Main fundraiser photo

Empower NLI & Unaltered to Lower Circumcision Rates

Donation protected
Together, we can significantly reduce circumcision rates.

Circumcision is a common practice, but the intactivist movement hasn't made much headway in 50 years. Over 1.4 million babies are circumcised annually. We, NLI and Unaltered, are two organizations working together to change that.

NLI amplifies our voice: After two successful GoFundMe fundraisers for automating phone calls and e-mails for intactivism, NLI has had a proven track record of impact:
  • 228 Media Articles: Past campaigns secured coverage in major publications, pushing intactivism into the spotlight, raising public awareness, and putting pressure on policymakers.
  • Strategic Partnerships: NLI collaborated with Unaltered's technical talent to set up seamless automation.
  • Data Collection: Gathered thousands of contact information of key decision-makers using webscraping.
  • E-mail Outreach: E-mailed key contacts en masse using a Mautic system.
  • Media Influence: Automated 900+ calls, totalling 22+ hours, of our best intactivist script to influence 300+ producers, editors, and reporters.

Unaltered brings data-driven action: Founded 2 months ago to create targeted campaigns with a clear impact:
  • Leaflet Campaign: We've already launched our campaign website, which will save a baby from circumcision for just $20 each. Prototype leaflets are coming soon.
  • Pilot Testing: We run quick, inexpensive pilot tests of promising campaign ideas to identify the most reliably high-impact, cost-efficient campaigns.
  • Scaling Effective Campaigns: We focus our resources on most promising campaigns backed by data and evidence.
  • Strategic Partnerships: Unaltered has partnered with CLR, NLI, and other intactivist groups to build a strong coalition and maximize our impact.

With your help, we can achieve even more:

  • Funding NLI's media campaigns: This will spread the word about intactivism and reach a wider audience.
  • Funding Unaltered's leaflet campaigns: This will directly save babies from circumcisions.
  • Funding research to measure our impact: We need data to refine our strategies and maximize results.
  • Freeing up time for Unaltered campaigns: Donations will allow Unaltered to run more campaigns, faster.

This is a movement bigger than us. NLI and Unaltered offer a powerful, data-driven approach to intactivism. Together, we can significantly reduce the 70% circumcision rate within the next decade (potentially reaching 52% or lower).

Donate today and be a part of the solution!

P.S.

  • Sharing this campaign also helps! Spread the word and get more people involved.
  • Learn more about Unaltered on their Ko-Fi page.

Together, we can make a difference.








FAQ

1. Why did you set a goal to reduce the circumcision rate to 52% within 10 years?

­ ­ ­ No intactivist organization promises change, nor do any of them collect data on their efforts to evidence their impact. Unaltered is different. While this is an ambitious goal, Unaltered recognized it is important to set a specific, measurable goal to aim towards so we can track our progress, even if we fall short. For example, a 60% circumcision rate would still be a considerable improvement over 70%, even if we technically didn't meet our 52% goal by 2034. It's also important to set higher standards for intactivists - the movement has barely dented the 70% circumcision rate for the past 50 years.

2. Why is it important to reduce the circumcision rate?

­ ­ ­ Although 95% of American circumcisions are non-religious, hospitals pressure parents to immediately circumcise their baby without being fully informed:
  • Circumcisions can be delayed without issue to any age (even at 90-years-old). The child can decide what to do with their body when they're old enough to consent.
  • Medical experts disagree on whether the benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks.
  • Anesthesia is not legally required for circumcisions. Even with anesthesia, the baby suffers for 7 to 10 days as the wound heals. In some cases, circumcised babies are in so much pain that they won't eat by bottle or stop crying until the wound fully heals.
  • Circumcisions are ineffective for preventing HIV and cannot be a substitute for condoms or PreP. Despite a 70% circumcision rate, over 600,000 men have HIV in America. Research has found that circumcisions can only reduce the risk of HIV by at most 50% when specifically done on adults in certain African countries (not America). In some other countries, the HIV rate doubled after circumcisions were performed. In contrast, condoms reduce HIV risk by 96% and PreP reduces it by 99.9%, and both don't permanently alter the body.
  • Circumcisions are irreversible. There are no known procedures to restore the foreskin after circumcision. Even if there was, there is no known way to restore nerve endings in any part of the human body several years after being cut off. Leading scientists on restoration estimate that future restoration procedures, if possible, would cost about $10,000 per restoration.

