EJAF’s 2006 grants totaled nearly $5 million – this marks the largest and most ambitious annual investment in HIV/AIDS grant making in EJAF’s 15-year history.
This grant-making achievement was made possible because of a strategic 12 month review conducted by EJAF which identified key areas in which EJAF funding could make a significant impact, including HIV prevention in poor communities of the Southern U.S. and the Caribbean, among young people, among injection drug users, and among incarcerated individuals and people newly released from prison.
Project Descriptions for MBNA EJAF Credit Card Program Grants
AIDS Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, $13,096.52
One of the nation’s largest AIDS service organizations, provides direct services to more than 10,000 men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles County. Services include prevention education, a food bank, professional dental care, housing assistance, mental health counseling, women’s specifics services and case management.
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, $13,096.52
A community-based health organization whose mission is to stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic by preventing new infections and optimizing the health of those already infected. Through a cooperative and mutually supportive effort between over 70 staff and hundreds of volunteers, AIDS Action seeks to assist and constructively work with people of all cultures by providing services, education, advocacy and prevention.
San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Francisco, CA, $13,096.52
One of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation provides direct services to thousands of people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS, supplying information about HIV treatment and related issues, promoting HIV prevention and awareness in the community, and advocating for sound HIV/AIDS policies at all levels of government.
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), New York, NY, $13,096.52
A volunteer-supported, community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS, GMHC’s mission is to reduce the spread of HIV disease, help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence, and keep the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV an urgent national and local priority. In fulfilling this mission, GMHC is committed to fighting homophobia and affirming the individual dignity of all gay men and lesbians.
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY, $13,096.52
One of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic through innovative research. With its freedom and flexibility to respond quickly to emerging opportunities and its determination to invest in cutting-edge science, amfAR plays a unique, catalytic role in accelerating the pace of HIV/AIDS research and achieving real breakthroughs.
Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Seattle, WA, $13,096.52
Committed to preventing the spread of HIV, and to providing practical support services and advocating for those whose lives are affected by HIV and AIDS. Lifelong AIDS Alliance was formed in 2001 through the merger of Chicken Soup Brigade and Northwest AIDS Foundation.
Project Descriptions for Grants Awarded in January 2006
January 2006 Independent Grants
Aid for AIDS, New York, NY, $25,000
Aid For AIDS collects donated HIV/AIDS medications from the US and Canada and then distributes them to people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries who cannot afford their own medication. Aid for AIDS is using its EJAF grant to augment its efforts to collect medications and to distribute them free of cost to people living with HIV/AIDS in the Carribean.
AIDS Service Center, Pasadena, CA, $7,500
The AIDS Service Center is committed to improving the quality of life of poor, disenfranchised, and underserved families affected by HIV/AIDS in Eastern Los Angeles County. This EJAF grant is providing nutritious meals to people affected by the disease.
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY, $50,000
In an effort to support syringe exchange programs, amfAR is documenting the proven efficacy of such programs in reducing HIV infection. amfAR supports the only national annual survey of syringe exchange organizations, conducted by Beth Israel Medical Center, which is used by syringe exchange programs for advocacy and educational purposes. Because of the current ban on the use of US government funds to support syringe exchange, and an increasing number of political attacks against harm reduction models, amfAR is committed to disseminating irrefutable evidence of the efficacy of such programs.
Bruce House, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, $15,000
Bruce House is a hospice in Ottawa providing housing and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. The House itself has seven beds (up from five due to recent renovations) and an apartment complex that houses 60 residents. Services and facilities provided to Bruce House residents include counseling, collective kitchens, financial assistance, and living skills assistance.
Hope’s Voice, San Francisco, CA, $25,000
Hope’s Voice is an HIV/AIDS prevention and education program comprised of a troupe of experienced traveling speakers who tour mostly to high schools and colleges. Their speakers are HIV positive, and their focal message is that HIV does not discriminate: it is a disease that can affect anyone. Speakers are selected based on their personal stories and their ability to be engaging public speakers.
International Center for Research on Women, Washington, DC, $25,000
This grants supports ICRW’s one-day conference on reducing AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. This conference took place on August 13, 2006 at the onset of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto. 150 international AIDS practitioners, researchers, and advocates, as well as representatives of the international media attended the event.
