SFAF, Horizons gives $105K to help fight Knight initiative

Bay Area Reporter

SFAF, Horizons gives $105K to help fight Knight initiative
by Terry Beswick
February 10, 2000

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation recently sent two checks totaling $55,000 to the campaign to defeat the Knight initiative, Proposition 22 on the March 7 presidential primary ballot. Officially called the Limit on Marriages initiative, the measure would ban recognition of same-sex marriages in California if they are legally performed in another state.

Meanwhile, the Horizons Foundation, a gay and lesbian philanthropic organization, donated $50,000 to No on Knight on Tuesday, February 8. Previously, Horizons had made a $75,000 in-kind contribution to the campaign, in the form of extensive public opinion polls that were used in the development of No on Knight's statewide campaign strategy. They were the Horizons Foundation's first-ever donations to a political campaign.

The two groups' contributions were made in response to increasingly urgent appeals from the the No on Knight/Proposition 22 campaign to help them buy television time to get commercials on the air.

"T.V. air time is selling fast and furious because of Bradley, Gore, McCain, Bush and the insurance companies," said No on Knight campaign manager Mike Marshall, who says the most helpful way for people to make contributions is with their credit cards over the the website (www.NoOnKnight.org)."

As the campaign goes into its final month, Marshall says he is spending most of his time begging and borrowing money, and spending it faster than it comes in. "I wired in $500,000 [for airtime] today, and we're hoping to wire in another $500,000 tomorrow."

SFAF Executive Director Pat Christen said the agency made a $10,000 contribution as part of a January 27 fundraiser for No On Knight in San Francisco. "What we're saying is that at this particular time we believe it is important for the AIDS Foundation to make this statement: that homophobia undermines AIDS prevention," Christen told the Bay Area Reporter.

She decided to propose that SFAF give $45,000 more when Marshall appealed to the audience to dig deeper in their pockets to help the campaign buy television time to compete with new commercials from the other side.

"This is a tiny drop in the bucket in comparison to what's needed," said Christen, "But for us it's a significant amount."

With a $19.3 million annual budget, SFAF made the donations, according to Christen, from non-governmental "unrestricted" funds raised from individual contributions and community events, such as the annual AIDS Walk or AIDS Ride. This fiscal year, SFAF's total unrestricted funds budget is $12.8 million.

Christen said SFAF policy allows her, in consultation with other senior managers, to contribute up to $50,000 to political causes without obtaining prior approval from the organization's board of directors. Though the total contribution exceeded that limit, Christen said that board members had been informally consulted.

"I felt like it was important that the ad campaign get on the air against the initiative, as soon as possible," said Christen, adding she got "unanimous consent" from her senior management team.

"I think it would be unethical for us to ignore this," Christen said.

SFAF's contributions to No On Knight are not the first time the nonprofit AIDS service organization has drawn on its public policy budget to fight statewide initiatives. The group contributed to campaigns against the draconian Lyndon LaRouche AIDS quarantine ballot measure in the late 1980's, and more recently contributed to the campaign against Propositon 209, an anti-affirmative action measure.

SFAF is not the only AIDS service organization to contribute to No on Knight.

According to campaign finance filing reports, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a $35 million medical care provider to approximately 5000 people with HIV/AIDS in the Los Angeles area, recently donated $5000 to No On Knight.

If the Knight initiative passes, Christen believes that gays and lesbians would suffer further discrimination. "The concern I would have is that it would send another hideous statement that gays and lesbians are not equal, and are considered lesser human beings" by California voters.

Increasingly, Christen said, research has shown that there is a strong correlation between homophobic attitudes in society, self-esteem among gay and bisexual men, and HIV transmission - particularly among African American and Latino men.

Christen pointed to findings released last month from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggesting that the social stigma of homosexuality "has helped fuel the spread" of HIV within minority communities.

"It's kind of astounding if you think about it," observed Christen, who has been involved in AIDS advocacy work since the days of the Reagan administration, "that the CDC would come out and say that homophobia is correlated to HIV transmission."

Horizons Foundations Exectuive Director Peter Teague agreed with Cristen's assessment. "We're only beginning to understand the links between homophobia and, not not just AIDS, but a whole range of public health issues. My personal view is [No on Knight donations] are a good investment in AIDS prevention, thinking about AIDS as symptom of homophobia."

Marshall, whose fundraising efforts have been been far less successful than Yes on Knight's, was effusive in his praise for both SFAF and Horizons.

"The only reason we have this money is Pat Christen," said Marshall of of SFAF's $55,000 donation. "The AIDS Foundation gets this, that if the Knight initiative passes, it doesn't help them do their job in preventing new HIV infections."

Marshall also credited Teague with "taking a tremendous lead" in the No on Knight effort. "He's calling other non-profits asking them to match their contributions."

Not everyone in the community agreed that AIDS service and prevention organizations should give money to fight the anti-gay Knight initiative.

"When you give money to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, what you believe you are giving money to is direct client services and direct prevention programs," commented A. Toni Young, an HIV prevention consultant who co-chairs the HIV Prevention and Planning Council.

"I see their long-term vision, but $55,000 worth of sterile needles in the midst of an epidemic among injection drug users would be a more meaningful use of funds," Young said.

[Editor's note: It seems like food and shelter might help people with AIDS a bit more than needle-exchange, people can't eat needles or sleep on needles!]