3. Does opposing infant circumcisions violate the religious rights of Jewish people and Muslims?

­ ­ ­ No:
  • As stated earlier, 95% of American circumcisions are non-religious. Jewish people and Muslims combined make up only 3.4% of the U.S. population. Even among Christians, circumcision is a matter of personal preference, not of faith.
  • Circumcisions don't define Judaism. Some Jewish people practice b'rit shalom, meaning "covenant of peace" in Hebrew. This ritual can be used as an alternative to brit milah, or "covenant of circumcision."
  • Circumcisions don't define Islam. Islamic scholars like Sheikh Judai state that no hadith contains approval of (male or female) circumcision. Genital mutilation violates Islamic principles of preventing harm (la darar wa la dirar).
  • Circumcisions violate the religious rights of some Catholics, Lutherans, Hindus, and Sikhs. Some members of these religions have beliefs that conflict with circumcisions. Religious freedom protects a new convert's right to choose against circumcisions, the decision of which would have been taken away from them if performed at birth.
  • Religious rights must be balanced with children's rights. In the U.S., religious rights have been used to supersede a child's ability to consent by protecting practices such as child marriage and conversion therapy, the latter of which may involve electrocuting the child.

4. How much of donations will go towards operating expenses?

­ ­ ­ Less than $100. The rest goes directly to funding campaigns. Both NLI and Unaltered are grassroots organizations. We do not pay for staff, travel expenses, office space, etc. We do pay website hosting fees for our respective websites, but these are very little, especially when compared to the server costs required for NLI's mass media campaigns and pilot tests for Unaltered's campaigns. As we grow, we will balance funding campaigns with our need to run our respective organizations without spending a significant amount of time fundraising to ensure our continued ability to operate (such as the time spent for this GoFundMe fundraiser).

5. How exactly will you reduce the 70% circumcision rate?

­ ­ ­ In the near future:
  • Unaltered's leaflet campaign will save a baby from circumcision for every $20 spent.
  • NLI mass media campaigns will influence far more people to make more collective impact than any individual intactivist.
­ ­ ­ Long-term:
  • Strategic Alliances: Unaltered already has strategic partnerships with intactivist groups to collaborate and discuss what has or hasn't worked in the inactivist movement.
  • Expanded Media Outreach: NLI will be an 'impact multiplier' for new intactivist groups that are reliable, high-impact, and cost-effective.
  • Campaign Innovation: Unaltered will pilot test promising out-of-the-box campaigns that could save babies from circumcisions the most per dollar.
  • Intact-Friendly Certification: NLI is actively working on an intact-friendly certification for midwives and doulas.
  • Qualitative Research: Unaltered will conduct a qualitative study to understand exactly why some choose to circumcise and what motivates them to do so. This would help us identify which future campaigns are most likely to address the root cause of circumcisions.
  • Mass Training Initiatives: Unaltered will create 'mass trainings' that bring new activists up to speed in the movement so that they can make more impact sooner. The leaflet campaign will already advise them on which talking points are most persuasive. A potential future campaign idea could be to create a quickstart guide on how to write policy briefs to your elected officials before visiting them to discuss intactivist policies.
  • Policy Engagement: For example, 9 states allow both clitoral and penile mutilation. It may be possible to work with elected officials in one of them to ban genital mutilation altogether.
  • Market-Based Strategies: For example, corporate partnerships might provide a competitive edge to intact-friendly clinics and cosmetic companies.
  • Cultural Influence: For example, informational social media campaigns and support groups for expecting parents.
  • Providing Alternatives: For example, resources for foreskin hygiene, non-invasive treatments for conditions like phimosis or balanitis, and promoting positive body image and self-acceptance.
  • Empowering Individuals: For example, leadership development, healing services for those directly impacted by circumcisions, etc.
Donate

Donations (3)

  • Anonymous
    • $2,500 (Offline)
    • 8 mos
  • Anonymous
    • $125
    • 9 mos
  • Everett Phillips
    • $100
    • 9 mos
Become an early supporter

Your donation matters

Donate

Fundraising team: NLI/Unaltered (2)

Ludory Unaltered
Organizer
Cambridge, MA
Daniel Rold
Team member

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee