of personhood from two nationally acclaimed speakers, Pam Stenzel and Monica Kelsey. They provided an educational and entertaining presentation on why exceptions hurt the pro-life movement, and how we can work toward ending abortion completely. Monica Kelsey’s personal story of being conceived in rape brought the total protection message home and reinforced our stance as a no exceptions pro-life organization.

gimme shelter movie showingIt is an extremely powerful statement to see an entire movie theater sold out for a pro-life movie, which is exactly what happened when we hosted a private showing of the film “Gimme Shelter.” Over 130 pro-lifers in the Madison area gathered to watch the true story of a young woman who chose life despite harrowing circumstances. Every seat was filled and every person in attendance shared the experience with others to bring more awareness of the film and to help spread its powerful message of life and love.

other outreach activities• Sidewalk Counseling• 40 Days for Life Campaigns• Griswold vs. Connecticut Prayer Vigils• National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children Vigils• Empty Manger Christmas Caroling• “Adoremus” 40 Hour Eucharistic Adoration for the Unborn• Holy Week Stations of the Cross• Irish for Life Fundraiser• Theology of the Body Conference• “Campus Alive” College Outreach Grant Program

Pro-LifeWisconsin2014Expenses

Fundraising:13%

ManagementandGeneral:12%

Programs:75%

Fundraising Management and General Programsmeta-chart.com

2014 expensesHow is Pro-Life Wisconsin funded?

The work of Pro-Life Wisconsin is funded by fundraisers, various grants, and the generosity of donors.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Education Task Force’s total expenses for 2014 were $484,092.

75 percent ($362,687) went to carrying out our programs, including sidewalk counselor training sessions, our medical decision making seminars, and our True to Life Media campaign.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Education Task Force, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, undergoes an independent audit to verify the financial information in this report and on the 990s filed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Copies of our 990s are available by request.

ONE TIME GIFT - Whether it is $10 or $1,000, your one time gift helps change hearts and minds through our legislative and educational work.

MONTHLY GIFT - Regular monthly gifts are the lifeblood of Pro-Life Wisconsin. Your recurring gift provides critical support that we can count on.

PLANNED GIVING - A Planned Gift is a way to ensure that Pro-Life Wisconsin will continue to actively evangelize the Gospel of Life for years to come.

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WAYS TO GIVE

For more information on these and other ways to donate, contact Matt Von Rueden at mvonrueden@prolifewisconsin.org or call 262-796-1111 ext. 15.

PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN

19270 North Hills DriveBrookfield, WI 53045

262-796-1111www.ProLifeWisconsin.org

www.PersonhoodWisconsin.com

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“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...”

Jeremiah 1:5