The American Civil Liberties Union Washington legislative office signed a contract yesterday for the purchase of a half-page, black-and-white ad through the AAN ADvantage donated-ad program. This is the last donated ad that member papers will be asked to run in fiscal year 2006, which ends Sept. 30.

The ad will run in AAN papers between Aug. 14 and Sept. 3. The insertion procedure will be the same as in February, when the NARAL Pro-Choice America ad ran. Members will soon receive an insertion order form and should run the ad one time within the three-week window.

The donated-ad program was established in the 80’s and for many years served as the association’s primary source of funding. However, the AAN CAN classified network launched in November 1999 and was soon generating more income than the donated ads. As AAN CAN grew, the ADvantage program was scaled back.

At the program’s apex in the late 90’s, AAN members were asked to run up to four full pages of donated ads each fiscal year. With the success of AAN CAN, the association reduced the annual donated-ad inventory to one full page. Based on the recommendation of a special committee that was formed to study the issue, the ADvantage program was not completely eliminated so the organization could retain the donated-ad infrastructure in case AAN CAN ever falters.

Donated ads are included in AAN’s annual budget but are not always sold. The budget for fiscal year 2006, including revenue from one full-page donated ad, was approved by the Board of Directors and then passed unanimously by the membership at the June 2005 annual meeting.

The fiscal year 2007 budget that was approved last month in Little Rock also includes one full page of donated ads.

For more information about the prgram and how it works, see the Donated Ad FAQ.