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Hello and welcome to the official website for
the Elton John AIDS Foundation! Most of you know
me as a singer, songwriter, entertainer, and
composer, and I do dearly love performing for
and connecting with people through song. But
the most meaningful part of my public life is
my work as a humanitarian in the global effort
to end the AIDS epidemic.
Over the years, I have lost many dear friends
to this terrible disease. In the mid-1980’s,
I began channeling my grief into efforts to help
raise money for the pioneering charitable organizations
that formed during those dark, grim years to
fund AIDS research and provide vital services
to people with HIV/AIDS.
Then I met Ryan White. Ryan wasn’t the
first friend of mine to die of AIDS, nor the
last, but he taught me the most. People shut
him out of school, shot bullets into his home,
and spread lies about him. But Ryan didn’t
hate them. He knew they were uninformed and afraid.
He knew the real enemy was ignorance, and he
forgave them. Sitting with Ryan’s mother
Jeanne at his bedside as he lay dying in April
of 1990 was one of the most gut-wrenching experiences
of my life. I knew I had to do more.
In 1992, I decided to bring focus to all of
my AIDS-related work by establishing the Elton
John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) to help make emergency
funds available for the most basic needs in the
areas hardest hit by the epidemic and to counter
ignorance about HIV/AIDS with information. Within
a year, EJAF contributions had grown so rapidly
that we established a partnership with the National
AIDS Fund to award community grants nationwide
and also began making international grants to
community projects in the developing world.
Please take a few moments to browse the many
features and resources available on this website,
to learn more about EJAF’s urgent work,
and to find out how you can help. I especially
urge you to view the wonderful videos featuring
the work of some of our outstanding grantees,
and take a close look at kinds of projects we
have funded over the past several years. As we
move forward, EJAF will continue to evaluate
its grant-making priorities to make sure that
the dollars you invest through our grants will
go to worthy projects addressing the most pressing
needs of this ever evolving epidemic.
You will also be pleased to know that EJAF has
received its third consecutive 4-star rating
from Charity Navigator, America’s premier
charity evaluator. Only 16% of evaluated charities
earn more than two consecutive 4-star ratings,
so this accomplishment speaks to EJAF’s
consistent commitment to fiscal responsibility
and efficiency of operations. This endorsement
by Charity Navigator also provides independent
assurance that donations entrusted to EJAF will
be well and properly invested in HIV prevention
programs.
When our lives are done, let it be said that
when we saw millions of people suffering, millions
more at risk, millions more abandoned, a whole
continent in danger of dying – we stood
up and REFUSED to let it happen! Eight thousand
men, women, and children die of AIDS every day,
and twelve thousand more become infected. We
have both the moral obligation and the power
to end this epidemic. Do we have the will? I
know I do, and I pledge to remain committed to
this cause for the rest of my life. Won’t
you join me?
Sir Elton John
Founder and Chairman
Elton John AIDS Foundation
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