MANNA, Philadelphia, PA, $25,000
MANNA delivers meals and provides nutritional counseling to people living with HIV/AIDS in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. This EJAF grant provides over 10,000 meals to PLWHAs in this region.
Our Lady of Perpetual Support for People Living with AIDS and Orphans, Nyanza, Kenya, $97,452
OLPS is a well established nongovernmental organization that currently reaches 5,000 orphans and vulnerable children and 600 care-givers with varied but well linked interventions that compliment each other. Project activities include the physical expansion and renovation of their clinic to improve quality of out-patient medical services; providing user friendly services for children and their care-givers; improved quality, quantity and variety of medical care including timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment of opportunistic infections in HIV positive children and care-givers; improved monitoring and compliance of patients on anti-retroviral treatments.
Project Open Hand, Atlanta, GA, $27,000
Project Open Hand’s meal program provides meals to people suffering with HIV/AIDS and other serious ailments that preclude their ability to cook for themselves. This grant funds a total of 5,242 meals. Project Open Hand relies on a force of over 18,000 volunteers to accomplish its work.
Project Descriptions for Grants Awarded in July 2006
Expanding Community Partnerships for HIV Prevention and Care in the South, National AIDS Fund Challenge Grant Program, $501,000
The South represents a little more than one-third of the U.S. population (38%), yet it now accounts for 46% of the estimated number of new AIDS cases. Additionally, seven of the ten US states with the highest rates of HIV infections are located in the South. The South is a geographic area identified in EJAF’s strategic grantmaking report as a region in need of funding and the building of infrastructure. In response to this, the National AIDS Fund is expanding its Community Partnership program in three to five Southern states, with the goals of building collaborative leadership, catalyzing private sector investment, and strengthening the HIV/AIDS infrastructure and services in the South.
Strengthening HIV Prevention and Care Services for the Incarcerated or Those Recently Released from Correctional Settings, National AIDS Fund Challenge Grant Program, $250,000
While there are high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in prisons, there is limited institutional support for HIV prevention and care activities. Corrections institutions typically do not prioritize protecting inmates’ health, and it is common for HIV positive inmates to be released with no pre-release planning, such as referrals to care providers, and with only a few days worth of HIV-related medications. The National AIDS Fund is launching a national grant-making and technical assistance initiative to support existing programs working in this area and to catalyze new programs in communities where none currently exist.
Advocates for Youth, Washington, DC, $200,000
Advocates for Youth is launching a comprehensive campaign, mobilizing young people to address challenges presented by abstinence-only programs and policies.
AIDS Survival Project, Atlanta, GA, $25,000
This grant supports the AIDS Survival Project’s HIV Advocacy Program. The goals of this program are (1) to ensure fair representation of HIV positive individuals on public policy; (2) to ensure that prevention and education legislation is informed in response to the HIV positive community by educating legislators and decision makers; (3) to educate individuals to become self advocates; and (4) to produce events and publications that educate the public on HIV prevention and treatment issues.
Brotherhood Sister Sol, New York, NY, $10,000
The Brotherhood Sister Sol is an organization dedicated to providing supportive programs for Black and Latino youth in New York City. The program currently services about 200 youths and offers after school programs, summer programs, and leadership development institutes. With funding from EJAF, Brotherhood Sister Sol is strengthening its programs related to the confrontation of sexism and misogyny; sexual health and responsibility (which includes education about HIV/AIDS and its disproportionate effects on the Black and Latino communities); and conflict resolution and bias reduction to include the reduction of homophobia.
Chattanooga Cares, Chattanooga, TN, $20,000
Chattanooga Cares provides an array of services and programs including safe sex workshops, condom distribution, an AIDS hotline, and prevention education workshops throughout the Tennessee Valley. Chattanooga Cares’s staff of 19 provides medical care to over 400 patients and prevention education to over 18,000 people each year. The new Chattanooga Cares facility is located close to the city’s most at risk populations — African Americans and Hispanics.
Clinical Familiar Luis Angel Garcia (CFLAG), Hospital General San Juan de Dies, Guatemala, $20,000
With support from the EJAF, CFLAG developed the first program in Guatemala specifically geared to meet the needs of children living with HIV. With a committed staff of general practitioners, gynecologists, pediatricians, psychotherapists, counselors, nurses, and nutritionists, CFLAG has been able to effectively identify and address the specific needs of its young patients and their families. To date, 260 workshops offering counseling and nutritional support have been conducted with children, parents, and caregivers.
