Crusaid

CRUSAID was a UK charity. In 2011 it was absorbed into the Terrence Higgins Trust.

CRUSAID was a classic example of a community responding to the HIV crisis that crossed the Atlantic into the UK during the 1980’s. As an organisation it was characterised by tremendous support from volunteers. This was apparent with the hands-on Board level who gave many hours every month to help with required administrative and physical tasks. In the office where a policy of no more than 7% overheads was tolerated, volunteers attended daily to assist in the many activity that needed to be done every day. Not to be forgotten are the many people from all walks of life who contributed their time to the success of CRUSAID. As a result of this generous support and dedicated assistance the lives of many thousands of people HIV were able to live a better life.

Accumulated income by the end of 1996 was close to £11million.

How it all started: At a casual dinner just before Christmas 1985 guests discussed a recent fundraising event to raise funds for a dishwasher so that patients on the HIV ward at the then St Stephen’s Hospital in Chelsea might replace paper plates and plastic knives and forks with proper crockery and utensils – such was the level of fear about this virus. Some of the guests had been in the USA that summer and had observed the awakening discussions that become the community response in that country.

Shortly thereafter one of the founders was tested HIV+ and challenged the other people at that first dinner do something about it in the UK. And so CRUSAID was born.

In June 1986 CRUSAID was launched at a reception at Leighton House in London with over 60 people attending. The Trustees at launch were Jeremy Norman, Chair, Andrew Stone, David Macfarlane, Anthony Keith, Martin Sherwood and Rosemary Roux. Jane Evans-Gordon, Derek Granger and Colin Tweedy joined the Board soon after.

The charity’s operation started in the apartment of David Macfarlane and Geoffrey Henning. A donation from an American friend provided the first computer and we set about stabilising the organisation. In 1987 CRUSAID obtained a grant for 3 years of funding from The Monument Trust to employ a member of staff and rent an office.

After a year Jeremy Norman resigned from the Board and Michael Watson was appointed Chairman, a post he held for almost 8 years. Soon after this he appointed Geoffrey Henning as Director. Soon after Pamela, Lady Harlech, Robert Venables, Mark Chataway and Susan Perl joined the Board, creating a group of people well in charity governance, the arts and public health.

The initial mailing with an invitation to the reception an announcing the launch met with a very sympathetic response and income in the first year exceeded £100,000. Freddie Kobler attended the launch and offered £500,000 if a suitable project could be found. Discussions were initiated with a number of UK Hospitals. It was the newly rebuilt Kensington and Chelsea Hospital who offered the most relevant and interesting project – the first Day Care Centre for the treatment of HIV. Work started smartly and soon HIV+ patients were being treated in a new purpose-built clinic, The CRUSAID Centre, alongside the Hospital with windows provided by Howard Hodgkin.

This generous donation from the Kobler Trust along with other opening grants was both a good thing and a burden for the new organisation as the perception was out that we had money to give away. Fundraising was the essence of CRUSAID, the national fundraiser for HIV - a fundraising and grant making charity for HIV projects across the UK. However, raising money for HIV in those early days was actually quite challenging.

Early fundraising activity gained tremendous support from the classical music fraternity with a number of important concerts hosted at St John’s Smith Square in Westminster. These included James Bowman and Emma Kirkby, Dame Margaret Price and Graham Johnson and the 10th anniversary celebration of Les Arts Florissant under William Christie.

In 1987, the newly appointed Director, Geoffrey Henning, sought the help of David Kernan a well known theatre personality and producer. The idea was simple – most well-established actors had a one-man show; why not offer them a theatre and a cause! So Sundays at the Playhouse was launched in October 1988. A season of 12 Sunday nights at the Playhouse Theatre showcased Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Prunella Scales, Sir Derek Jacobi, an evening of Stephen Sondheim (directed by Kernan), and many others.

The following January, 1989, saw a joint Gala Performance of the ballet Romeo and Juliet, in aid of the Royal Opera House and CRUSAID, with artists of the Royal Ballet, starring Natalia Makarova and Julio Bocca, conducted by Bernard Haitink. The evening attended by the Princess of Wales was a complete sell-out, with top price tickets in such demand that the initial allocation was expanded to include half of the stalls.

