Three years after the merger that created Rhode Island’s largest HIV service provider, AIDS Care Ocean State is flourishing.
ACOS was formed in 1998 following the marriage of FACTS (Family AIDS Center for Treatment and Support) and Sunrise House. Since then the nonprofit has grown rapidly, including the addition of direct-care services, a needle-exchange program and more housing for HIV patients in Rhode Island.
ACOS officials credit a carefully executed merger plan that many larger, for-profit companies would envy.
“This kind of merger between nonprofits doesn’t happen very often,” said ACOS Executive Director Paul Fitzgerald. “But I think we followed the appropriate protocol for combining the two agencies. Both were fiscally sound, without any real debt, and had the leadership and forethought to pull it off.”
The agency’s staff has nearly doubled, from a combined 26 workers before the merger to nearly 50 full-time employees today. Revenue – mostly reaped from federal and state grant money and private donations – has more than doubled, jumping from a combined $1.6 million in 1997 to an estimated budget of $3.9 million for fiscal year 2002.
Despite the influx of revenue, ACOS has focused on efficiency and cut back on administrative costs in recent years, agency officials say. About 80 percent of revenue received goes back into services to support the HIV and AIDS communities, according to ACOS board of Directors President Richard H. Lefebvre. Just 17 percent is spent on administrative costs, while 3 percent goes to fundraising efforts.
ACOS officials say they’ve aggressively pursued federal grant money, particularly for projects to house low-income families and individuals affected by HIV. The agency has received four federal housing grants since the merger, totaling about $8 million.
In 1998, ACOS opened a $1.6 million, 15-unit apartment complex in Pawtucket. The organization now has 64 housing units occupied by 120 HIV-infected individuals in Providence and other Rhode Island communities.
Fitzgerald said the housing fills an often-overlooked need.
“I don’t think the city of Providence had any plan or strategy whatsoever to offer AIDS housing,” he said. “We came in and built this whole program, and the city had the political will to support it.”
The agency’s cash infusion also has led to new educational and prevention programs, aimed at high-risk kids and young adults. ACOS workers distribute condoms, food, toiletries and referral cards to homeless youths. The agency also implemented a needle exchange program to prevent the spread of HIV among drug users.
The FACTS nursery provides 24-hour care for HIV-infected infants.
Through a partnership with The Miriam Hospital, ACOS offers confidential HIV counseling and testing. And it now staffs four nurses to provide direct care for patients, along with 11 case managers who offer help finding housing, medical referrals and nutritional supplements
But ACOS officials say more growth could be in the cards.
Lefebvre said ACOS last year discussed a possible merger with AIDS Project Rhode Island, another nonprofit group offering support services to the state’s HIV and AIDS populations. Lefebvre said joining the two agencies would bring 85 percent of Rhode Island’s AIDS caseload under one roof.
“We think it would be a good fit,” said Lefebvre. Although that plan is on hold, Lefebvre said ACOS would step up efforts to attract corporate contributions. The agency’s goal: $5 million in annual revenues so it can expand and add programs.
