San Francisco AIDS nonprofit announces layoffs amid uncertain budgetary future

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation announced 19 people have had their positions eliminated, including three on the executive team, as the organization faces a projected $5.71 million deficit. Their layoffs were part of a larger reduction in the nonprofit’s workforce, though the other 15 positions cut had been unfilled.

A spokesperson stated that the layoffs are effective next Tuesday, July 1. The date coincides with the city’s new fiscal year, and the nonprofit is one of the largest LGBTQ service providers that receives funding from the city. 

The positions impacted include “AIDS/LifeCycle staff (which previously had been notified of the end of their roles); a per-diem policy role; administrative support; volunteer, project management, and community programs positions; positions in our finance team; navigation and capacity building; and three executive positions,” according to an email from Emily Land, vice president of public affairs.

The move comes as the organization has faced fiscal headwinds for months, requiring it to tighten its belt. Earlier this month, the longstanding AIDS/LifeCycle ride, a collaboration with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, came to a close following years of declining participation by riders that translated into reduced money being raised.

The LA center, which plans to host a three-day cycling ride in spring 2026, cited skyrocketing production costs in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic for the decision to end the ride and noted that AIDS/LifeCycle fundraising had been on the decline. The ride started in 1994 and brought in $300 million to the two organizations for their HIV/AIDS services over three decades, according to the agencies.

SFAF has more modest goals for its new ride, hoping to raise about $1.5 million, spokesperson Emily Land said.

The foundation first disclosed to the Bay Area Reporter about the reduction in its personnel via a guest opinion piece it requested be published June 26. In it, CEO Tyler TerMeer, Ph.D, a gay Black man living with HIV, explained he “wanted to speak plainly” and reported no programs were being cut. 

TerMeer characterized the layoffs as part of a “strategic restructure” of the agency. Thirty-four positions in total were eliminated, of which 19 were filled at the time. 

“It’s one of the most difficult decisions we’ve made in recent memory. It’s never easy to make decisions about staff layoffs,” TerMeer stated. “But it’s also one of the most important. Because this isn’t about shrinking - we are recalibrating. We’re weatherproofing our mission in a time of intensifying political and financial threats to LGBTQ+ lives, harm reduction services, and HIV-related prevention and care. We know that other community organizations and nonprofits are doing the same.”

SFAF declined to make TerMeer available for an interview Thursday. He is to be feted at Sunday’s Pride parade as one of the grand marshals, selected for the honor by members of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee.

Land told the B.A.R. that, “We don't have anything else to share about the changes at this time.” 

TerMeer was not immediately available for an interview Thursday. He is to be feted at Sunday’s Pride parade as one of the grand marshals, selected for the honor by members of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee.

The AIDS foundation is in the midst of litigation with the federal government over program cuts. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar granted a preliminary injunction blocking those cuts. The foundation is one of the plaintiffs in an ongoing case against President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; equity-related grants; and transgender rights.

But that injunction is only until the court has had the opportunity to review the case on the merits. The funding could be cut off if it is decided Trump’s executive orders are constitutional. 

“What we cannot afford to do is wait until we’re in crisis to act. We’ve seen too many organizations hollowed out by delay and inaction. We’ve seen how political tides can erase decades of progress if we’re not ready,” TerMeer wrote in his guest opinion. “So, we acted—decisively and with care. We acted because we believe San Francisco still has something to teach the world about how to lead through adversity.”

The decision also comes as the city closes its budget deficit. Yesterday, in a late night session, the Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee moved the mayor’s budget to the whole board and managed to lessen the blow of some layoffs in Mayor Daniel Lurie’s original proposal.  

It’s not the first time the foundation has seen cuts in recent years. Back in 2021, 17 employees were laid off and four leadership positions eliminated, as the B.A.R. reported at that time. 

Then CEO Joe Hollendoner, a gay man who now leads the LA Center, wrote that the foundation's revenue almost doubled in recent years, but was nonetheless impacted badly by COVID-19, among other things.

"As a result of increased medication costs, our pharmacy program has seen a decline in net revenues over the past six months and that trend is expected to continue in the year ahead,” Hollendoner stated at that time. “This, coupled with the cancellation of AIDS/LifeCycle – our largest fundraiser – for two years in a row because of the pandemic, required us to make structural changes to the organization in order to protect its long-term fiscal health and to set the next CEO up for continued success.”

Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents South of Market and is living with HIV, framed the matter in the context of the difficult budget year, and told the B.A.R. June 27 there isn’t really an upside to it. The foundation has its main offices on Howard Street in Dorsey’s district.

“This has been a difficult year in terms of heartbreaking decisions we’ve needed to make to accommodate our $800 billion budget shortfall,” Dorsey said, referring to the mayor’s budget. “The city is in the same downsizing mode as the AIDS Foundation right now, and hanging over all of us is lingering uncertainty over what the Trump administration may abandon next in terms of federal support for priorities we once shared. I’ve seen budget years in which City Hall just had to do more with less. But when you’re cutting as much as we’ve had to cut this year, the sad truth is we’ll be doing less with less. As vice chair of the board’s budget committee, I think we all agree that none of us is happy about it.”

Gay Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, who represents District 8 and the Castro, didn’t return immediate requests for comment for this report. The AIDS foundation operates a health clinic in Mandelman’s district.