By 1990 the annual Walk for Life was established as a regular calendar item both as a fundraiser and awareness raiser as thousands of people walked through the London. In 1991 Walks were held in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Windsor with proceeds going to local projects.

Things were looking up and many other original and some not so original fundraising events followed. These included 2 all-day music events at the South Bank Centre, Music for Life. The first day, conceived by Graham Vick, included a boat trip down the Thames celebrating 400 years of music. A piano recital by Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich; a special concert of Songs and Sonnets conceived by Elijah Moshinsky and an afternoon concert with Dame Evelyn Glennie, Richard Rodney Bennett and the Labèque sisters. The closing Gala Concert was devised by Sir John Drummond and was conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and John Mauceri. Performers included Brigitte Fassbaender, Dame Anne Evans, Dame Felicity Lott, Sir John Tomlinson, Sherrill Milnes, Cynthia Haymon and Sir Willard White, plus members of the chorus of the Royal Opera House, the English National Opera and the Philharmonia and others.

The second Music for Life devised by Nicholas Hytner, featured cameo works devised by Dame Judith Weir, David Jones and many others. The day included an afternoon performance of Noye’s Fludde, by Benjamin Britain and culminated with the UK premiere of the Broadway musical “9” by Maury Yeston, with a stellar cast of singers and actors from the West End headed by Jonathan Pryce. This performance was later recorded for posterity. The whole day was nearly halted by an IRA bomb early the morning of the event causing the South Bank Centre to be evacuated and some of the early events of the day to be cancelled.

The profile of the charity and the careful scrutiny given to projects receiving funds were two possible reasons why Gilbert and George chose CRUSAID to benefit from the proceeds of 25 new paintings. Furthermore, the Anthony d’Offay Gallery waved all commission. The paintings were on view for a month at the Gallery. The sale raised over £500,000 for HIV related projects.

A unique collaboration with members of the West End known as West End Cares created an opportunity for members of different shows to host their own late night events for CRUSAID. This initiative took off thanks to the considerable support from Dursley McLinden, and his friends in the West End. The Launch of West End Cares took place at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1991 in a show compiled by Julia McKenzie with cameo from Bea Arthur and Dame Angela Lansbury and many artists from the West End. West End Cares grew in confidence and soon started hosting late night performances of popular West End shows; La Cage Aux Folles, Raindogs, Nine, and countless more over the years.

Dance for Life, another CRUSAID initiative in 1991 and produced by Gillian Lynne at Her Majesty’s Theatre, in the presence of the Princess of Wales. The sold out evening at Her Majesty’s Theatre evening was hosted by Dame Moira Shearer, Christopher Gable and Sir Derek Jacobi, performances from Sir Anthony Dowell, Alessandra Ferri, Sylvie Guillem, Dame Darcey Bussell, Julio Bocca and artists from all the major dance and theatre companies in the UK.

Other fundraising activity included the opening of a charity shop in the former offices of the charity. Fitted out by Bill Bennetti, this was no ordinary charity shop and quickly gained a reputation for selling high quality merchandise at very competitive prices.

Support from West End Theatre producers led to the selling of tickets for sold out shows to people happy to match the ticket price (paid to the theatre) with a donation to the charity. Phantom of the Opera easily was easily the most popular show on the books every year as demand from abroad made this very successful and risk free venture.

CRUSAID was supported by members of the Royal Family. The Princess Alexandra attended the premiere of the film A Handful of Dust. The Duchess of York launched the Susan Sontag Book, The Way We Live Now, illustrated by Howard Hodgkin and attended the Christies Art Auction in aid of CRUSAID and Aids Crisis Trust. The Princess Margaret attended many events including Royal Academy private viewings of the Monet and Frans Hals Exhibitions plus a preview performance of Anything Goes with Elaine Page.

