December 10, 2002:

AIDS Emergency Fund Announces New Grant Guidelines for 2003

The Board of Directors of AIDS Emergency Fund announced new guidelines for client eligibility and grant amounts that are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2003.

AEF will continue to provide emergency funds in 2003 to clients who have a diagnosis of disabling HIV or disabling AIDS, are residents of San Francisco, and have a current income of $1,960 per month or less. However, clients who have received grants in any two of the last six years will not be eligible for a grant in 2003 (i.e. clients who have accessed services in any two calendar years since January 1, 1997).

Clients in their first year of eligibility for AEF assistance in 2003 can present unpaid bills of up to $600 per year to secure or maintain stable housing, access funds for co-payments on insured medical services or for non-covered medical expenses, or prevent the shut-off of essential utilities. This $600 first-year grant level has not changed since 1998. Clients in their second year of eligibility for AEF grants in 2003 will be eligible to receive up to $500 in aid, an increase of $100 over the previous cap of $400 for second-year clients.

Prior to these changes, clients could receive up to $600 of support in their first year as clients, and $400 per year thereafter, with no cap on the number of consecutive years, provided that the other eligibility requirements were met. Additionally, the Fund has previously paid non-emergency utility expenses, gym memberships, cell phone or long-distance telephone bills and other non-emergency expenditures. These types of payments will be eliminated in the new year. As has always been the case, AIDS Emergency Fund does not make cash grants to individuals. The Fund makes payments on behalf of its clients directly to landlords, utility companies, and medical service providers.

These changes reflect the painful reality of the current tough economy, said Ralph Petersen, AEF’s President. Throughout 2002, we drew down over $600,000 of our reserve fund to maintain clients grants in a poor fundraising environment. We have carefully drawn these new guidelines to best serve as many of our clients as possible. In lean times, we are committed to serving our neediest clients those facing shut-off notices, evictions, and uninsured medical expenses.

These new criteria recommit AEF to its original mission of being a funder of last resort for people facing short-term financial emergencies as a result of their HIV/AIDS illness. AEF will continue to collaborate with other AIDS organizations and city agencies to find longer-term solutions to the chronic financial problems that plague those clients who perennially rely on our grants.

Prior to making the difficult decision to change client eligibility guidelines, the Board took several steps to reduce its non-essential expenses and boost fundraising efforts in the new year. AIDS Emergency Fund recently hired an experienced Executive Director, Mike Smith, charged with tightening the agency’s administrative budget and aggressively seeking new funds to return the agency to a balanced budget in 2003 and beyond. Smith has already reduced projected overhead for 2003 by $97,000 by both signing a new lease on cheaper office space and moving many previously contracted-out services in-house.

The Board of Directors takes its financial responsibility extremely seriously, said Petersen. We are trying hard to meet the needs of current clients, while insuring that the agency is solvent and fiscally sound so we can continue to serve clients for many years to come.

Over its twenty years of service, AIDS Emergency Fund has raised $20,000,000 for people living with HIV and AIDS. In six of those years, the agency had to temporarily reduce the grant amounts or restrict client eligibility. If the agency’s financial picture improves considerably during 2003, the Board of Directors will consider reviewing these new requirements.

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