The Vitae Foundation is an American
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
nonprofit organization associated with the
pro-life
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
(anti-abortion) cause.
Their focus is on engaging in
advertising research
Advertising research is a systematic process of marketing research conducted to improve the efficiency of advertising. Advertising research is a detailed study conducted to know how customers respond to a particular ad or advertising campaign.
His ...
and developing more effective messaging, and communicating the results of this research to other pro-life organizations (such as
crisis pregnancy center
A crisis pregnancy center (CPC), sometimes called a pregnancy resource center (PRC) or a pro-life pregnancy center, is a type of nonprofit organization established by anti-abortion groups primarily to persuade pregnant women against having an ab ...
s), and persons such as doctors and pastors who are or may be involved with pregnant women, to provide them with more effective ways to (if so inclined) persuade undecided women to forgo abortion.
This is their primary focus. The foundation does not lobby or argue for or against laws, conduct demonstrations, use religious rhetoric, provide services to the public, or engage in similar activist operations often associated with pro-life organizations. They do advertise to the general public, propagating pro-life messages, but also in part just to create interest in and donations to the Foundation.
Cause IQcharacterizes the Foundation as an organization that "conducts research into the emotional dynamics surrounding women facing an abortion decision, then produces and delivers life-affirming messages to motivate those women to choose life for their unborn children".
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Funding
In addition to individual donations, the Foundation receives some support from organizations. In fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
2022 its largest grantor was the Schwab Charitable Fund
The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and instit ...
, giving $197,750. It also runs a number of fundraising events, such as golf tournaments[ and dinners.][ The Foundation hosts an annual convention in Jefferson City.][
For 2022, the ]Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial s ...
gave the Vitae Foundation a score of 99%, indicating an extremely high level of fiscal soundness and accountability, transparency, and leadership competence (although in the preceding six years it had scored in the 80-89% range).[
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History
According to the Foundation, Carl Landwehr led the formation of what is now the Vitae Foundation in 1977.
He came to define his mission with the question "How would you market the product of life if that was your business?" In 1993 Landwehr commissioned Charles Kenny o
The Right Brain People
(the right brain
The lateralization of brain function is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other. The median longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebra ...
is associated in popular imagination as the source of emotions) to develop pro-life messaging that was not politically charged or confrontational or with accusatory undertones. Kenny helped develop a more low-key approach (e.g."Think about it").[ ]Female empowerment
Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...
themes are also used, echoing anti-abortion feminism rhetoric to a degree ("Since when do we give up when life gets hard?").
Starting in 2015, Foundation ads have been run in radio broadcasts of baseball games of the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
on KCSP, and the Foundation also has signs at their ballpark, Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhe ...
. A Former Royals all-star, employed by the team, (as of 2017), voices the Vitae foundation radio ads. The Royals also honored a seventh-grade student who won an essay contest run by the Foundation (with cooperation from the Archdiocese of Kansas City
The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas ( la, Archidioecesis Kansanopolitana in Kansas) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical province or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States of America.
The archbishop's episcopal seat is locat ...
) on the subject of "Encouraging a Culture of Life" by inviting them to throw the honorary first pitch at a 2017 game. This occasioned pro-choice
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
activist organization UltraViolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
to initiate an online petition demanding the Royals stop carrying Vitae Foundation messages and flew a banner, decrying the Royals' relationship with the Foundation, over the stadium during a game.[ In the 2020s the Foundation began broadcasting ads in heavy rotation during ]St Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
games, on KMOX
KMOX (1120 AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it is a 50,000 watt Class A clear-channel station with a non-directional signal. The KMOX studios and offices are on Olive Street at Tucker Bouleva ...
.
The Vitae Foundation was sued in 2008 by Edwin and Karl Hardt, executors for the estate of Selma J. Hartke. The Hardts had granted $8,242,000 from the estate to the Vitae Foundation, but later contended that the money was not being used in the way promised. The suit was dismissed` on grounds that the Hardts lacked Standing
Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...
.[
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Notes
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite web , url=https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/vitae-foundation,431138252/# , title=Vitae Foundation , publisher=Cause IQ , accessdate=September 27, 2023]
[{{cite web , url=https://vitaefoundation.org/ , title=Vitae Foundation , publisher=Vitae Foundation , accessdate=September 27, 2023]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/431138252 , title=Vitae Foundation , publisher=Charity Navigator , accessdate=September 27, 2023]
[{{cite web , url=https://kcindependent.com/lets-play-golf/ , title=The Vitae Foundation – Pro-Life Golf Classic , author= , date= , work=The ansas CityIndependent , accessdate=September 27, 2023]
[{{cite web , url=https://casetext.com/case/hardt-v-vitae-foundation , title=Hardt v. Vitae Foundation , author=Thomas H Newton , date=2009 , publisher=Casetext , accessdate=September 27, 2023]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.nonprofitcollegesonline.com/non-profits/ , title=Most Profitable Non-Profit Organizations, publisher=Casetext , work=Nonprofit Colleges Online , quote=Simply put, the 'IRS ruling year' is the year the organization became taxable (or non-taxable). In the nonprofit sector, you could say it is the year the nonprofit organization truly became a business. , accessdate=September 27, 2023]
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{{cite web , url=https://kdhx.org/events/events/charity-events/vitae-foundation-s-st-charles-pro-life-event= , title=Vitae Foundation's St. Charles Pro-Life Even , date=2021 , publisher=KDHZ radio, accessdate=September 27, 2023
{{cite web , url=https://allevents.in/org/vitae-foundation/1614910# , title=Vitae Foundation , date=2023 , publisher=Allevents , accessdate=September 27, 2023
{{cite web , url=https://www.fultonsun.com/news/2017/mar/22/vitae-foundation-marking-25th-anniversary/ , title=Vitae Foundation Marking 25th Anniversary , author= Brittany Hilderbrand , date= , work=Fulton issouriSun , accessdate=September 27, 2023
{{cite web , url=https://allevents.in/maryland%20heights/st-charles-pro-life-event/200023319399435 , title=St. Charles Pro-Life Event , author= , date= , work=Allevents , accessdate=September 27, 2023
{{cite web , url=https://www.newstribune.com/news/2022/feb/08/vitae-foundation-announces-speaker-for-pro-life/ , title=Vitae Foundation announces speaker for pro-life event , author=Joe Gamm , date=February 8, 2022 , work= entral MissouriNews Tribune , accessdate=September 27, 2023
]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.kcur.org/community/2017-07-07/royals-advertising-relationship-with-anti-abortion-group-raises-questions , title=Royals' Advertising Relationship With Anti-Abortion Group Raises Questions , author=Jennifer Tufts , date=July 7, 2017 , publisher=WCUR radio (]NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
) , accessdate=September 27, 2023
Anti-abortion organizations in the United States
Organizations based in Jefferson City, Missouri
1977 establishments