AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT AIDS/LIFECYCLE 2025 AND BEYOND.
To the AIDS/LifeCycle community,
We have made the difficult decision that 2025 will be the last year of AIDS/LifeCycle. This decision was not arrived at easily or hastily. It has become clear that it is no longer financially sustainable for us to produce the Ride due to skyrocketing production costs, which have been exacerbated by year-after-year declines in ridership and fundraising.
(You can watch the community announcement and Q&A from our recent community town hall below.)
We want to be clear that San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center remain committed to the fight to end AIDS and to the provision of HIV services. And we are committed to preserving and building upon the incredible legacy of the AIDS/LifeCycle community.
For more than 30 years, over one million people have ridden, roadied, donated, and volunteered for this remarkable event, first as California AIDS Ride, and then as AIDS/LifeCycle. Together, you have raised over $300 million for the life-saving work of the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation. On behalf of the thousands of people who have benefited from your efforts, we are eternally grateful.
We have made this announcement now so the ALC community has time to prepare to join us for one more journey down the coast. And what a journey it will be! The Last 545!
We will now begin the effort to sunset AIDS/LifeCycle in style. We will be forming workgroups and soliciting feedback from the community to ensure that we are celebrating the past 30 years of the Ride in the most meaningful ways possible. There will also be opportunities for community members to help guide future efforts to continue the important mission of the Ride – as the visibility and funds raised by ALC are still needed, not only in 2025, but beyond.
We know that this announcement is a sad one and may be hard to process. The Ride has been a significant part of all of our lives, connected to those we’ve lost, those who live, and the incredible, beautiful community that we’ve helped to create. That will never go away.
This may be the final AIDS/LifeCycle, but the Ride lives in each of us. We hope you will join us over the next 10 months as we celebrate all that we have accomplished and work to find new ways to carry on that legacy well beyond those magical 7 days in June.
Yours In Community,
Dr. Tyler TerMeer Joe Hollendoner
Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer
San Francisco AIDS Foundation Los Angeles LGBT Center
TOWN HALL ANNOUNCEMENT AND Q&A WITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
DR. TYLER TERMEER AND JOE HOLLENDONER
PRESS RELEASE
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This is a living document that will be updated as we receive additional frequent questions from the community. This version is updated as of 7PM 9/11/24
If you are a community member with thoughts about meaningful ways to celebrate AIDS/LifeCycle 2025 and to continue the legacy of the Ride as we move forward, please send your thoughts to feedback@aidslifecycle.org.
If you are a member of the media with a question not addressed below, please contact media@sfaf.org or mediarelations@lalgbtcenter.org
Q: Will there be a 2025 AIDS/LifeCycle?
A: Yes. There will be a 2025 AIDS/LifeCycle.
Q: Can I still register for ALC 2025?
A: We have paused Cyclist registration for ALC 2025 to ensure a safe and positive experience for participants. We will monitor closely to determine whether we can re-open registration in the coming months. Roadie registration remains open.
Q: Will 2025 be the last AIDS/LifeCycle?
A: Yes. 2025 will be the last year that the AIDS/LifeCycle event takes place.
Q: Why is the Ride ending?
A: Several factors have influenced the decision to end AIDS/LifeCycle. Ultimately, following the pandemic, we have seen production costs skyrocket while ridership and fundraising have rapidly declined. Continuing AIDS/LifeCycle is no longer financially sustainable.
Q: Why are you making this announcement now?
A: Deciding to end AIDS/LifeCycle was a difficult one. It was not a decision that was arrived at easily or quickly. We have taken action to contain expenses, including re-evaluating vendor contracts, reimaging Orientation Day, minimizing staff travel, reducing the size of the ALC workforce, and more. We’ve also worked with the community to try to return participation and fundraising to pre-pandemic levels. We’ve evaluated increasing the fundraising minimum, too.
Even with these efforts, expenses have risen dramatically, and participation has consistently declined to a point where it is no longer financially sustainable for us to continue producing the Ride.
As soon as we made the difficult decision, we wanted to inform the community, as you deserve utter transparency. By making this announcement as we enter Kickoff season for ALC 2025, we hope to ensure that the final ALC can be one for the history books – one that allows us to celebrate all that the ALC community has achieved over the past three decades.
Q: Why has it become financially unsustainable to continue the Ride?
A: While AIDS/LifeCycle is so much more than just a fundraiser, at its core is the mission of raising money for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Since the start of the pandemic, the amount of money AIDS/LifeCycle has raised that actually gets invested in our programs and services has significantly declined.
Our Riders and Roadies work too hard to raise money for HIV services, and too much of the funding raised has been going to production costs in recent years. To continue ALC in its current form would result in us having a fundraising cost much higher than what is considered industry standard or ethical for an event like ours.
Q: What does the term cost of fundraising refer to?
A: Cost of fundraising refers to the total expenses associated with producing and operating a fundraising event. These expenses are then divided by the total amount raised.
In 2019, before the Covid pandemic, AIDS/LifeCycle’s cost of fundraising was consistent with the industry standard for similar events: 33.4%. In that year, ALC raised $16.8. In 2023 and 2024, the cost of fundraising was more than double that of 2019.
Q: How much of ALC’s proceeds go to programs and services provided by San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center?
A: 100% of AIDS/LifeCycle net proceeds are invested in HIV prevention and care services provided by the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation. No portion of funds raised by ALC are allocated to executive salaries or other agency expenses.
The only expenses allocated against funds raised by ALC are related to ALC personnel expenses, production costs, and participant expenses.
Q: How will this decision affect the programs and services provided by San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center?
A: The reality is, SFAF and the Center have become less reliant on the money raised by ALC following the pandemic while still maintaining services. This is because both agencies have a diverse fundraising program and generate revenue in other ways.