In 1994 CRUSAID hosted the only Tribute to Rudolph Nureyev at the London Coliseum in the presence of The Princess Margaret. Stars from across the UK and Europe gathered to remember this dance phenomenon, many of those performing had personal memories of dancing with him. Clement Crisp, writing in the Financial Times said “Enough emotion to float a battle ship….. An evening still treasured by those of us who were there.”

The Princess of Wales attended the opening of many projects supported by CRUSAID, including the CRUSAID Centre at the newly opened Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Bethany Hospice in Cornwall. The Princess also attended the House of Commons reception hosted by Emma Nicholson MP. At the invitation of the Countess of Dalkeith, the Princess of Wales attended a reception and auction in the National Gallery of Scotland where she outbid her cousin the Count of Dalkeith for a painting.

In 1994, and again in 1995, CRUSAID teamed up with the National AIDS Trust to host The Princess of Wales, Concert of Hope at the Wembley Arena. The line up for the first year included K.D. Laing, Mick Hucknell and George Michael. The second year saw Take That perform with LULU.

Michael Watson retired as Chair after 8 years and was succeeded by Lord Eatwell, Master of Queen’s College Cambridge. Geoffrey Henning retired as Director in December 1996 and was succeeded by James Deutsch who was in post for about 5 years.

As a fundraising charity CRUSAID was always involved in every aspect of HIV care and support in the UK but not in the politics. The focus was to identify, help finance or develop projects that would support people living with HIV and AIDS in the UK. The range of grants varied in size and value but these were not made lightly and capital projects were designed to serve this population for at least 10 years.

From the outset, a major element of CRUSAID’s financial giving centred around the Individual Hardship Fund. This Fund made individual grants to people being rehoused, in need of a washing machine to help manage night sweats or diarrhoea, a travel grant to assist with a hospice stay. The list of requests was endless and tailored to the needs of the individual. Recommendations were required from a Social Worker, Doctor or Nurse and grant requests were received from all over the country. In time the Individual Hardship Fund was consolidated with a similar fund operated by the Terrence Higgins Trust to be managed by CRUSAID. The Fund later received annual contributions from the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Sainsbury Trust.

Managing one-off events, such as the gala preview of a forthcoming West End block-buster, such as Miss Saigon, was challenging for a small organisation as there was no word of mouth to help expand the audience. Every event needed a focused marketing campaign or for the larger events a gala marketing committee. Here the great and the good assisted in selling the higher priced tickets while the growing database covered the general ticket sales.

With every event names and addresses were captured and soon the database that started with 400 names for the launch in 1986 had grown to 25,000. To manage this, and many other office functions, Crusaid depended on a few dedicated volunteers to keep this database facility clean; no easy task. This list became one of our strengths. These were relatively early days of charity direct marketing. In addition to buying lists we were able to turn our database of supporters into direct donors something that had never been achieved before in the charity sector. The success of this approach was very much in evidence when we launched a campaign to co-fund a development within the CRUSAID Centre, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, to include an HIV research centre alongside the treatment facility. The appeal set up a regular donor base that provided the bed-rock of the charity for many years to follow.

The costs of managing one off events eventually took its toll and led the Board to decide that unless these could be sponsored there needed to be compelling reasons for any event in the future. This was an understandable and rational response to rising costs and risk involved in putting on an event, large or small. By making this decision, the Board lost sight of the benefits that these public events provided in helping to sustain awareness of HIV and the opportunity for the subject to be spoken about openly in public. With the demise of these events and the advances in medicines, public discussion of HIV slowed and the disease went underground once more.

Over the course of its history many illustrious patrons supported the work of CRUSAID. These included the Countess of Dalkeith, Sir Christopher Booth, Sir Louis Blom-Cooper, Baroness Lane Fox, Baroness Nicholson, Baroness Neuberger, Lord Olivier, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, The Most Rev Richard Holloway, The Most Rev Keith Patrick O’Brien, Lord Nolan, Lord Patten, Lulu, Jonathan Dimbleby and Lady Cameron of Lochbroom (chair of the Scottish office).

By 2007 advances in medicine made fewer demands on the individual hardship fund and research was being prioritised and commercialised. The role for niche fundraising was diminishing and the logical step was for CRUSAID to merge its activities.