thank you! - Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

Dear Friends,
I am very happy to report that in 2003, with your support, BC/EFA increased total funding for both the programs of The Actors’
Fund and the over 450 AIDS and family service organizations that make up the National Grants Program by $732,176, setting the
organization on a path of full-fledged recovery that has continued into 2004.
As to be expected following 9/11 and a general economic downturn, BC/EFA’s fundraising and grantmaking took a dip in 2002.
But as the chart below details, results improved considerably in 2003:
Eighteen years ago, Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS were two fledgling organizations made up of well-intentioned
groups of folks eager to do something – anything – in response to the desperate needs of those combating AIDS. Even the idea of
an annual report was beyond what we thought we could accomplish. But we persevered and began to accumulate many small successes
that propelled our collective efforts.
Today, following its successful merger in 1992, BC/EFA is a $10 million-a-year fundraising and grantmaking organization that
continues to address the challenges facing people with AIDS and their families, women’s health issues, and others.
Although the situations and statistics surrounding those living with AIDS have changed significantly since our earliest fundraising
efforts, never has there been such a need for a continued, sustained response to those in crisis than there is right now. Politics,
economic and job uncertainty for many, and the ongoing conflicts across the globe have diverted attention and limited resources away
from vital social programs and services.
Our support for the programs of The Actors’ Fund and for over 450 AIDS and family service organizations across the country
has never been more important – because those very organizations have never had more people looking for help, advice, and support.
Simply said, for all social service agencies, times are very difficult. But because of you – thousands of theatre professionals,
audiences in New York and across the country, our major donors, and corporate sponsors – BC/EFA has continued to respond in a
meaningful way in 2003, pledging our commitment to these continued fundraising and grantmaking efforts as I write this in 2004.
Here is our “2003 yearbook” – the facts, the figures, the photos, and graphs that make up BC/EFA on paper. Whether you
tossed a $5 bill in a bucket in a theatre lobby, wrote a $2,500 major donor check, offered your company’s financial or in-kind
support, or simply wished us well – you are a part of BC/EFA, a unique and extraordinary fundraising and grantmaking family. For
that, we thank you.
Sincerely,
Tom Viola
Executive Director
BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS
A LETTER
FROM
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
July 2004
2002 2003
THE ACTORS’ FUND $ 2,732,000 $ 3,037,500
the aids initiative $ 2,100,000 $ 2,100,000
phyllis newman women’s health initiative $ 209,500 $ 302,500
physician volunteers for the arts $ 100,000 $ 15,000
al hirschfeld free health clinic n/a $ 400,000
the actors’ work program $ 270,000 $ 170,000
the palm view (los angeles) $ 50,000 $ 50,000
NATIONAL GRANTS $ 2,689,676 $ 2,957,969
INTERNATIONAL GRANTS $ 105,500 $ 143,000
TOTAL BC/EFA GRANTS $ 5,421,676 $ 6,138,469
A parade of Easter Bonnets; Squirrel and friends hang around the Theatre District for Broadway Barks; Elizabeth Martinson, John Tartaglia, Joel Grey,
and Harvey Fierstein at the Broadway Flea Market; Bryan Batt and Holly Cruikshank present one of the Broadway Bears for auction.
a letter from the executive director
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