Washington, D.C.: Clinic Officials Fear Effects of Low AIDS Walk Turnout

Registration for next month's AIDS Walk in Washington is lagging, and services at the sponsoring Whitman-Walker Clinic may be cut if the donation goal is not met, officials of the District-based charity said Tuesday. Clinic spokesperson Michael Cover said the event is struggling both because of questions about the spending practices at the local United Way branch as well as the clinic's former co-sponsorship of the troubled AIDSRide, a lavish, high-expense event promoted by Pallotta TeamWorks.

Some walkers have reported that donors who gave them money in the past turned them down this year, citing the high overhead associated with some Pallotta events. For this summer's AIDSRide from Raleigh, N.C., to Washington, expenses took 86 cents of every $1 raised. "Our biggest obstacle to overcome is that people are confused this event is being run by Dan Pallotta," Cover said, referring to the man who suspended his fundraising company's operations last month after several clients defected. Pallotta has never been involved in the AIDS Walk.

The AIDS Walk is scheduled for Oct. 5, but with less than two weeks remaining, only 2,325 people have registered. By comparison, at the walk's peak in 1999, about 30,000 people participated and raised $1.5 million. Last year the walk -- the first event held on the mall after the Sept. 11 attacks -- was plagued by a downpour and chilly temperatures. About 3,500 people participated and raised $485,000 -- just $4,000 more than the cost of producing the walk. This year's fundraising target is $840,000. The walk itself costs $540,000.

Whitman-Walker has cut its expenses for the event by 30 percent over the past three years, Cover said. Participants pay a $25 registration fee, but there is no fundraising minimum required. The clinic has also shaved $2 million off of its $26 million budget. Whitman-Walker Executive Director Cornelius Baker said the clinic might have to cut services if the walk is not successful. "If the walk does not meet our expectations, we will be forced to make some very difficult decisions," Baker said. "We will have to consider further cuts to our already reduced budget, and we will have to reconsider the unprecedented possibility of limiting the services we provide," he said.

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