Established in 1982 as the San Francisco AIDS Fund, the AIDS Emergency Fund provides critical financial assistance to people living with disabling HIV/AIDS.

Current estimates indicate that approximately one-third of people diagnosed with AIDS or disabling HIV disease exhaust their financial resources quickly and live at a subsistence level. Typically, these people rely on county, state or federal assistance for support.

These individuals are facing serious medical and psychological problems related to HIV disease. We believe they should not have to face financial ruin as well. Any person living with AIDS or disabling HIV in San Francisco County who has a monthly income of $1,960 or less may qualify for emergency assistance from us

In 2003, AEF helped 2,410 people with HIV or AIDS with assistance totally more than $1,300,000..

In April 2001, after several years of research and input from the community, AIDS Emergency Fund (AEF) launched a new initiative: The Breast Cancer Emergency Fund (BCEF). Modeled on the successful work of AEF in providing direct financial assistance to low-income San Franciscan fighting HIV and AIDS, the new breast cancer initiative honors the compassionate commitment of the caregivers of the womens community who came to the aid of many gay men in the early years of the AIDS pandemic.

In developing BCEF, the board of directors of AIDS Emergency Fund relied on the expertise and input from a distinguished Advisory Board comprised of the leading breast cancer advocates and experts in the city (see list below). They welcomed the initiative being taken by AEF to expand its financial assistance expertise to serve low-income women suffering from breast cancer.

Just as in the early days of AEF in 1982, board members working to launch BCEF were guided by both a general sense of community needs and their own personal experience of illness. Board members and volunteers at AIDS Emergency Fund were eager to befriend and support breast cancer patient Rebecca LePere, the domestic partner of Leslie Ewing, who was had served on the AEF Board and was a past Board President. Rebeca lived to see the launch of BCEF, but succumbed to breast cancer on January 4, 2002.

Meeting Client Needs

In 2003, BCEF was able to provide emergency financial assistance to 107 low-income women and men disabled by breast cancer or its often debilitating treatments. Qualified applicants with incomes below $1,960 per month were eligible for up to $600 in assistance to cover housing, utility or medical expenses. Fundraising efforts kept pace with client demand, and no eligible client was turned away for lack of BCEF resources.

Our Angels

Early and ongoing support from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Junior League of San Francisco enabled AEF to launch the initiative professionally and thoughtfully. Their support also helped open doors of many other breast cancer care organizations who embraced AEFs efforts. Over its first two years, BCEF has been blessed to receive funds from Universal Care, Kendal Jackson Wineries, Castro Lions Club, and others (including a large gift via the Tides Foundation from an anonymous donor).

Community support has been crucial to BCEFs success and will be the key factor in BCEFs ability to continue to fully fund all client needs as the case load increases. In addition to hundreds of individual donors and fundraising events, BCEFs star community fundraiser is Sandy Mama Reinhardt whose annual BCEF dinner and other events raise vital funds that go directly to client grants. (See Events for ticket info for her upcoming BCEF dinner!

We never make grants directly to clients. We pay housing, utility or medical bills on their behalf.