NEWS RELEASE Contacts: Bonnie Osborn Gustavo Suárez L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center San Francisco AIDS Foundation 323-860-7364 415-487-3031 bosborn@laglc.org gsuarez@sfaf.org L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation Denounce Lawsuit To Stop Fundraising for People With HIV and AIDS Non-Profits Condemn Pallotta TeamWorks' Legal Maneuver to Interfere with AIDS/LifeCycle, Cite Increasingly Conflicting Interests of PTW and AIDS Charities December 7, 2001, San Francisco, Los Angeles -- In an effort to stop AIDS/LifeCycle™, a new non-profit HIV fundraising event, the for-profit Pallotta TeamWorks company (PTW), is suing the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation to stop them from proceeding with the event. The two charities are confident they will prevail in the lawsuit and stated that AIDS/LifeCycle would go forward in full force. "It is unconscionable that a for-profit company would try to stop charities from raising money to save people's lives," said Gwenn A. Baldwin, executive director of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center. The community-based charities note the timing of the suit is not coincidental. Though AIDS/LifeCycle has been active since early October, Pallotta only filed its suit shortly following highly successful AIDS/LifeCycle recruiting events in Los Angeles and San Francisco drew large numbers of enthusiastic riders and volunteers. The two organizations say that by filing now PTW aims to disrupt a key period in marketing, recruitment and training for the event. The AIDS/LifeCycle™ Web site – www.aidslifecycle.org -- and toll-free information line – 866-Bike4AIDS – are currently operating. "This retaliatory move by Pallotta TeamWorks is taken in response to our refusal to renew a contract with them because of large cost overruns and other serious budgeting and expense improprieties related to this year's California AIDS Ride," said Pat Christen, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS. "It is extraordinary that a company that claims to care about people living with AIDS and HIV should try to stop a benefit to provide life-sustaining services to those very same people." The charities said that during the 2001 California AIDS Ride, PTW incurred costs running hundreds of thousand of dollars over budget without receiving the approval of the two non-profits as required by contract. On October 11 the two charitable organizations issued a joint release announcing the creation of AIDS/LifeCycle™ and the end of their involvement with the California AIDS Ride. The Gay & Lesbian Center and the AIDS Foundation decided not to renew their contracts with PTW after months of negotiations during which they failed to reach agreement on several important issues, including reasonable financial controls for PTW spending, PTW cross promotion of themselves and their other events and marketing strategies. (A copy of the October 11 press release can be found at http://www.aidslifecycle.org/pressrelease.html) "With last year's California AIDS Ride, we raised more money than ever before, but because of PTW's budget overruns, the amount of money going to AIDS services declined significantly from the previous year," Baldwin said. "Our organizations have a fiduciary duty to our donors and to the people we serve to ensure the best possible use of funds. We will not give in to this heavy-handed attempt to prevent us from fulfilling that obligation." "That PTW would try to intimidate us further underscores the need for the Center and the Foundation to go our own way. It makes clear that PTW's business needs are very much at odds with the needs of our organizations and the communities we serve," added Christen. "We are thrilled with AIDS/LifeCycle and the enthusiastic response this new event has generated. This inaugural event will be skillfully produced to assure the greatest net return is dedicated to our fight against AIDS." Baldwin and Christen joined in saying the community response to AIDS/LifeCycle has been strong and enthusiastic, noting that they have received hundreds of supportive messages from riders and donors hailing the creation of AIDS/LifeCycle. With the broadest array of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender services available anywhere and a budget of $37 million, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center is the world's largest gay and lesbian organization. The Gay & Lesbian Center is a powerful, nonprofit force for gay and lesbian civil rights and home to a wide array of free or low-cost health, legal, employment, educational, cultural and social programs especially designed for our community. A staff of more than 275 employees and 3,000 volunteers welcomes nearly a quarter million visits from ethnically diverse youth and adults each year. Through its Pedro Zamora Youth HIV and Jeffrey Goodman Special Care clinics and on-site pharmacy, the Center provides education, prevention, treatment, testing and mental health services to thousands of people with AIDS each year. Access to information and services is also available at the Center's Web site, www.laglc.org. Established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is one of the oldest and most important AIDS service organizations in the United States. With a staff of 105 and an annual budget of $24 million, SFAF offers a comprehensive array of critical services such as one-on-one treatment consultations, housing assistance, case management and the California AIDS Hotline (800-367-AIDS), annually serving 130,000 individuals impacted by HIV and AIDS. The SFAF HIV Prevention Project is the nation's largest needle exchange program, exchanging 2 million syringes annually. The Foundation is a leader in the fight for treatment access and has recently created a global affiliate working on treatment access in sub- Saharan Africa. A non-profit, community-based organization, SFAF reaches over 1.5 million other individuals through community outreach, advocacy efforts, prevention campaigns, and the Web (www.sfaf.org, www.gaylife.org, www.aidshotline.org). -- 30 --