Under One Roof is the charity retail shop that keeps taking advantage of the LGBT community and its recent announcement that it is closing its doors – again – at the end of the month is a relief.
It should have happened over a year ago, when we last wrote in this space that the nonprofit organization should shutter rather than take a deal to open a shop in the Financial District – not exactly the best location for brisk walk-up sales, especially on weekends when it's a ghost town.
But some things never change and such was the case with Under One Roof, which could not dig itself out of an expensive long-term lease in the Castro that saw its annual rent go from $80,000 to more than $200,000 starting in 2008 until 2013. When the economy tanked during the recession in 2008-2009, Under One Roof found itself in dire financial straits in a store it couldn't afford and with sales projections it couldn't reach. Checks to benefiting HIV/AIDS service organizations – the sole purpose of the store in the first place – dwindled. Predictably, AIDS organization executives were loath to publicly say what should have been done – give up the ship – for fear of seeing whatever pittance they were receiving from Under One Roof dry up. All in all a pitiful end to what was once a wonderful nonprofit that put people living with HIV/AIDS ahead of everything else. Unfortunately, it hasn't been like that in years.
Under One Roof's current board is no different than previous iterations. New board chair Tim Smith refused to provide financial information to our reporter for his recent story on the July 31 closure. Smith would not answer our questions about recent monthly expenses and other information. Last year, board members Tony Hart and Jennifer Kutz canceled an interview with us so they wouldn't have to answer questions about those pesky money matters. One week later, they reversed course and divulged financial details about the store's arrangement with Crocker Galleria in the Financial District. And while it was a generous deal, the store couldn't make it there either. Obviously, the board had little familiarity with marketing strategies. Shoppers weren't going to trek downtown from the Castro, so in effect Under One Roof sacrificed its longtime loyal customer base for green dollar signs that turned out to be an illusion.
This whole sorry episode once again raises questions about the viability of third-party charities – whereby an umbrella nonprofit makes grants to other nonprofit beneficiaries in exchange for volunteer work or other participation. We saw the Academy of Friends (Oscar viewing party and gala) melt down several years ago. But AOF, to our surprise, frankly, managed to turn it around by going back to its roots and forecasting a more realistic fundraising model. It's paid off as the events the last few years have drawn a steady attendance and managed to return money to the benefiting agencies. AOF also brought in one of the original founders to help shore things up, and has had stable board leadership. AOF may not have fancy offices anymore, but this year it returned $90,000 to six nonprofits.
It used to be that Under One Roof was a place you could find unique items and holiday gifts and you would feel good shopping there knowing that local HIV/AIDS nonprofits would benefit. Sometime in the last six years that changed due to what can only be described as mismanagement and hubris. We suspect that the days of retail nonprofits are a thing of the past, but if this model is to be tried again, there needs to be more careful oversight by stakeholders so that PWAs aren't in a lurch. Those agencies that received checks from Under One Roof will need to find some way to recoup that revenue, and it's their clients who are suffering because of it.