For many nonprofits, December is the most important fundraising month of the year. Planned Parenthood is no exception. In 2018, more than 32.8% of the money we raised online came to us in December. If donations came in evenly throughout the year, you'd expect that figure to be just 8.3%.

There are lots of reasons December has become so important. Whatever the reasons, we know if we don't inspire thousands and thousands of people to give this month, we may not have the resources to meet all of our commitments next year... to health center patients, who rely on us for care... to young people who benefit from Planned Parenthood's sex education programs... to the grassroots activists we support, who fight to protect access to abortion, birth control, and other essential care right where they live.

I know you don't want to live in a world with a weaker Planned Parenthood — a Planned Parenthood that can only keep some promises and not others. That's why I'm hoping you'll take just two minutes, right now, to make your tax-deductible, year-end gift.

Because so much of the support we receive comes in December, we have to make decisions early next year about what we can accomplish for the entire year. If we fall behind on our December goal, we can't just hope to make up the difference in January or February or March... we have to start making tough calls about all of 2020.

I can make you this promise, though. Make your year-end gift now, in response to this message, and we'll make sure you receive fewer email reminders about the giving deadline this year (unless something truly urgent comes up, like another abortion ban — I'm sure you'd want to know how to help beat back something terrible like that).

9,230 patients visit Planned Parenthood health centers every working day. These are the people I'm thinking about when I send an email like this. With so many threats to their health care still out there — from the Title X "gag rule" to abortion bans and all the rest — I can't let something as trivial as "too many emails" get in the way of protecting their care.

But before we get to email two, three, or four, I wanted to start with this — a straightforward ask for your support this December, our most important fundraising month of the year.

Thank you for taking the time to read my message, and for considering a gift today.