The Collaborative Fund, Caribbean, $222,774
The Collaborative Fund supports HIV treatment access and education initiatives through a community-driven small grants program, along with resource provision for technical assistance, regional network support and program evaluation around the world. This grant supports the Collaborative Fund’s work in the Caribbean. The Collaborative Fund is a partnership of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, an association of people living with HIV and other community treatment advocates, and the Tides Network, a U.S.-based public charity with 30 years experience in supporting community mobilization efforts.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, $6,500
The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health uses this grant to provide partial support for the filming of a meeting of 19 doctors who have been involved in caring for people living with AIDS since the earliest days of the epidemic. Participating doctors have experiences with the epidemic in the US, Africa, and Asia. This film will create an important historical document of firsthand accounts of the AIDS epidemic and its effects here and abroad.
The Firelight Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA, $42,548
The mission of the Firelight Foundation is to support and advocate for the needs and rights of children who are orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. Community based organizations funded by the Firelight Foundation provide a variety of services to children and their caregivers, including education and job training for orphans and other vulnerable children; meals programs for children living with HIV/AIDS that also provide boxed lunches for students; financial and psychological support for grandmothers who have become increasingly involved in childcare in the context of this epidemic; and domestic assistance for families in which the primary caregiver is living with HIV/AIDS.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA, $200,000
The Kaiser Family Foundation has invited EJAF to join with them and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union as a core partner for its Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP). The CBMP is an unprecedented collaboration of leading broadcasters in the Caribbean to develop a coordinated regional awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS. The CBMP promotes collaboration and leverages resources among media in the Caribbean with the goal of extending the reach and effectiveness of HIV messaging. CBMP is a pervasive campaign that includes entertainment, PSA’s, news and public affairs programming. Specific emphasis will be on reaching vulnerable populations and youth.
The Los Angeles Free Clinic, Los Angeles, CA, $15,000
Founded in 1967, the Los Angeles Free Clinic is the oldest continuously operating free clinic in the United States. At three clinical sites in Los Angeles, over 80,000 clients, the overwhelming majority of which are low income and uninsured, receive services annually that include medical care and counseling, case management, and referrals. This grant supports the Clinic’s HIV services including testing, counseling and referrals, and education and outreach to high-risk individuals in the Los Angeles area.
Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, $5,000
This grant assists PASAN in providing prevention education programs in five federal prisons in Ontario. PASAN is initiating this project at the request of the Black Inmates and Friends Assembly. PASAN has done advocacy work in the form of several articles and manuals about HIV in prisons that have been distributed across Canada. PASAN’s prevention programs will train inmates so that the program can be self-sustaining. PASAN currently provides prevention education to 18 adult and 45 youth custody facilities in Ontario.
Syringe Access Fund, The Tides Foundation, New York, NY, $250,000
This grant to Tides Foundation supports the Syringe Access Fund’s third round of grant making, which will focus on expanding its outreach through direct funding of equipment, supplies, related staff and volunteer salaries and stipends, and on-going training and technical support.
YouthPride, Atlanta, GA, $25,000
The primary goal of this program is to reduce high risk sexual behaviors among YouthPride’s 900 members, and to extend this influence to the social networks of YouthPride members. MY LIFE seeks to accomplish this goal by mobilizing GLBTQ youth to learn risk reduction and prevention methods through collaboration with AIDS service organizations. These peer leaders then facilitate safe sex workshops, special events, and weekly discussion groups to promote safe sexual behavior.
Project Descriptions for Grants Awarded in December 2006
AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), New York, NY, $75,000 ($25,000 per year for 3 years)
ACRIA is an AIDS research and HIV health literacy and treatment education center. ACRIA’s HIV Health Literacy Program aims to provide people living with HIV/AIDS with the information and skills they need to participate actively and knowledgably in their own healthcare. ACRIA makes information accessible to all by presenting in clear, “nonscientific” language, and in Spanish when appropriate. In 2005, ACRIA conducted 354 HIV health literacy workshops, attended by 6,513 people; 94% were people of color.
