The final AIDS/LifeCycle fundraiser will be next year, according to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center, bringing to an end an event that has brought in $300 million to the two organizations for their HIV/AIDS services over three decades.
The reason is that it has become "financially unsustainable," according to a news release sent to the Bay Area Reporter prior to a virtual town hall September 11.
"In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, production costs for the 7-day event have skyrocketed, while fundraising has been on the decline," the release stated.
Earlier this year, the 545-mile bike ride fundraiser from San Francisco to Los Angeles' Pride weekend raised $10,984,492 between June 2-8. Next year's goal will be to exceed the event's record of $17.8 million, which was in 2022. The 2025 iteration will run June 1-7.
The San Francisco Standard reported last month that ridership was down this year, and with it, money raised. The outlet also reported that the AIDS/LifeCycle had to lay off some staff members.
The decision to end the biking fundraiser means Congressmember Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) will need to clear his calendar next June if he wants to become the first U.S. senator to participate in the weeklong event. The first member of the House to participate in the ride, back in 2014, Schiff had told the B.A.R. earlier this year that he would like to claim that honor as a member of the U.S. Senate, as he is expected to be elected this November as California's junior senator.
AIDS foundation officials praised the ride and what it has accomplished over the years.
"AIDS/LifeCycle has existed as a beacon of strength and hope for people living with HIV and LGBTQ+ communities for more than 30 years," stated Tyler TerMeer, Ph.D., a gay man who is the CEO of the foundation. "As a person living with HIV, participating in this event for 16 years has been life-changing in the best ways — as it has for so many other past and present participants.
"We have built an incredible community, and supported so much more than an annual bicycle ride — we have made an impact on the HIV epidemic," TerMeer added. "The work of SFAF and the center remains as important as ever, and we look forward to working with the AIDS/LifeCycle community to find meaningful ways to continue the ride's legacy."
Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner, who is also a gay man and previously was CEO of the AIDS foundation, stated "funds from this event helped change the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic. No longer is HIV the death sentence it was when the ride began thanks to the advancement in treatments, and new cases of HIV are declining thanks to interventions like PrEP."
"We are incredibly proud of the impact the ride has had on our local communities and the HIV epidemic nationally," Hollendoner added. "With every mile ridden and every dollar raised, the AIDS/LifeCycle community has brought us closer to the end of AIDS. I could not be more grateful to the AIDS/LifeCycle community for all they have done for the clients served by the center and SFAF."
In a statement made briefly before the town hall, an AIDS foundation spokesperson stated, "SFAF and the center remain committed to HIV services and will continue to explore ways to fund those services. At this time, we do not know what our future fundraising efforts will include, but we wish to preserve the legacy of ALC and hope that Riders and Roadies will remain engaged with the agencies."
Cleve Jones, who co-founded the AIDS foundation back in the early days of the epidemic, said AIDS/LifeCycle ending is part of a much larger trend.
"I am very concerned that HIV/AIDS organizations across the country face some very serious challenges and significant corporate and philanthropic partners have reduced or ended their support in San Francisco and across the country," he said in a phone call.
For example, the Levi Strauss Foundation announced last year it was "winding down its HIV/AIDS grantmaking program by the end of 2023, reallocating efforts and playing a pioneering role in supporting other critical issues of the day — namely in the areas of democracy, reproductive justice and immigrant rights" after working on HIV/AIDS since 1982.
"As I understand it, individual contributions only make up less than 5% of San Francisco AIDS Foundation's total revenue with major events like AIDS/LifeCycle and AIDS Walk and the various galas returning less on investment, it seems to me like we all need to step up, so that's exactly why my birthday party is a fundraiser," Jones continued.
Jones was referring to his October 11 birthday bash at the Hibernia, which will mark the debut of the Cleve Jones Community Fund, which will help support the AIDS foundation and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which he also co-founded. It takes place on Jones' 70th birthday.
Asked how much his birthday fundraiser would be able to come up with, Jones said it won't solve the shortfall but would "be a start."
Virtual town hall
At the town hall webinar, which officials said was viewed by just under 900 people, TerMeer and Hollendoner thanked the riders and roadies for their support since the event started in 1994.
"This was a time our community was dying from a highly-stigmatized virus and very few resources existed to fight HIV," Hollendoner said. "We raised awareness about HIV and the LGBTQ+ community in the communities we rode through."
TerMeer said that "specifically cycling events have struggled to return to pre-pandemic levels" and that AIDS/LifeCycle is one of several cycling events that have tried to regain their footing post-COVID.
"Our fixed costs to ride have skyrocketed while participation and fundraising have not kept pace," TerMeer said. "In recent years, too much of those costs have been going to the production costs."
According to TerMeer, between 2019 and 2023, the cost of producing the event doubled. He did not provide dollar amounts.
"To keep ALC in its current form would result in us thinking about a fundraising cost that is much higher than the industry standard or is even ethical for events like ours," TerMeer said.
The foundation cited the end of the SMART Ride in Florida as an example of another bicycle event impacted by increasing costs.
A foundation spokesperson stated, "We have taken action to contain expenses, including re-evaluating vendor contracts, reimaging Orientation Day, minimizing staff travel, reducing the size of the ALC workforce, and more. Even with these efforts, expenses have risen dramatically, and participation has consistently declined to a point where it is no longer financially sustainable for us to continue producing the ride."
TerMeer also stressed that peer-to-peer fundraising "from other bicycle events to walks that are happening" have suffered.
"We've been finding other ways to fill in gaps at our agencies in the best ways that we can," TerMeer said. "Depending on the outcomes in various races in the years, in the months, ahead, our funding could be in jeopardy."
Hollendoner said that leaders are continuing to have conversations about an attenuated ride, or something similar, in the future.
"We do not think it will look like the current form of the seven-day, 545-mile, and for that reason we needed to have that proper closure," he said.
There will be kick off rides, usually around 20 miles, for the 2025 event in San Francisco September 14, in the East Bay October 5, in the North Bay October 6, and in Sacramento October 12. For more information, go to aidslifecycle.org.
Cailin Corbett, the director of AIDS/LifeCycle, stated in the webinar chatroom that the fundraising minimum is $3,500 this year.
TerMeer stressed that this isn't the end of "our collective fight for this community." He said that having been involved in AIDS/LifeCycle has been life-changing.
"In short, I think this ride and experience has really helped me find a sense of belonging and pride and acceptance over the years and I'm just so grateful to be in this community," he said.
Gilberto Mendoza Jr. stated in the webinar chat, "It's been my pleasure to help out with this ride since CAR3," referring to the old California AIDS Ride, which the LifeCycle supplanted.
"We all have done so much to help end HIV/AIDS. For that I am truly grateful," he added. "I will always keep in my heart all those who have stepped up and did something. I participated each year to honor my two partners who passed away during the early years. I will always honor their memory and all that we have done to help others and remember those no longer with us. As a HIV + person for at least since 1987, I am thankful that I have stayed healthy to have been able to help others. I will certainly miss the LOVE BUBBLE."
Updated, 9/12/24: This article has been updated with information from the virtual town hall.
Updated, 9/17/24: This article has been updated with more information on cuts to the LifeCycle program.
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