The bucks stop here: in the aftermath of September 11, AIDS service organizations struggle to raise funds. (AIDS).

On September 10 the board of directors for Washington, D.C.'s Whitman-Walker Clinic approved a $28 million budget for 2002. The next day the AIDS service organization's phone and direct-mail solicitations--the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization--came to a screeching halt in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Though appeals for the clinic--which cares for about 7,800 clients in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia--have resumed, donations have fallen sharply, so the board has trimmed a total of $1.4 million from its budget. "This is the most significant fiscal crisis we have faced in our 30-year history," says Michael Cover, Whitman-Walker's associate executive director. "We are watching every dime we spend."

The Whitman-Walker clinic isn't alone. Many AIDS service organizations across the country are also wondering if they will be the next victims of the financial fallout from the attacks. As the federal government, charities, and donors focus their generosity on relief funds for victims of terrorism, AIDS organizations--already feeling the pinch from the economic downturn--are starting to panic. "Within a week of September 11, we had potential major sponsors of [our annual fund-raising] auction say that they were reconsidering," says Gina Quattrochi, executive director of the Bailey House, a New York City organization that provides housing and assistance to 1,000 people with AIDS annually. "We already cut $300,000 from our [annual budget of $10 million]. We're looking at having to cut [an additional $200,000]. After the first of the year, if this continues, we will have to look at curtailing the core services we provide."

Because the tragedy coincided with the start of its fiscal year, Whitman-Walker was able to adjust its budget before money was actually spent. The board implemented a hiring freeze and deferred cost-of-living raises for its staff. It also lopped $890,000 in administrative costs and $500,000 out of its programs budget. Still, Whitman-Walker has avoided the most painful decisions for now. "We haven't cut items directly affecting client care," Cover says. "We are still taking new clients--but we can't improve our services."

The tragedy has affected giving on all levels. Whitman-Walker's annual AIDS Walk, which came just two weeks after the attacks, earned $420,000--about $800,000 less than organizers had expected. Its staff also fears that donations from the United Way giving campaign, which accounts for $1 million of the clinic's budget, will probably garner much less than usual, as people elect to give instead to funds for September 11 victims. Even the anthrax scare has worked against the clinic. "A lot of our direct mail is being held up at [D.C.'s] Brentwood postal facility," Cover says, referring to where several anthrax-tainted letters were processed, "and we have no idea when we are going to get it."

Another worry for nonprofits is the tragedy's impact on scarce government resources. "Everyone expects less money coming in now," says Marty Algaze, communications director for the New York-based Gay Men's Health Crisis. "[New York mayor Rudolph] Giuliani has called on all city agencies to cut 15% of their budgets. All three tiers of government--city, state, and federal--are having problems." Boston's AIDS Action Committee has already lost a $130,000 grant for hepatitis C education that had been promised by the state. "I think overall, the attack, the recession, and the shakiness of the markets has had an impact on nonprofits of all stripes," says Larry Kessler, executive director of AIDS Action, which serves more than 2,300 people. "Every state budget is also going to be cut. It has a ripple effect."

Nevertheless, some organizations are faring better than others. Surprisingly, GMHC, located a few miles from the site of the World Trade Center, has not seen a precipitous fall in donations, but its board has ordered a selective hiring freeze to safeguard its finances. "We are concerned, but we are not freaking out," Algaze says. "We probably have the largest base of donors who are also giving to WTC victims. But people in New York are pretty generous."

Officials in the nation's other AIDS organizations are hopeful that their donors will follow the lead of New Yorkers.

"I don't think the events of September 11 are necessarily putting people off from donating," says Sonna Alton of Houston's Montrose Clinic, which serves more than 18,000 people annually. "But I do think that people are probably giving smaller amounts." Alton suggests that being more creative in the way organizations go about soliciting donations is the key to weathering the storm. "Instead of concentrating on big donations, we're trying to encourage smaller ones from more people," she says. We've been putting on smaller events--house parties instead of formal galas--to keep raising money."

Some organizations have even experienced an increase in volunteerism since the attacks. "We did see a stop in activity--fiscally and otherwise--during the month of September," says AIDS Project Los Angeles executive director Craig E. Thompson. "But since then people have been calling up, asking how they can help [by volunteering]."

And while times may be tough, no one's giving up yet. "One in 20 adults in Washington is HIV-positive," says Whitman-Walker's Cover. "That's 10 times the national rate of HIV infection. We are not going to abandon the people living here who are testing positive. Never."

Meers is the managing editor of Paper magazine.