Aids-Related Charities Operating In The Red Problems Include A Changing Public Perception Of The Disease
Declining donations are contributing to financial problems at agencies that help AIDS patients.
The Northwest AIDS Foundation, considered the region’s pre-eminent AIDS-related charity, ended its last fiscal year with a $640,000 deficit, for example.
It provides services to those who are living with AIDS or HIV or are at risk of contracting the disease.
Just two years ago, the Seattle-based foundation ended the year with a $199,000 surplus.
Officials blame the turn for the worse on poor responses to fund raising, management problems and a changing public perception of AIDS.
“The board, myself as treasurer and the auditor have delivered the message that we can’t have another year when we end with a deficit,” board member Jim Hanson said.
The foundation receives $2.5 million of its $5.6 million in revenues from federal and local governments. The rest comes from private donations.
But in its last fiscal year, which ended June 30, the foundation spent more than $6.1 million.
The charity’s annual fall AIDS walk netted little more than $600,000 - the first time contributions minus expenses have been under $1 million since 1991. A telephone fund-raising campaign also turned in poor results.
In addition, the foundation had to deal with an employee who had embezzled close to $300,000 over four years. Insurance covered only part of what Timothy Menard had taken.
Other AIDS agencies also have experienced trouble.
The People of Color Against AIDS Network, a statewide education and prevention agency based in Seattle, had to lay off employees last year after it failed to win a federal grant.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher to get funding from private sources and from public sources,” said Lupe Lopez, the network’s executive director.
The Bailey-Boushay House, a 35-bed Seattle facility that is an alternative to hospitalization for people with AIDS, ended 1996 with a deficit of $190,000, said administrator Chris Hurley. The organization’s finances have improved since then.
In Eastern Washington, the Spokane AIDS Network, which offers some services similar to the Northwest AIDS Foundation, also has been battling deficits.
Charity managers say AIDS is “no longer the disease du jour” for the public because the success of drug treatments has left many believing the disease has been cured or at least has been made manageable.
The changing nature of AIDS also has made foundations, corporations and government reconsider what charities should be given money to battle the disease.
Top officials of the 15-year-old Northwest AIDS Foundation say they expect, despite the problems, to end this year with a slight surplus.
Three case managers - employees who steer people with AIDS toward needed services - and two employees who provide housing assistance will be laid off, foundation officials said.
Greater reliance will be made on volunteers, and efforts will be refocused on assisting those who need help most - people with AIDS who aren’t helped by new drug therapies or who suffer from mental illness or addictions.
xxxx FOUNDATION FUNDING The Northwest AIDS Foundation receives $2.5 million of its $5.6 million in revenues from federal and local governments. The rest comes from private donations.