How Best to Serve: Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota Defining its Place in the Pro-choice Landscape”
Nicole Courneya, MPP, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

In early 2002, as part of a comprehensive organizational restructuring effort, Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota (PPM/SD), determined that it was necessary to extend the reach of PPM/SD’s Public Affairs activities.  PPM/SD faced an anti-choice legislative landscape at the state level and current efforts were not as effective as the Board hoped.  Should PPM/SD create a Segmented Political Action Fund that would allow them to endorse candidates for state office?  Would this further complicate an already convoluted management structure?  How would it impact the overall mission of the organization?  This case raises issues of the mission and direction of an organization undergoing change in an increasingly hostile political climate.  In addition, this case asks the reader to reflect on what the broader mission of this organization, which is essentially three organizations in one, might be and how re-vamping and enhancing advocacy might help or hinder its other core activities.