Hey! If you’re in or traveling to the D.C. Metro region, we’re your local abortion fund—by that we mean we pay for your abortion care. With no eligibility requirements or strings attached, we are here to make sure abortion access happens. Period.
We were founded in 1995—far before Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022—so you could say we’ve been around the block when it comes to abortion funding. Abortion is STILL LEGAL in D.C. at any stage of pregnancy, and the D.C. region has some of the country’s best clinics and providers ready to help you, no matter where you’re coming from. So are we.
Head to our Get Help page to learn more about getting your abortion funded, our Volunteer page to get involved, and our Donate page to buy a local abortion—you won’t regret it!
For decades, DCAF’s work was possible because of an amazing group of volunteers. They worked directly with callers to close the gap between what the caller could afford and the cost of their abortion; wrote proposals for grant funding; input, cleaned, and analyzed our data; wrote press releases; drafted tweets; created databases; and more!
We are so grateful for all our volunteers have done to build DCAF. It’s why we’re here today.
And in 2022, something great happened: DCAF onboarded five full-time, paid staff members to manage the day-to-day operations of the organization. This was done to ramp up our ability to fund abortion in D.C., fight the national abortion care crisis post-Dobbs, and keep our vital work truly sustainable.
So things have changed. And with that, so has our volunteer program.
So many of you reached out wanting to get involved post-Dobbs. And that was amazing! At first, admittedly, we were a little overwhelmed. But we took a few deep breaths and figured out what DCAF needed, what staff needed, and what volunteers needed.
So, you want to volunteer with DCAF? Here is what it looks like now:
We still ask you to fill out this volunteer form to share a bit more about who you are, why you want to get involved with DCAF, and to help us vet you. Once you’re vetted, we’ll reach out to you to schedule a training. We’re an abortion fund, so we have to vet every single person who interacts with DCAF. That means we’ll look at your online presence, your professional background, and your tweets or instagram stories (if you have them).
We now do onboarding twice a year: every April and November.So if you fill out the volunteer form in January, you will hear from us in March.
Every volunteer has to do an introduction to DCAF training. After that, your path depends on what you want to do!
Choose a path based on the types of volunteers we need:
Case Manager: Work directly with callers!
Data Volunteer: Collect and analyze data to make sure we know who we are serving!
Event Volunteer: Attend public events, sell t-shirts and tote bags, and talk to supporters!
But before you fill out that form…
Like we said, we’re so glad you’re here—but volunteering is a two-way commitment. We are taking the time to vet, train, and onboard you; we ask that you take your commitment seriously and show up when you say you are going to show up. We get it: things come up, people get sick. But when you cancel, it means staff has to scramble to cover your shift and make it work. We are a small but mighty staff of five—please respect our time and effort!
Furthermore, as a DCAF volunteer, you not only have a responsibility to yourself and to us, but to the D.C. community.That’s not something to take lightly!
Below is an estimate of the time commitment for each volunteer path:
Case Manager: You will be required to sign up for a shift each month. You have the choice of taking either: (A) Five consecutive days in a row (Mon-Fri or, Tues- Sat), or (B) Four Saturdays in a row.
Data Volunteer: There is no minimum requirement, but you will get an email once a month asking you to sign up.
Event Volunteer: There is no minimum requirement, but we will email you when we have opportunities and you can sign up when you’re available.
If you’re realizing you don’t have the time to volunteer right now, that’s okay! We still need your support in other ways: Sign up to be amonthly donor, host a fundraiser, share ourcontent on social media, and/or proudly and publicly talk about your local abortion fund (AKA us).
Okay, we know that was a lot! We appreciate your interest and look forward to working with you in whatever way works for you.
We’re thrilled to be back in person for our annual holiday party! Join us at Cotton & Reed on December 7 at 6:00pm. At our annual holiday party, you can learn more about DCAF’s work, meet the staff, volunteers, and board members who keep DCAF running, and join us in a toast to peace, joy, and abortion access!
DCAF’s holiday party is:
The best party you’ll attend this year–we promise!
A fun way to further support abortion access in the DC region.
An opportunity to celebrate the supporters and volunteers that make our work possible.
Click here for event details, sponsorship opportunities, and ticket sales!
We don’t need to tell you that it is an infuriating, uncertain, and scary time for abortion rights and access. Every day, we see new restrictions passed in states across the country and chaos and confusion as the laws in some states change by the hour. This means more and more people will be forced to travel hundreds of miles for their abortions.