That said, government funding for HIV services is always in jeopardy. While our agencies continue to advocate for HIV funding at all levels of government, we will explore new ways to sustain programming through new or expanded fundraising initiatives. Making this decision about ALC will allow us to focus on those efforts.
Q: Why can’t we keep doing the Ride if it makes even $1?
A: In its more than 30 years, our Riders and Roadies have raised over $300 million for the life-saving work of San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. While every dollar in the fight to end AIDS matters, the cost of fundraising has skyrocketed in recent years, making it cost-prohibitive to continue the event. We would rather channel future donations to efforts that allow even more funds to benefit our agencies’ programs and services.
Q: What will happen to the AIDS/LifeCycle Staff?
A: If a reduction in force were to occur, it would not happen before June 30, 2025. Consistent with agency practice, we would envision providing a severance package to any laid-off employees, including financial compensation, COBRA coverage, mental health support, and career counseling.
The Ride staff are the first and foremost, members of the AIDS/LifeCycle community and the backbone of the event. We will ensure they will be cared for and their contributions to the Love Bubble will be honored as we sunset the event.
Please help us take care of our staff by making sure they are treated with love and respect as they work to produce an exceptional 2025 event.
Q: Is there any way to “save the Ride”?
A: No. While the agencies are focused on evolving the way that we raise funding for HIV services, based on the research and modeling we have done, we believe the most responsible thing to do is to focus on ending the Ride with dignity and intention.
Q: What efforts were made to try to keep the ride going?
A: We have taken action to contain expenses, including re-evaluating vendor contracts, reimagining Orientation Day, minimizing staff travel, reducing the size of the ALC workforce, and more. We’ve also worked with the community to try to return participation and fundraising to pre-pandemic levels. We’ve evaluated increasing the fundraising minimum, too.
Even with these efforts, expenses have risen dramatically, and participation has consistently declined to a point where it is no longer financially sustainable for us to continue producing the Ride.
Q: Why not increase the fundraising minimum?
A: Riders, on average, raise $5,000-$6,000 despite the minimum fundraising being $3,500. In 2024, because Ride expenses escalated and ridership was down, it cost the agencies approximately $6,000 per Rider. (The cost per Rider takes into account the total staff and production expenses incurred divided by the total revenue raised.)
ALC participants have historically raised more than the industry average for endurance peer-to-peer fundraising events. Even so, expenses have begun to outpace fundraising for the Ride. Even if possible, which we do not believe is the case, asking Riders to raise significantly more than our historical average of $5-6K per person runs the risk of decreasing accessibility to, and participation in the event.
Q: What about a 1-day or 3-day event? Or some other kind of event?
A: SFAF and the Center remain committed to HIV services and will continue to explore ways to fund those services. At this time, we do not know what our future fundraising efforts will include, but we wish to preserve the legacy of ALC and hope that Riders and Roadies will remain engaged with the agencies.
Q: What will the end of the Ride look like?
A: While ALC 2025 will have the structure that we all know and love, this final Ride will celebrate over 30 years of riding and the more than $300 million raised by the ALC community. Participation for ALC 2025 will be limited to 2500 Riders and 700 Roadies. Our goal is to break the previous ALC fundraising record of $17.8 million.
You can also be assured that safety remains our top priority for AIDS/LifeCycle. We will have the staffing and volunteers necessary to ensure a fully supported experience.
Q: We always said we’d ride until AIDS was over. How can we stop now?
A: We always said we would ride until there’s an end to AIDS. And while we’re not there yet, we have seen the way HIV treatment and prevention have evolved in the past four decades. It’s time for our efforts to evolve as well, so that we are focused on the most effective ways to address the HIV disparities that continue to exist within our community, especially for BIPOC and trans individuals.
Q: How can I continue supporting the work of San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center?
A: Preserving the legacy of AIDS/LifeCycle and maintaining the ALC community are priorities for both agencies. We will be working with ALC community members to determine the most
meaningful ways for members of the ALC community to remain connected to and part of the work. Until then, invite everyone to join us as we focus on making ALC 2025 an epic success, and learn more about how to directly support the work of SFAF and the Center through upcoming events, direct giving, planned giving, and more
Learn more about opportunities to get involved with the work of each agency by visiting:
San Francisco AIDS Foundation: www.sfaf.org
Los Angeles LGBT Center: www.lalgbtcenter.org
Q: What happens now?
A: Registration for ALC 2025 is open and will undoubtedly make history. We encourage everyone who cares about the Ride to get involved. That means riding, roadie-ing, participating virtually (@ Home Hero), donating, or volunteering.
Q: What if the Ride reaches its on-event capacity?
A: We anticipate that ALC 2025 will reach capacity. We have room for 2500 Riders on the 2025 Ride as more would compromise the safety of the event. Because we know that not every person who registers ends up coming on the Ride, we register more people than the number of spots available each year. As 2025 will likely have an unprecedented number of people wanting to participate, and only 2500 Rider spots, we will be closing registration once it reaches a point that we believe, based on historical averages, will result in every one of the 2500 seats being filled. We will have more information soon about how we will monitor registration and fundraising to ensure that we have registered enough people to fill the Ride in 2025.
If ALC reaches rider capacity, remember that community members can always serve as Roadies, participate virtually as an @ Home Hero, or donate to a Participant.
Q: How can I share my thoughts or feedback about this announcement, and my ideas about how to make ALC 2025, and the road ahead amazing?
A: You are welcome to submit feedback to feedback@aidslifecycle.org. We will also release a survey in the coming weeks to help us inform how to best celebrate our final Ride and maintain the ALC legacy and community on the road ahead.
