Non-profit

San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF)

Website:

www.sfaf.org

Location:

San Francisco, CA

Tax ID:

94-2927405

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $44,429,189
Expenses: $48,030,598
Assets: $34,006,668

Type:

HIV/AIDS Services and Advocacy Group

Formation:

1982

CEO:

Tyler TerMeer

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $48,968,255
Expenses: $43,743,756
Total Assets: $36,045,464 22

References

  1. San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2022.

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San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) is one of the largest and oldest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States, formed in 1982 at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. 1 Its primary focus areas include sexual health and substance use services, community engagement and support programs, and advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels. SFAF supports people with HIV and AIDS, gay and bisexual men, trans and gender nonbinary people, people who inject drugs, and others who may be at risk. 2

Background

San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) was formed in 1982 by Marcus Conant, Cleve Jones, and four others as the Kaposi’s Sarcoma Research and Education Foundation at the start of the AIDS epidemic in the United States. Conant was a San Francisco-based dermatologist who recognized the dangers of this disease that was affecting gay men. Jones was a legislative assistant to San Francisco politician Art Agnos, who was on the Health Committee and on the Ways and Means Committee in San Francisco. It started as a telephone information and referral hotline operated by volunteers. With funding, it expanded and became the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in 1984. 1

Work Areas

San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s focus areas are providing sexual health and substance use services, building and maintaining community partnerships, and advocacy. 2

Magnet is SFAF’s sexual health clinic. 3 It provides services to people with HIV and AIDS, gay and bisexual men, trans and gender nonbinary people, people who inject drugs, and others who may be at risk. Services include testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis C testing and treatment, health care, and gender reassignment. 2 SFAF also operates a syringe access services program. 4

SFAF supports community engagement and support programs for those with HIV and AIDS as well as for trans and gender nonbinary people and Black and Latinx people living with HIV. 2 Through the Stonewall Project SFAF provides counseling and organizes support groups. 5

The foundation publishes blogs, newsletters, and a website with information and updates about HIV prevention, treatment, and care. 2

Advocacy

San Francisco AIDS Foundation was a leader, along with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and AIDS Project LA, in advocating for the Ryan White CARE Act which provides federal funding for services at the state and local levels to people with HIV and AIDS. It was passed in 1990 and has been reauthorized by Congress four times since then. 6

SFAF created a public policy department in 1987 and advocates at the local, state, and federal levels in support of those with HIV and AIDS. In the 1990s, it opposed laws that required tracking and reporting of HIV victims and HIV criminalization and fought for legalization of syringe distribution and needle exchanges. It was involved in the National Minority AIDS Initiative in 1998 and worked in the late 2000s to include HIV coverage in the Affordable Care Act. 6

SFAF actively opposed the 2024 San Francisco Proposition F, which required that welfare recipients who test positive for illegal substances go to mandated treatment programs or lose their benefits. Proposition F passed in March 2024. 7

SFAF’s HIV Advocacy Network is a group of activists located in the Bay Area. It focuses on issues associated with HIV/AIDS and drug use and “stand[s] in solidarity with other progressive social justice movements working to dismantle systems of oppression.” 8

Alliances

San Francisco AIDS Foundation Francisco AIDS Foundation is a member of the Getting to Zero San Francisco Consortium focused on reducing HIV transmissions and deaths by 90 percent by 2025. 9 It has partnerships with Bay Area Legal Aid, Catholic Charities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harm Reduction Coalition, HIV Story Project, TGI Justice Project, Transgender Law Center, and the University of California, Berkeley. 10

Events

In partnership with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, San Francisco AIDS Foundation organizes an annual AIDS/Lifecycle, a 7 day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money to support both organizations. 11

SFAF hosts an Annual Tribute Gala. At the 2023 event SFAF honored the LGBT activist group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and then-U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for their contributions. 12

The annual Light in the Grove celebration is held at the National AIDS Memorial Grove each year on the eve of World AIDS Day to raise money for National AIDS Memorial programs. SFAF is a partner sponsor along with Chevron, Bank of America, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Excelerate Foundation. 13

Funding

In the 2023 fiscal year, San Francisco AIDS Foundation had revenues of over $40 million and expenses of over $37 million. It received more than $18 million in government grants. 14

SFAF donors include Horizons Foundation, which describes itself as the “world’s first community foundation of, by, and for LGBTQ people”; 15 San Francisco Foundation, which is a Bay Area community foundation “committed to advancing racial equity and economic inclusion”; 16 donor-advised fund Schwab Charitable Fund; Charities Aid Foundation of America; Mightycause Charitable Foundation; and the Morrison and Foerster Foundation, which focuses on left-of-center issues associated with “social welfare and systemic discrimination” in its donations. 17 18

Leadership

Tyler TerMeer joined San Francisco AIDS Foundation as CEO in 2022. He is the first Black executive and the second living with HIV to lead the foundation. TerMeer has a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Walden University followed by almost 18 years of experience in HIV/AIDS nonprofit management and policy advocacy, including the Ohio AIDS Coalition, Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, AIDS Resource Center Ohio, and Cascade AIDS Project. 19

