Bay Windows - June 27, 2002
Beth Berlo

Organizers and beneficiaries say they are pleased with the event, even though the number of participants is nearly half of what it once was.

Despite years of controversy, beneficiary drop-offs and an increasingly thinned ridership, Pallotta Teamworks, producers of the annual AIDS Rides, has no immediate plans for pulling out of the event, which remains one of the most significant non-governmental contributors to AIDS-related funding in the U.S.

Just this year, two former beneficiaries of the California AIDS Ride -- the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) -- abandoned Pallotta Teamworks out of frustration stemming from, among other factors, "fiscal improprieties," they said. As a result, the two organizations created their own AIDS ride fundraiser called the AIDS/LifeCycle.

Pallotta sued, claiming the AIDS/LifeCycle weakened their event. In January, California Superior Court Judge David Yaffee refused to sign an injunction to stop the AIDS/LifeCycle from continuing. According to organizers at AIDS/Life Cycle, the May event included 700 riders and raised more than $4.4 million.

This year, the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York also made a break from Pallotta after being a beneficiary of the Northeast (Boston to New York) AIDS Ride for the past seven years.

According to Jay Laudato, Callen-Lorde executive director, the principal reason was that the return on the event was exceeding "an acceptable cost of fundraising. Also, the event was increasingly more costly to sustain, and as a result was placing a significant financial strain on the organization. So after 7 years, we decided it just wasn't the most appropriate way to utilize our resources in terms of development."

Meanwhile, Boston's Fenway Community Health Center continues to stay connected to Pallotta's AIDS Rides as one of the remaining two Northeast beneficiaries. Why? According to the Fenway's Tom Leavitt, the Rides' average cost of fundraising since 1995 has been about 50 percent. "At that level, it's an acceptable cost of fundraising," he said. "We also worked very closely with Pallotta this year to keep costs down, and they've been receptive. Fenway has also acted as fiduciary intermediary."

According to Leavitt, the money raised first goes to the Fenway for "approval and scrutinizing of expenses before bills are paid."

Riders of the Northeast AIDS Ride were each expected to raise a minimum of $2,100 before participating in the event. As of June 25, organizers were not sure how much money had been raised.

In addition to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, other cities that have also cut ties with Pallotta include Dallas and Washington D.C.

Yet despite the parade of beneficiary departures, which some say threaten the future of Pallotta-produced AIDS Rides, the event's producers continue to defend their efforts.

Responding to complaints involving Pallotta's personal profit from the event, Janna Sidley, vice president of communications at Pallotta Teamworks, said: "We take a flat fee. There's a huge misconception out there that we take a percentage. The registration fee and any money raised by the donor goes to a lock box that Pallotta does not have access to."

Sidley attributed logistical expenses, such as food, housing, showers and toilets, as where a good portion of the money goes. "All of this stuff that we take all the money is just wrong," she said. "We get a production fee."

Sidley also said they are seeing an "across-the-board decrease in fundraising for AIDS issues." Right now, she said, "Everybody is re-evaluating their fundraising strategy," including the beneficiaries.

"We don't know if it's a result of 9/11, the economy, or because people have been giving to these events for a while."

Although Laudato declined to elaborate, at least part of the reason that Callen-Lorde cut ties with Pallotta Teamworks he said, was "the challenges in working with [them]."

Successful event

"I think the AIDS Ride was a phenomenally successful event. But over the past few years, it's been less successful each succeeding year," Laudato continued. "And this was the reason why Callen-Lorde decided to end its association with the event. It's not simply what has happened this year. I do think part of the issue is that fundraising for HIV-related issues is becoming increasingly more difficult."

But that is precisely why riders such as Vince Stansbury, 33, of Medford believes the AIDS Rides need to go on. "It's important because AIDS isn't going away anytime soon," he said. Especially, he said, in a time when local AIDS funding has been slashed dramatically both locally and at the federal level.

Stansbury, who is HIV-positive and rode with only a handful of Positive Pedalers that turned out this year, thinks the apathy around the cause is in part because the issue has "moved to the back burner." Stansbury also thinks that successful medications and a change in the disease's demographics have played a role in the declining ridership.

But he continues to participate, he said, "so people can put a face to AIDS and they see us dong it. It makes it real for them. You go through some of these small towns and you see them in the hot sun and cheering us on and it gets you up the next hill."

Positive Pedaler Jim Radford learned he was HIV-positive in 1995. He participated in the Ride, he said, because "A lot of people don't have insurance. I have insurance, but a woman of color, for example, who doesn't have insurance is a better example of someone who needs support and services and to be recognized and I don't think people in general acknowledge that exists. I think people believe it's better, but it's only better if you have insurance."

Radford says he believes that visibility is the most important element in keeping awareness alive around the disease that continues to ravage many different communities. "And, you can't put a price on that."

Radford was most moved during the closing ceremony at City Hall Plaza as he carried the riderless bike (a symbol of remembrance of those who died from AIDS). "People were reaching my hand, and grabbing and crying," he said. "It was the only time during the ceremony I almost lost it."

Overall, Laudato says, "It's much more difficult to raise funds for HIV and AIDS now. The broader mainstream community is beginning to view HIV/AIDS as a problem of people in communities of color, and drug users and because of that, are less willing to support prevention and treatment. And so it's a very challenging issue."

The yet determined amount of funds raised form this year's Northeast AIDS Ride will be split between New York's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center and Boston's Fenway Community Health Center, a nationwide leader in HIV and AIDS care and research. According to Leavitt, the money raised helps the Fenway in three areas: to support more than 1,200 HIV-positive patients; vaccine research; and education around prevention.

Beth Berlo is a staff writer at Bay Windows. Her e-mail address is bberlo@aol.com.
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