CEO Letter

Dear community,

There is so much to reflect on in the previous year at San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Much of the work felt especially difficult this year, as we faced an increasingly hostile federal administration. The year began with executive orders from the Trump administration ordering organizations like ours to abandon equity and DEI-based initiatives and to erase recognition of transgender people in our programming. Threats to our federal funding emerged as the new administration made drastic cuts to public health and HIV programs through DOGE. International HIV work ended as PEPFAR and USAID were gutted. Domestic HIV research programs were destroyed. Actions from the Trump administration were seemingly bent on destroying services and protections for people living with and at risk for HIV, LGBTQ+ people, trans communities, immigrants, and so many others. Taken together, these actions were not isolated—they reflected a coordinated effort to weaken services and protections for people living with and at risk for HIV, LGBTQ people, trans communities, immigrants, and so many others.

In many ways, the environment and contexts in which we work felt unprecedented.

And yet, while the political headwinds intensified, our values did not waver.

These challenges only strengthened our resolve. With your support, we fought back in new and creative ways, marshaling our resources to protect and serve our HIV and LGBTQ communities, and people who use substances.

I am especially proud of the ways that SFAF’s impact extended beyond the immediate San Francisco community. This year, we joined forces with over a dozen of the largest and most well-known HIV and LGBTQ+ organizations acoss the U.S. to shore up protections and services for transgender populations, issue advocacy and policy updates, and keep each other informed of impending threats to our work. Many of these same organizations joined SFAF in the SFAF v. Trump lawsuit, filed by Lambda Legal, to challenge three executive orders from the Trump administration impacting our work. Standing together in that litigation was about more than policy—it was about defending the fundamental dignity of the communities we serve.

Our policy and advocacy work through the End the Epidemics coalition helped to secure $75 million in state funding for HIV prevention, and brought together communities in new and powerful ways to rally against actions from the federal government. We shared our programming and research at the International Conference on AIDS, the U.S. Conference on HIV and AIDS, AIDS Watch, and the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). Our SFAF staff were interviewed and quoted in 100+ news articles and TV news coverage from local and national media outlets, and nearly a million people found information on our website. In a year defined by uncertainty, we leaned into visibility, evidence, and truth.

Locally, we continued to improve and expand our HIV, substance use, LGBTQ+ health services, and community support programs. Last year, we built out the SFAF Pharmacy at our Strut location, which will add capacity to our PrEP program and improve continuity of care for our Magnet clients. We grew our injectable PrEP program and served our 10,000th PrEP client at Magnet. Our Doxy PEP program continues to grow, and we’re seeing the impact of our STI prevention program as community rates of bacterial STIs continue to decline. We reached some of San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents to support them with food resources, mental health support, safer use supplies, and community events to reduce isolation. Even in a shifting policy landscape, the work on the ground remained clear: save lives, reduce harm, and build belonging.

As we closed out the final year of AIDS/LifeCycle in 2025, we were excited to announce Cycle to Zero to the community. This event, which will launch in 2026, will build upon the more than 30‑year legacy of AIDS/LifeCycle—continuing the community, love, and excitement in a new form. (We hope you join us!)

This year, we will introduce a new strategic plan that will guide the work of SFAF from 2026 through 2030—pivotal years in the push to end the HIV epidemic locally and everywhere. This plan is rooted in resilience, fiscal discipline, bold advocacy, and an unwavering commitment to health justice. It reflects not only where we are—but who we intend to be in this next chapter.

Thank you again for your support of our organization and our communities. In moments like this, solidarity is not symbolic—it is sustaining.

In solidarity,

Tyler TerMeer, PhD
CEO, San Francisco AIDS Foundation