Douglas Black joined SFAF as CFO in July 2023. Previously he was a finance vice president for Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, 20 which supports LGBT activists and organizations globally to “challenge oppression and seed change.” 21

References

  1. “Our 40 years of history from 1982 to 2022.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. November 22, 2021. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/collections/status/our-40-years-of-history-from-1982-to-2022/
  2. San Francisco AIDS Foundation Financial Statements – June 30, 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/wp-content/uploads/San-Francisco-AIDS-Foundation-Jun23-FS-Final.pdf
  3. “Magnet.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/programs/magnet/
  4. “Syringe Access Services.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/programs/syringe-access-services/
  5. “The Stonewall Project.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/programs/stonewall-project/
  6. “From Awareness to Activism.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. November 21, 2022. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/collections/status/from-awareness-to-activism/
  7. Lydia O’Connor. “San Francisco Passes Measure Requiring Drug Tests For Welfare Recipients.” HuffPost. March 7, 2024. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/san-francisco-passes-measure-requiring-drug-tests-for-welfare-recipients/ar-BB1jskc3
  8. “HIV Advocacy Network.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/get-involved/hiv-advocacy-network/
  9.  Getting to Zero San Francisco homepage. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://gettingtozerosf.org/
  10. “Our Partnerships.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/about-us/our-partnerships/
  11. “Why We Ride.” AIDS/LifeCycle. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.aidslifecycle.org/why-we-ride/about-the-ride/
  12. “San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Tribute Gala and After Party.” San Francisco Chronicle. August 15, 2023. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sfchronicle.com/membership/article/san-francisco-aids-foundation-s-tribute-gala-18297626.php
  13. “Light in the Grove.” National AIDS Memorial. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.aidsmemorial.org/litg
  14. San Francisco AIDS Foundation Annual Report 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://cdn.brandfolder.io/XUPFM47Z/as/hvwxhsq6qmkbhjph67wm98j/FY23_Annual_Report.pdf
  15. Horizons Foundation homepage. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/
  16. “About Us.” San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://sff.org/about-us/
  17. “MoFo Foundation.” Morrison Foerster. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.mofo.com/culture/mofo-foundation
  18. “Results for San Francisco AIDS Foundation.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?sort=best&form%5B%5D=IRS990ScheduleI&year%5B%5D=2022&state%5B%5D=CA&q=san+francisco+aids+foundation&submit=Apply
  19. Desiree Guerrero. “Tyler TerMeer Makes History as SFAF’s First Black CEO.” HIV Plus Magazine. February 10, 2022. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.hivplusmag.com/cover-stories/2022/2/10/tyler-termeer-makes-history-sfafs-first-black-ceo
  20. “Douglas Black.” San Francisco AIDS Foundation – Our Leadership. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sfaf.org/about-us/our-leadership/
  21. “About Us.” Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.astraeafoundation.org/about-us/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: June - May
  • Tax Exemption Received: October 1, 1984

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Jun Form 990 $44,429,189 $48,030,598 $34,006,668 $4,707,857 N $25,893,267 $0 $178,229 $634,275 PDF
    2020 Jun Form 990 $51,355,015 $48,651,325 $35,375,618 $4,862,455 N $27,992,030 $0 $305,020 $973,056 PDF
    2019 Jun Form 990 $48,128,837 $44,223,137 $32,196,629 $4,718,314 Y $29,951,130 $0 $320,183 $805,189 PDF
    2018 Jun Form 990 $39,158,234 $37,426,103 $28,468,211 $5,016,637 Y $29,043,320 $0 $219,415 $856,188 PDF
    2017 Jun Form 990 $31,786,296 $31,653,409 $26,355,769 $4,884,154 N $26,837,684 $0 $172,676 $842,281
    2016 Jun Form 990 $29,914,387 $28,424,854 $25,778,207 $4,903,753 N $27,790,710 $0 $197,337 $697,518 PDF
    2015 Jun Form 990 $28,058,951 $24,800,223 $24,749,714 $4,450,637 N $28,156,781 $0 $148,136 $599,869 PDF
    2014 Jun Form 990 $28,998,148 $24,232,558 $21,892,775 $4,511,715 N $29,285,894 $0 $154,214 $524,364 PDF
    2013 Jun Form 990 $24,124,605 $23,517,183 $16,008,075 $3,911,398 N $24,458,270 $0 $233,917 $507,293 PDF
    2012 Jun Form 990 $23,157,464 $23,406,200 $15,359,084 $4,035,846 N $23,912,217 $0 $210,808 $461,220 PDF
    2011 Jun Form 990 $20,626,207 $20,999,560 $15,548,272 $3,577,037 N $20,942,815 $270,313 $209,928 $498,144 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF)

    1035 MARKET ST STE 400
    San Francisco, CA 94103-1665