ARC of Rome depends heavily on fundraisers, donations and grants to fund its programs. As the budget goes, therefore, so goes the ARC.

The fundraisers in 2009 so far have included a picnic, the annual chili cookout in March and a concert at Schroeder’s New Deli on Broad Street, events that typically generate between $1,000 and $2,000. Incomes so far in 2009 are lagging behind previous years. The chili cookout, for example, brought in $837 in 2009, compared to approximately $2,600 last year, said Jeanne Cahill, executive director of the ARC. (read a profile of Jeanne Cahill here)

Some ARC supporters request on their birthdays that donations be made to the organization in lieu of gifts, according to Cahill, who has been an ARC volunteer since August 2007. And members of the ARC contribute a minimum of $10 each per year to the organization. Some members contribute in annual dues as much as $50 each.

Even with these sources of revenue, however, the ARC’s average monthly account balance is estimated at only $2,295. Average monthly operating expenses are about $850. This leaves precious little to fund client services, which extend beyond those directly related to suffering from AIDS.

“Some of our clients have multiple problems, not just HIV-related problems,” Cahill said. “We try to help people with housing, for example, but we’re very limited with what we can do.”

Helping to expand ARC's impact is a $5,000 grant from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a not-for-profit AIDS fundraising organization. The grant is used to help living with HIV/AIDS in a variety of ways.

Locating medical care and housing

The ARC also tries to help those living with HIV/AIDS obtain low-cost medical care because some clients cannot afford the costs of prescriptions and co-payments. And many ARC clients do not have access to transportation or else cannot afford the gasoline to get to and from medical appointments. One of the ways the ARC attempts fill this gap is by distributing gas cards and bus passes, usually in the amount of $15 worth of gasoline or by issuing 10-ride passes, Cahill said.

But not all of ARC’s impact can be measured in dollars. The ARC receives grants from the state of Georgia to help reach its goals, as well. The state provides, to cite one example, HIV testing kits at no cost. At a value of approximately $17 per kit, the ARC had by mid-April administered 500 HIV tests. The dollar value of that service, therefore, would total $8,500.

Volunteer service is another valuable, non-monetary resource for the council and its clients. If applying even minimum wage, the dollar value of volunteer help in just a single year would easily total more than $20,000, Cahill said.

“All the people who go out and do testing are volunteers,” said Claudia Oakes, president of the board of directors. “People who man the office are volunteers, as well.”

But fundraising is the lifeblood, and the annual chili event is the organization’s biggest fundraiser. Like all of ARC’s events, the chili cookout is organized and run solely by volunteers.

Local residents take charge

Centering the event on chili was the brainchild of Rome residents Frank Minor and Steve Head, whom Cahill approached in 2008 to seek new, creative ways to raise money for the ARC.

“We said, ‘Well, we can’t do a formal event to save our lives, but we could do a chili supper,’” said Minor, who said he used the Moosewood Cookbook for his hearty vegetarian chili recipe.

Volunteers donate the chili, the side dishes, desserts and drinks, and the cookout has been hosted in the homes of volunteers each year. In 2009, ARC volunteer Jeb Arp, a Berry College alumnus who currently teaches at Shorter College, hosted the event.

By relying on volunteers, the ARC puts on its events at low cost, maximizing the benefit of the monies raised. Keeping costs low and thinking creatively about how to bring in new sources of funds will continue to be emphases of the ARC’s leadership, Cahill said.