The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was established in the United States in 1992 by Sir Elton John, and is now located in New York City. In 1993, Sir Elton also established his Foundation as a registered charity in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. These two organizations function as separate entities with their own distinct grant-making portfolios, but both pursue the same mission – to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS through innovative HIV prevention programs, efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, and direct treatment and care services for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Today, EJAF is one of the world’s leading nonprofits working in this field. Together, the two organizations have raised more than $225 million in support of worthy projects in 55 countries around the world, including significant funding dedicated to programs in their respective home countries. The U.S. organization awards grants to community-based projects across the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean. The U.K. organization focuses its grant making on programs in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
EJAF’s regional, national, and international leadership is predicated upon:
- Its vigilant attention to the constant changes and challenges of the ever-evolving global AIDS epidemic,
- Its commitment to the development of strong partnerships with like-minded organizations in order to maximize resources and minimize duplication of effort, and
- Its strategic investment of donor dollars to have the greatest possible impact in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS.
Over the past five years, the Foundation’s donors have responded generously to this approach, enabling EJAF to greatly broaden its leadership, the scope of its funding, and the speed and flexibility of its grant-making programs. The U.S. organization has expanded not only the amount of money given, but it has also strategically targeted key regions and populations poorly served by current prevention efforts and most at risk of infection: critically under-funded communities in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean; stigmatized and marginalized populations including men who have sex with men, injection drug users, and incarcerated individuals; and under-served populations including African Americans and young people.
EJAF’s strong financial health and dynamic and flexible grant-making philosophy position the organization ideally to respond to sudden emergencies involving the life and health of people living with HIV/AIDS, to adjust its grant-making priorities to address the needs of the ever-shifting demographics of this global epidemic, and to advocate for policies that protect and strengthen the health and rights of people affected by HIV/AIDS.