These past few months, the DCAF team has been busy responding to the growing need for abortion funding. But we’ve also been doing the necessary work to ensure we are prepared for every shift in the abortion access landscape.
DCAF has also seen an amazing wave of support and interest from people in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and across the country who want to be more involved in this movement. Thank you to everyone who has donated, fundraised, hosted events, signed up to volunteer, or shared information about DCAF and abortion funds with your friends and family.
As the fall kicks off, we want to take a moment to let our community know what’s been happening here at DCAF and what you can do to help us continue doing what we’ve always done: fund abortions.
Meeting the unprecedented demand for abortion funding
Even before the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, DCAF was already stepping up to meet increased need from people struggling to access abortion care in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. We’ve been fielding more calls, from people with greater funding gaps to fill, ever since the pandemic began two and half years ago. In the past year, DCAF pledged over $1.3M to almost 6,000 callers–doubling what we pledged the prior year.
Our case managers only had the budget available to make these pledges to callers because of the outpouring of support from donors like you. Thank you!
Exciting changes for DCAF: Meet our staff!
In 2022, DCAF achieved the milestone of bringing on the first full-time paid staff in our organization’s 27-year history. This change ensures DCAF can keep expanding and improving our services in an equitable and sustainable way for years to come.
We’re pleased to introduce you to:
Shannon Ens, Director of Caller Services and Engagement
Allison Tombros Korman, Director of Operations and Strategy
Alisha Dingus, Director of Development
We need your help!
The support and attention DCAF has received in the past few months has been incredible. But we know our work – to help make sure every person who needs an abortion can afford and access it, even in a post-Roe world – is a marathon, not a sprint. We are building a long-term movement not only to fund abortions but to break down abortion stigma and ultimately change systems and policies to make abortion accessible to all.
We are seeking a Communications Manager with high levels of initiative and creativity, as well as exceptional organizational and execution skills, to build DCAF’s profile among stakeholders. Apply today to join our team – we would love to have you! Click here to learn more about DCAF and the position.
The DC Abortion Fund today expressed its deep outrage and disappointment with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that has overturned Roe v. Wade, decimating the right to abortion across the country. Like many in our work, we are not surprised by this decision; however, we are angry and disheartened.
This decision will activate trigger laws in 13 states, banning abortion immediately or within several weeks for millions of people. Patients across the country currently face significant social, economic, and logistical barriers to accessing abortion services, and this ruling will only increase those barriers, forcing countless patients to travel across state lines to get their procedures and making care even more difficult to obtain. We expect that many other states will now seek to pass abortion bans like Mississippi’s 15-week ban.
While Roe v. Wade was critical to ensuring the legality of abortion across the country, it did not guarantee access to abortion for all. Wealthy white women were not burdened by difficulty in accessing abortions before Roe, and they will not be burdened by it after Roe. Instead, communities already facing barriers to healthcare access – particularly Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, people with disabilities, transgender people, people in rural areas, young people, undocumented people, and people with low incomes – will be disproportionately affected. Abortion funds like DCAF have always believed that Roe was the floor – it was never sufficient to ensure safe, accessible abortions for all. Abortion funds were created to bridge that gap for patients.
Today, the systems of oppression that deny Black, Indigenous, and other people of color their rights worked exactly as they were designed. Abortion bans are rooted in anti-Black racism, white supremacy, and other forms of discrimination.
Although the protections of Roe v. Wade are gone, DCAF will continue our work to build a world beyond Roe where access is a reality for all, regardless of race, zip code, or income. Funds have been leading the way and will continue to do so as we navigate these anti-abortion threats together. We will continue to do what we have always done for over 26 years: fund abortions. Our mission and our vision will never change.
Just as the need for abortion care is growing, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, making abortion illegal or inaccessible in roughly half of the country.
Even with Roe intact, abortions are still out of reach for so many. Financial, logistical, and social barriers prevent people from getting the abortion care they need.
This is why DCAF exists. For 27 years, we’ve created pathways to abortion access for our callers. No matter what happens, our mission will not change. Our lines will stay open and we will do what we’ve always done–make sure people can get the abortions they need.
The best way to fight back right now is to make a donation to DCAF. And if you can, consider making it monthly. An ongoing, monthly commitment ensures we can show up every single day for those who need us the most.
DCAF imagines a future where abortion is accessible and available in every community. Join our movement.
