Executive Producer of the Original Pride Parties Bill Hardt announced last week that he will donate a percentage of profits to the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative instead of to San Diego LGBT Pride.

The decision is a result of San Diego LGBT Pride’s recent amendment to its sponsor contract stipulating that official vendors donate 15 percent of retail ticket sales to San Diego LGBT Pride.

Hardt, who has been an official San Diego Pride Party sponsor through his companies Bill Hardt Presents and Powerhouse Productions for more than a decade, consequently will not have ‘official’ sponsorship status.

“This new policy could cause an ‘official’ Producer to have a financial liability … to Pride,” a press release on Hardt’s Web site said. “The new structure could potentially cause extreme financial hardship to a Producer and therefore jeopardize the series of parties our patrons have supported and enjoyed through the years.”

Hardt said he does not want to raise the ticket prices to meet San Diego LGBT Pride’s stipulation, so as not to deter business.

“It is our position, that this is not the time, given the current economic conditions, to raise fees for events,” the release said. “In fact, our goal is to do everything we can to continue and enhance our events while maintaining ticket prices that are accessible to our supporters and patrons.”

Hardt said his donation to the HIV Collaborative will mark “the first time in [his] company’s history of donating that we have been able to designate the beneficiary,” adding that he is excited that the Elton John AIDS Foundation or the National AIDS Foundation may double or match it.

“In a time when HIV and AIDS funding and services are being cut or reduced, this is a very exhilarating prospect. Celebrating who we are can so greatly impact the lives of others through your ticket purchases.”

Hardt said he chose to donate to the HIV Collaborative because many organizations are “giving their dollars more to the marriage initiative than to HIV funding and services. I think people are forgetting that there are still people sick; there are still people dying. There are still people who need help,” he said.

Hardt also stated the Collaborative does good work, has a reputable board of directors and works very hard to get matching funds.

“They get more distance for their dollar from all of our hard work and everybody gets to have a good time doing it,” he said.

Hardt said his mandate is to ensure the Pride parties continue to provide the community with quality entertainment.

“There was a promoter who messed them up before me,” he said. “Protecting the community is my primary goal – making sure the parties survive the test of time and/or economic challenges so that people can continue to enjoy themselves and celebrate who they are.”

Executive Director for San Diego LGBT Pride Ron deHarte said Hardt’s decision will not directly affect that organization and lauded the contribution to the HIV Collaborative.

“It’s great that an organization in the community will be able to benefit,” deHarte said. He added that Pride overall has not been struggling financially this year, unlike other nonprofits.

“We could lose money; I’ll be able to answer that question towards the end of August,” deHarte said. “We could be in the red; we could break even. From an overall operation, we might be able to be in the black. Our expectation is that we will at least break even from our operations this year.”

deHarte said he is not aware of any other organizations quitting Pride over the new rule. “The approach was to encourage more people to participate with San Diego Pride,” he said.

“[We wanted to make sure that] when somebody is donating money, they want to know their dollar is going to the nonprofit organization that it’s being promoted to go to. [We want] to bring more transparency to those that are donating and giving to the community.”

deHarte said part of the official designation stated “15 cents on the dollar was going to charitable programs.”

deHarte said Pride is not hurting for sponsors.

“We have more official pride events this year than in the 35-year history of this organization,” he said. “There’s many organizers and producers who are very forthright in their promotional publicity in letting their customers know that 15 cents on the dollar at a minimum is going back to programs in the community.”

Tony Freeman is executive director of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, the organization that convenes the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative. “This is a very challenging year for fundraising,” Freeman said. “Any additional dollars we have to be able to distribute to any of the nonprofits that serve the HIV/AIDS community are really helpful.”

There’s been an average of 400 new cases of HIV a year in the San Diego region for the last several years, Freeman said. “The disease is not going away and the need is still there. I’d say with the state budget cuts, the need for private funding is more important than ever.”

While the HIV Collaborative and San Diego Human Dignity Foundation do not receive public funding, Freeman said, his organization helps to supplement gaps in funding from publicly funded organizations.

“We receive money from family foundations and corporations and so it doesn’t directly affect us, but it affects the nonprofits that serve the HIV and AIDS community,” Freeman continued. “The HIV Funding Collaborative has largely been here to help provide funding for the gaps in services that are not funded by the government and other sources. With the state cuts to local agencies it’s going to be tricky as to how to best allocate the money to serve the HIV and AIDS communities.

“There are more than 6,000 people living with AIDS in San Diego County,” he said. “We appreciate [Hardt’s] generosity.”

Hardt began producing the Original Pride Parties in 1997. The Original Pride parties include the Pride Ball, Circuit Daze, the Zoo Party and Fete Accompli. For more information, visit www.billhardtpresents.com.