Bailey House, New York, NY, $10,000
Established in 1983, Bailey House was the nation’s first organization to provide supportive housing to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS. Clients are referred to Bailey House by the New York City HIV/AIDS Services Administration; these clients are homeless, and are often afflicted with malnutrition, mental illness, and substance abuse issues. Bailey House currently operates 167 housing units, 116 for individuals and 51 for families. Clients are able to receive an array of services including health monitoring, mental health counseling, substance abuse counseling, nutrition education, and case management.
Boys and Girls Clubs Wake County, NC, $25,000
The Boys and Girls Club of Wake County’s Act SMART (Act Skills Mastery And Resistance Training) program is a youth-oriented HIV/AIDS prevention education program that was developed in collaboration with the American Red Cross. Currently, over 700 club members have completed this program. 65% of participants were African American, 17% Caucasian, 14% Hispanic/Latino, and 4% mixed race.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, $15,000
Founded in 1925, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the largest children’s museum in the world, hosting more than one million children and their families each year. In November of 2007, The Museum will open “The Power of Children: Making a Difference,” a permanent exhibition featuring children who have encountered discrimination during various historical moments and whose actions have delivered an impactful message of tolerance and hope. The exhibition will feature Anne Frank’s struggle to escape the Nazis, Ruby Bridges’ defiance of school segregation in New Orleans in the 1960s, and Ryan White’s activism during the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
Minority AIDS Project, Los Angeles, CA, $25,000
Minority AIDS Project (MAP) is using this grant to continue HIV/AIDS prevention education programming that targets minority women at high risk for HIV infection, as well as to provide direct support services for women living with HIV/AIDS. MAP currently employs 44 staff members and enlists more than 100 volunteers to provide services for 1,200 clients per month who are living with HIV/AIDS, as well as providing prevention education programs to 16,000 people each year.
National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), Silver Springs, MD, $25,000
Founded in 1983, the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) is the oldest national AIDS organization in the United States. This grant is being used to enhance NAPWA’s public policy program. The project’s goals include the development of HIV public policy position papers; the analysis and monitoring of Congressional bills related to HIV/AIDS; making recommendations to pending HIV/AIDS legislation and the dissemination of this information to NAPWA’s constituents and community based organizations; the presentation of a cohesive platform of HIV/AIDS priority issues; and the improvement of existing mechanisms for mobilizing constituents.
Rescate Foundation, Santiago, Chile, $50,000
The Rescate Foundation in Chile operates two centers in Santiago that provide an array of services for young people at risk for transmission of HIV and people living with HIV/AIDS. One of the centers provides housing and care for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS; the other facility provides necessities such as food and clothing, medical care, mental health care, and prevention education, as well as counseling related to educational opportunities and employment. It is the goal of the Rescate Foundation to stabilize the physical and mental health of its young clients, and to subsequently integrate them back into society with supportive social networks, adherence to medical regimen, and with jobs that will help sustain them.
The Robert Brewster Chorale, New York, NY, $15,000
Dr. Robert Brewster began informally using song as a means of providing emotional support for those affected by HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s as his friends and colleagues became infected with the disease. As he sang informally for friends living with HIV/AIDS, and noticed the positive impact that song had on these people’s spirits, he decided to form The Robert Brewster Chorale, which is now comprised of 30 males, 90% of which are HIV positive. The Chorale performs at churches, hospitals, tenant associations, hospices, and social service agencies with the goals of lifting the spirits of people living with HIV/AIDS and educating audiences about prevention.
Shelter Resources, New Orleans, LA, $125,000
Since 1992, Shelter Resources has been providing housing and assisted living for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS in New Orleans. Shelter Resources owns two houses in New Orleans for this purpose, and they are using this grant from EJAF to build a third facility, Belle Grace, an 8-bed assisted living facility. With the completion of this third facility, Shelter Resources will be able to provide housing for 27-29 people.
NAF Community Partnership Grants
The Foundation also awarded $1.53 million in Community Partnership Challenge Grants and $170,000 in Community Partnership Leadership Grants through its relationship with the National AIDS Fund (NAF). The NAF has 29 community partners throughout the U.S. that raise local funds for HIV/AIDS prevention and make local grants based on the unique needs of each community. The challenge grants EJAF awards through this program must be matched two-to-one by funds raised locally.
