Money Makes the World Go Around Last year, I was told by a couple of other AIDS organizations that they would not support AHA's legislation to protect people with AIDS from eviction because 'they didn't want to piss off their funders'. Ouch! That hurt my soul. To have an organization that WE founded who is supposed to be looking out for our interests turn on us like that. But it gave me a reason to pause and contemplate how an organization can go so terribly wrong, so that I would not make the same mistakes with AIDS Housing Alliance/SF. I realized that, in order to stay in integrity, we must focus on generating our own money so we can continue to do what is morally right. Giving away your power, whether as an individual or an organization, doesn't happen in an instant. It happens thru the culmination of a series of decisions that compromise your integrity. Maybe because we have a direct experiential and emotional connection to what our members are going thru, we have a better chance at maintaining an authentic voice for the AIDS community. I do know those people who made decisions to prioritize their funders over us were not being run by disabled people with AIDS. We are the only AIDS organization in SF run by a disabled PWA. Please consider donating to our cause. Help us keep our voice! Building a Movement, Not an Empire If there are 9,500 of us in desperate need of housing help, and only about 1,000 who have help, something ain't working. We need more resources. The way to increase those resources is to make our needs a priority. We are accomplishing this thru the use of the Iron Triangle of Power. The three points of this triangle are: Moral Highground, Many Voters, and Money. We have already captured the moral highground. Housing is a human right. Justice is on our side. We have many voters. There are 18,000 people with HIV/AIDS in SF. The last mayoral race was won by 10,000 votes. People with HIV/AIDS can elect the next mayor of SF, as well as influence who becomes Supervisor in District 8, 6, 5 and 9. The final point is money. By being democratically funded, focusing on grassroots community fundraising and small donations from individuals, we stand the best chance of maintaining our integrity and authenticity.
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