A Step Ahead Chattanooga (ASAC), helping more young women in Eastern Tennessee reach their goals.
The mission of ASAC is to remove barriers to accessing contraception through education, outreach, and access to free birth control. In the past two years, ASAC has more than tripled their staff, transitioned leadership, faced increased demand for services, and significantly expanded their geographic territory and programming. Following the Dobbs decision, ASAC has seen a dramatic increase in requests for birth control in a region already suffering from a lack of basic public health services. A staggering 70% of Tennesseans live in a Health Professional Shortage Area.
Through an initial capacity building grant at the end of 2020, EPSCF provided support to hire a fundraiser/development director as well as Bilingual Health Educators to meet the unique needs of their Spanish-speaking population. Funding from EPSCF was paired with funding from the Department of Human Services in the State of Tennessee to support two bilingual health educators. In 2022, ASAC reapplied for state funding through a new funding stream and were awarded another two-year, $1.5M grant.
As an added incentive to expand their donor base, EPSCF provided a 1:1 match in urbanized Hamilton County on all new dollars, incremental dollars from existing donors, and the full amount given by lapsed donors (those who gave previously but not in 2020 or 2021), up to $5,000. In 2022, $75,982.44 in donations met these requirements, reflecting 71 new givers, 74 individuals who increased their gifts, and 28 reinvigorated donors. In rural counties, where fundraising is more challenging, EPSCF provided a 2:1 match on new dollars, incremental dollars, and the full amount given by lapsed givers, up to $10,000. In 2022, $25,062.95 met these requirements. It is amazing what opportunities a challenge grant provides. One ASAC donor raised their annual donation from $1,000 to $5,000. With their check, they said, "It's our pleasure to make an exceptionally large contribution to help ensure that you get your full match!"
In May 2021, with support from EPSCF, ASAC hired a Regional Community Investment Officer to focus on increasing rural support. In just nineteen months, ASAC has connected with influential residents of rural communities, joined multiple Chambers of Commerce, attended health council meetings and community events, and been invited to speak at numerous Rotary Club functions. In 2022, ASAC raised over $27,000 in new, returning, or increased gifts from donors in our rural Tennessee counties. Since 2020, just before this project began, rural giving from individuals has increased by over 900%, and rural grants increased by more than 45%, with the combined effect of more than tripling ASAC’s overall giving from rural counties.
In 2022, professional development funding allowed ASAC leadership to attend the National Reproductive Health Conference in San Francisco. The conference ultimately affirmed ASAC’s decision to expand to short-acting contraceptive methods by emphasizing a patient-centric approach to contraceptive care. Additional capacity building activities included researching and implementing a new donor database and management software, enlisting a digital marketing agency to improve SEO, digital ads, and email marketing, and utilizing a new platform to send personalized video messages to supporters.
“I was a young, poor, single mom when I received my IUD. Three of my sisters also used your services, one in her freshman year, and she is the first person in our family to ever graduate college! Your work is one of the most direct ways to impact women and help them break through class lines. Your work has truly changed the lives of women in my family.”
Bi-Lingual Health Educators staffing a table at a local Latin grocery store
“A Step Ahead Chattanooga saved me. Back in 2020, I lost my job due to the pandemic, which meant I also lost my health insurance and any access to affordable birth control. I have moderate to severe endometriosis and one of the side effects, for me personally, is large ovarian cysts. Birth control helps greatly in managing these. Not even a couple of weeks after losing my BC did one start to grow. It was excruciating. I found out about A Step Ahead, and I was able to get an appointment and an IUD at zero cost to me. At the follow-up appointment, which consisted of an ultrasound to see if the IUD was where it was supposed to be, I heard the tech exclaim, “Woah!” and she proceeded to show me the cyst on the screen. It was the size of a grapefruit, and the doctor wanted me in surgery immediately because she feared that if it ruptured, I’d go into shock. We decided to wait a month to see if the cyst would go away on its own now that I was back on BC, and thankfully it did! If I hadn’t gotten back on BC, I most likely would’ve lost my ovary, or worse. So a HUGE thank you to A Step Ahead Chattanooga for saving me.”