The ACT NOW: END AIDS Coalition to Offer Community Leadership Grants with financial support from ViiV Healthcare

Contact
TAG media inquiries: Jeremiah Johnson; +1 303 910 9330
ViiV Healthcare media inquiries: Audrey Abernathy; +1 919 605 4521

October 21, 2019 – The ACT NOW: END AIDS (ANEA) coalition is seeking proposals for a new small grants program that aims to significantly increase local and state community leadership as part of the new federal Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE): A Plan for America initiative. Selected community-based coalitions/organizations may receive up to $50,000 to support activities that will lead toward sustainable local and state-level community leadership in the new federally funded initiative. Applications and more information are available here.

ANEA is pleased to launch this request for proposals thanks to grant funding provided to Treatment Action Group (TAG) by ViiV Healthcare. This support will make up to $200,000 in subgrants available over the course of one year to support the meaningful engagement of affected communities in their state and/or local EHE planning processes. ViiV Healthcare will provide initial funds for the initiative; ANEA and TAG will independently make all decisions on program design, peer review, and grant awards and continue to work to expand the support available for this process from additional funders. ANEA maintains a policy of a strict firewall between funding received and the stances we take or positions for which we advocate.

“The EHE initiative to address HIV in 57 named jurisdictions holds promise. But if additional dollars go toward funding business as usual, we are likely to fall far short of the epidemic-ending goals” says Dazon Dixon Diallo, Founder and President of Sisterlove, “engagement with and leadership from the communities most affected by the epidemic – including Black and Latino gay and bisexual men, transgender men and women, and Black cisgender women – will be essential to achieve these ambitious aims,  and to ensure the intersectionality of these lived experiences which are included in the core principles enumerated in ANEA’s community-driven Ending the Epidemic Roadmap.”

Community-based coalitions and organizations serving in the 57 identified EHE jurisdictions are eligible to apply by December 6, 2019. A strong preference will be shown for applications from the southern U.S.; to be eligible, applicants must demonstrate that their coalition or organization includes meaningful leadership from the aforementioned disproportionately impacted communities. Awards will be announced by January 2020.

“We are pleased to support the Coalition’s grant program that prioritizes the full participation of community leadership as a critical complement to the End the Epidemic initiative,” said Marc Meachem, Head, External Affairs North America, ViiV Healthcare. “This stage of the work requires that we better engage people who are not connected to care. The expertise of those working in and from affected communities is essential to a coordinated and meaningful response. It’s one part of our ongoing commitment to the community, the science and the partnerships we need in this moment.”

“A primary focus of ANEA is to increase community leadership in work to end HIV as an epidemic, and we are pleased to be able to offer these grants to ensure that affected populations aren’t just invited to the table, they help build the table.” says Charles King, CEO of Housing Works “The history of our movement has always shown how important it is for those most affected by HIV to lead the way.”

ACT NOW: END AIDS is a national coalition of community-based organizations, health departments, and national organizations committed to ending AIDS as an epidemic in the United States. The coalition hosts learning collaboratives to share key practices; works to have Ending the Epidemic (EtE) become part of the national discourse with key decision makers; and supports health departments across the country with technical assistance in the writing and implementation of EtE plans and processes.

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