From: M Petrelis Date: Sat, 4 Apr 1998 03:32:42 EST Subject: WBlade omits refs to NAPWA's IRS 990 and hi salaries [dear friends, the washington blade's policy of willfully ignoring the i.r.s. 990 forms of aids charities continues with the following story about n.a.p.w.a's fiscal woes. the blade maintains a silence about an issue if certain aids activists are bringing it to the community's attention. it would have been an opportune time to bring in whatever fiscal info is in napwa's most recent 990. the blade mentions in paragraph six that napwa's revised budget calls for cuts in things like salaries. period. why did the blade fail to report, 'according to the 1996 i.r.s. 990 form, cornelius baker, e.d., made $77,000; jeff crowley, dep. e.d. made 53,375; and mke shriver, dir. of policy made 50,833. that's a total of $181,208 for three salaries.' but, none of those >facts< made it into to blade! also, the same 990 shows napwa's braintrust hired medisolutions, inc., of new york to do some scientific writing for them. the cost? $151,110. i guess going to napwa's headquarters for of a copy of its 990 form at 1413 k street in washington is too much of a schlep for a blade reporter. lastly, and this is a minor point for napwa, not a single spokesperson for napwa or the board was i.d.'ed as a p.w.a.!? and to think the napwa board chair is jim graham, the e.d. of whitamn walker clinic in dc. graham is negative and makes a hefty salary, which napwa does not object to. finally, why didn't the blade bother to get a quote from some pw.a.'s outside of napwa to ask their views of this group and its new fiscal audits? --mp] NAPWA’s lower debt puts it on ‘stable ground’ AIDS group releases audit showing debt of over $500,000 reduced to $109,000 by Lou Chibbaro Jr. NAPWA Executive Director Cornelius Baker said the latest figures show the group is on a path of steady financial recovery. (by Clint Steib) The National Association of People With AIDS, which faced a debt of more than $500,000 in October 1996, lowered that debt to $109,175 as of September 30, 1997, the end of its last completed fiscal year, according to an audited finance statement released by the group last week. The statement shows that the $109,175 debt, or "total current liabilities," represents a decrease of $169,719 from a debt, or "total current liabilities," of $278,894 which NAPWA had on Sept. 30, 1996. Cornelius Baker, NAPWA’s executive director, said the latest financial figures show that the group is continuing on a path of a steady incremental recovery over the past year and a half. It was at that time that Baker assumed NAPWA’s executive director’s post and helped put into place a number of changes. Among them, Baker said, were an improved system of financial management, a reduction in staff, and a restructuring of the group’s operations. Baker and other NAPWA officials said the changes, while resulting in cutbacks in some programs, have not diminished NAPWA’s role as the nation’s leading advocate for people with HIV. "We now have a national organization that’s on stable ground," said Jim Graham, chairperson of NAPWA’s board of directors. "We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re on our way." In keeping with efforts to avoid a future deficit, Baker released a budget statement showing NAPWA officials revised the organization’s fiscal year 1998 budget in February. The revised budget calls for reducing spending from $1,917,097 proposed in October 1997 to $1,762,499. NAPWA’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The revised budget calls for cuts in spending in a number of areas, such as printing, salaries, employee training, and meetings and conferences. Baker said the salary reductions came about by staff attrition for administrative and support-related positions, such as computer technicians, and a decision not to replace those staffers in the near future. Founded in July 1988, NAPWA, among other things, serves as an information referral service for people with HIV on a number of fronts, including the area of new drugs and treatment regimens for HIV. The group also advocates for programs in Congress, the executive branch, and state and local governments, and advocates for legal and privacy rights for people with HIV. NAPWA officials said the group’s financial problems stemmed from a decision in 1995 to link NAPWA’s programs to projected income from MedExpress, a non- profit, mail-order pharmacy that NAPWA established that same year as a NAPWA subsidiary. MedExpress provides prescription drugs, vitamins, and food supplements to people with HIV at a cost considered competitive with or lower than most other commercial pharmacies. NAPWA officials said they created the mail order pharmacy in part because people with HIV in some areas of the country have expressed a reluctance to buy AIDS-related drugs in neighborhood pharmacies out of fear of being publicly identified as a person with AIDS. By 1996, NAPWA had established a budget based on a projection that MedExpress would pull in $1.9 million in revenue. However, the mail order pharmacy yielded only $1.3 million, according to information released by NAPWA, leaving the group with a deficit of more than $500,000. According to Baker, NAPWA has since restructured its operations so that NAPWA and MedExpress are run as separate entities. Baker said NAPWA no longer relies on any revenue from MedExpress for its budget other than reimbursement for rent and bookkeeping expenses. Baker also said he does not consider the $109,175 "total current liabilities" figure listed in the NAPWA audit to be an accurate representation of NAPWA’s debt. The financial statement shows that when all of NAPWA’s assets are taken into account - including the value of its office furniture and equipment - the debt drops to $11,786. Baker said he considers NAPWA’s "true" debt to be just $11,786, the figure listed by the auditors as reflecting the group’s debt after all of NAPWA’s assets, including office furniture, equipment, and stock, is taken into account. However, Baker’s assessment differs from normally accepted accounting procedures, which would consider the $11,786 figure as an accumulating operating deficit and the $109,175 figure as the debt that must be paid within 12 months or less. Nevertheless, Baker and Graham, NAPWA’s board chair, said NAPWA’s current financial status represents a major improvement over the group’s status one year ago. The two said the group is carrying out its mission and expects to reduce and retire the debt in the near future. Baker said NAPWA will soon release its new national policy agenda which will include, among other things, advocacy for reauthorization and adequate funding for the Ryan White CARE Act; improved prevention and treatment programs for substance abusers, who are considered at high risk for contracting and transmitting HIV; improving access of people with HIV to health care providers; and improving the quality of care for people with HIV through access to the best possible treatment options. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ E-mail The Washington Blade Copyright © 1998 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. This article appeared in the issue of: April 3, 1998