Smith to Depart AEF/BCEF

Mike Smith, the longtime executive director of the AIDS Emergency Fund and Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, has announced that he is stepping down.

Smith told the Bay Area Reporter that he has no immediate plans, but that after 12 and a half years it was time to move on. He said that he looks forward to "the next opportunity" after taking some time off.

The news was formally announced Wednesday, January 21. Smith said he will stay on the job while the AEF and BCEF boards conduct a search for his successor and he will remain briefly after that to introduce the new leader to key donors, funders, community partners, and other stakeholders. He anticipates leaving the organizations by early summer.

Smith, 54, who was AEF's first permanent executive director when he took the helm in 2002, is one of the most respected AIDS service organization leaders in the Bay Area. Additionally, Smith is currently president of the San Francisco HIV/AIDS Provider's Network; he will remain in that role until he leaves.

AEF, the older of the two agencies, has its roots in San Francisco's leather community. It started in 1982 at the height of the AIDS epidemic. The goal was to provide emergency financial assistance to people living with AIDS - to help pay rent, utilities, or other bills - and for years the agency did just that with an unpaid board of directors and volunteers. Over the years, through savvy and popular community fundraising, and public support via Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment federal AIDS programs, AEF grew, but not without its challenges.

AEF now has a budget of between $2.1 and $2.2 million. The client base "hovers" around 2,000 San Francisco residents, Smith said.

Today, about half of AEF's budget comes from federal funds, the rest is through fundraising, and individual and corporate donations.

More than a decade later, in 2001, AEF board members and others formed the affiliated BCEF - with its own separate funding stream - to provide financial aid to those with breast cancer. That organization, now an independent nonprofit, currently serves 400 women and families in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties, Smith said.

Smith, a gay man, came to AEF after the board determined that it needed professional leadership amid the changing - and challenging - financial picture facing HIV/AIDS nonprofits. At the time AEF was losing $500,000 a year and at risk of closure. In his first 15 months, Smith returned the agency to a balanced budget, with no major impact on clients.

"I reduced non-client expenses and non-client personnel services," Smith said in a phone interview. He also was able to get AEF's offices out of an expensive lease and move to a more affordable space.

After Smith's arrival, in 2003-04, AEF did institute a lifetime cap for clients and there were some changes to client eligibility rules so that it could continue providing assistance to those in greatest need.

"AEF was on the edge when I arrived," Smith said. Asked his biggest accomplishment, Smith added, "The stabilization - it's set up for a long solid run."

Part of that came from Smith revitalizing AEF's fundraising, including more individual donors and building relationships with corporate leaders. "That's something I took on," he said.

AEF has long been one of the most efficient AIDS agencies, with the bulk of dollars going to client services. Currently, Smith said client services represents between 78 and 82 percent of the budget, slightly lower than decades ago, but accounting for increased costs.

He is also proud to see BCEF, which was a one-year-old program when he arrived, expand.

"Seeing BCEF grow into a $1 million agency has been a real joy," Smith said.

Board Leaders React

Leaders of the AEF and BCEF boards both told the B.A.R. that Smith will be missed, but that a transition plan has been implemented and they expect the leadership change to be a smooth one.

Scott Williams, AEF board chair, said in a phone interview that Smith, who he's known in other capacities for years, was a great leader.

Smith, Williams said, advocated "for the needs of AEF and out clients, the most needy people living with AIDS in San Francisco."

"And there's a long-term commitment to social justice," Williams added. "I think our organization really stands for that. He's also done wonderful things for PWAs in the city through the provider's network."

Williams, an HIV-positive gay man, said that he met Smith years ago when Smith led the Names Foundation, which he started with Cleve Jones following the 1987 March on Washington. They oversaw the last full display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1996.

Williams came to the AEF board following the agency's 30th anniversary in 2012, where he was involved in the yearlong fundraising campaign.

Heather Vucetin, BCEF board co-chair, wrote in an email to the B.A.R. that it was under Smith's leadership that the agency saw tremendous growth and was able to expand its service area.

"Mike has presided over the expansion of BCEF's services into San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and has attracted major corporate funders like Genentech, Oracle, and Safeway to fund this expansion," Vucetin said.

She noted the development and growth of This Old Bag, BCEF's signature fundraising event that now raises $300,000 annually, and said Smith helped the agency "attract some of the Bay Area's most influential women who are powerfully motivated to have a meaningful impact on our community as donors to the cause."

Vucetin, a straight ally, is the senior director of development for Stanford University's Medical Center Development office. She lives in Noe Valley and has been chair of the BCEF board from the time the two boards separated in 2012. (She is currently co-chair because she recently gave birth to twin boys and the board's vice president, Karen Edwards, stepped into a co-leadership position, she explained.)

Vucetin also praised Smith for his personnel acumen.

"The other thing I would say about Mike, related to both agencies, is that he has taken as great care of our staff as our staff takes of our clients," she said. "Our staff is quite small, but mighty. Some of them have been with us for a long time, and Mike has helped grow their talents over the years. I credit Mike with ensuring that from a staff perspective, we will have continued stability and primary focus on our clients long after his departure."

Housing is Key

Smith talked about San Francisco's current affordable housing crisis and said it deeply affects AEF and BCEF clients. He said that 85 percent of money for AEF clients goes to pay rent.

"It's always been like that," Smith explained, partly because rent is generally the single largest cost and partly because it's easier for AEF to cut one larger check than several smaller ones.

"It's clear the city has become unlivable," Smith said. "We really need new ideas around housing."

One of the things Smith did was create AEF's Housing Stabilization and Eviction Prevention program in 2006, which has since helped more than 1,000 low-income San Franciscans disabled by HIV/AIDS stay in their homes or move into permanent, subsidized housing.

On the fundraising front, Smith secured AEF's first-ever $1 million gift as part of the agency's 30th anniversary year. That came from the estate of Thomas Boss, Smith said.

Leadership Search

Williams and Smith said that the AEF and BCEF boards have contracted with Scott Miller Executive Search to find a new executive director. Miller used to work for Korn Ferry before starting his own firm, and has filled numerous executive positions in various LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations, Williams said.

"And he placed Mike Smith with us, so obviously he was a top choice," Williams said.

According to his website, Miller has placed top officials for many organizations, including Academy of Friends, AIDS Project Los Angeles, GLAAD, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties.

In a brief phone interview, Miller said that the search process hasn't started yet and his first step would be attending the board retreat that both agencies will have this weekend.

"It will be a listening tour," Miller said. "There's been a lot of change in the HIV/AIDS fundraising arena."

Miller added that he will look to recruit candidates based on what he hears from the two boards.