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.

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.”