The SocialOffset.com Experiment in Nashville During ASAE Annual 2022

If there were a way to help balance out the unintended consequences of attending a meeting hosted in a state that doesn’t support our values, would anyone support it?

This is the question that founders of SocialOffset.com asked themselves when preparing to attend the ASAE Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee in August.

With thousands of association and nonprofit professionals, consultants and industry partners coming to Nashville to celebrate the first in-person industry gathering in three years, some attendees are balancing the joy of reconnecting with longterm friends and colleagues with concerns over Tennessee’s imminent, restrictive, abortion ban.

As a result, a group of association leaders came together to support the launch of SocialOffset.com, a pilot project that will allow visitors to Tennessee and eventually, other states with restrictive policies, to “offset” their sales tax dollars with contributions that have direct local impact.

Elena Gerstmann, a longtime association executive, led the charge and the development of the initiative, said “The goal of this project is to help associations, as they have faced a lot of heat if they continue to hold meetings in states with restrictive laws that target people’s ability to access healthcare.”

She went on to add, ”I am so excited to be in Nashville and see so many people who have helped to shape my career path – and by using SocialOffset.com, I can balance out my tax contributions that fuel Tennessee’s state government with my own, targeted contributions to support reproductive healthcare.”

With Tennessee and Nashville sales and occupancy taxes, ASAE attendees will contribute roughly $1.50 for every cocktail, and $40 for each hotel room while attending the event. SocialOffset.com urges visitors to balance the taxes paid to Tennessee’s government with a contribution to Abortion Care of Tennessee, which helps Tennessee women gain access to critical health care services.

Tennessee has been one of several states that has reenacted restrictive policies against women since Roe v. Wade was overturned, with the newest restrictions going into effect only days after this conference concludes.

SocialOffset.com will remain online after the ASAE meeting has concluded. Plans are for the site to become a portal for use by associations to help members and meeting attendees align values and spending power.

For more information, please visit www.SocialOffset.com

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