...- «,_ .,~.;. : -\ :..~ allotta Teamworks, the for- Pprofit fundraising event-pro- duction business behind vari- ous AIDS awareness and vaccine rides. has no fans at Vermont CARES. Pallotta Teamworks (PT) has been the subject of increasing amounts of negative publicity, prima- rily in the gay and lesbian press and in full-page ads funded by a group of “concemed activists” who’ve dubbed themselves “AIDS Community Donor Action.” The group criticizes PT for its high fees and low returns to the contracting charities, the most recently reported result a dismal 14 cents given to charity for each dollar raised in the June Washington, DC AIDS,Ride. The guidelines of the Wise Giving Alliance, a charity watchdog group, require that benefi- ciaries should receive 60 percent or more of the proceeds from a fundraising event. The organization has also been sued for allegedly misrepresent- ing expected returns since 1997. have VT Cares Reflects on 5 Ride ed, it’s just as well. “The thing is that none of that money benefits Vermont in any way,” Farrell pointed out. “Pallotta brings in its own tents, food, vans, everything, so even though the AIDS vaccine funds of course benefit research laboratories, there’s not even a benefit for Vermont economically.” Farrell said her main con- cern is that “people have the informa- tion and know where the money they donate is going. We have limited resources in Vermont. I would never want to discourage people from giv- ing to whatever cause they choose, but they should know who benefits. The [PT] riders can’t guarantee to their sponsors_ what percentage of the money is actually going to the chari- ties. No local nonprofit organization could spend 86 percent on expenses and get away with it.” The ASO director has great respect for the riders themselves: “The people who ride [for PT] — their hearts are in the right place. And it’s a hugely supported ride. Pallotta pro- limited resources in Vermont. I would never want to discourage people from giving to whatever cause they choose, but they should know who benefits.” Kendall Farrell PT canceled its scheduled 5-day ride from Montreal, Canada to Portland, Maine, by way of Vennont, due to below-expectations rider reg- istrations. PT sent an e-mail to partic- ipants in the Canada ride explaining that it was “nearly 1,600 riders short Of our goal of 2,800 registrants” for the Canada AIDS Vaccine Ride. Each rider was required to raise a mini- mum of $3,500 to participate. And, as VT CARES execu- tive Director Kendall Farrell suggest- vides training resources and glossy fundraising materials and maps, and vans, and tent cities and meals. But then the organization takes'$350,000 _ off the top as a fee, plus expenses.” There is a local alternative to the Pallotta Teamworks AIDS rides: The Vermont CARES Champ ride. “We have a great route up and down lake Champlain and around Addison County,” Farrell said. That one-day ride took place in June. There is a long term goal of expand- §“ ing the ride around Vermont or per- haps around Lake Champlain, but “we don’t have the money to expand that largely and quickly. Buying all those vans and tents [as PT has] is a huge expense. And that’s the differ- ence between a for-profit and a non- profit.” Farrell characterized local businesses as “fantastic” at donating goods and services to help people with AIDS and to support services. There hasn’t been much — if any — spillover of bad publicity to other AIDS fundraising efforts, Farrell said. “We said, ‘hey, look at this, we’re local, and nonprofit, and we can show you our books.’ I respect people’s choices; I just want people to make them informed choic- es.” Asked to comment on the purging of the CDC website of links to comdom and clean needle infor- mation, Farrell said, “Is some of the prevention information that people need popular? No. But the best way to do prevention is to recognize that there are risky behaviors that we have to talk about.” g VT CARES recently began its needle-exchange program in St. Johnsbury, but already the agency has felt the backlash. “Mostly people want to know whether we can do this without ‘informing’ the communities we locate exchanges in. It’s not only legal to exchange needles, but it’s directly linked to our mission of pre- venting AIDS transmission.” The agency has for some time now had to “finagle sources” in order to ensure that federal grants specifying abstinence-only preven- tion policies are not spent on needle exchanges, distribution of condoms, or safer-sex information. The agency had been able to find private money to fund those efforts, Farrell reported. “The gay and lesbian com- munity is very good about keeping community organizations going,” Farrell enthused. “Of course there some donor fatigue, that feeling of ‘when’s it going to be over?’ But there is no more important torch to bear than caring for people with AIDS. Our biggest challenge is to keep AIDS on the radar.” Oneway Vermont CARES is doing that is with its upcoming AIDS Walk: “Step Up, Step Out, Stop AIDS” on September 26 in Burlington. Walkers raise money by getting sponsors who pledge a cer- tain amount for completing the walk. Information on the AIDS Walk is available online (http2//www.vtcares.org/develop- ment.htm) or by calling the Vermont ' CARES office (802-863-2437). v For more information, see the following websites: ;_ www.bethepeople.com (Pallotta Teamworks) www.aidscommunitydonoraction.org (Critics of Pallotta Teamworks) www.vtcares.org (Vemiont CARES) www.give.org (Wise Giving Alliance, a charity watchdog group) SOCIALLY RESPONSIVE FINANCIAL SERVICES SINCE 1985 Practice limited to male clientele THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE William Coil, NCMT 802-658-2390 800-830-5025 9.9.9.9.-¢~.t¢.¢.l BOB GREEN, LCMHC LICENSED CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT (802) 658-2390 (soo) s3o—5o25 INDIVIDUALS 8C COUPLES MAGELLAN, VHAP, MEDICAID at MANYOTHER INSURANCE PROGRAMS ACCEl'I'ED COUNSELING CENTER OF NORTHERN VERMONT PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS Coumzs FAMILIES 0 Coming Out 0 Sexual Identity 0 Life Transitions Bill McBroom ucsw 802.229.5220 Lynn Goyette LCMHC 802.860.6360 BURLINGTON MONTPELIER 24k 8 14k GOLD BANDS ' by Tsmothy Grannis Church & Bank, Burlington - 660-2032 0 M-Th,& 5 10-6 -_ Fri 10-8 I Sun 12-5