Our initiatives

The foundation of our work consists of three pillars:

The Racial Justice Index was launched in 2020 as part of the Public Policy Council’s longstanding commitment to dismantling white supremacy and systemic racism. It is a guide to help the HIV field move toward being fully responsive to racial justice and addressing racial disparities in HIV. 

The Southern HIV Impact (SHIF) Fund aims to address the needs of individuals and communities in the Southern Region affected by HIV. Through tailored technical assistance and awarding one-year grants, SHIF aims to enhance and coordinate HIV prevention, care and support services, advocacy, and movement-building of organizations in the region across intersecting movements.

The Southern HIV Impact Fund is supported by a collaboration of funders, including Gilead Sciences, ViiV Healthcare, and a generous anonymous donor. To learn more about this portfolio, contact the team at SouthernFund@aidsunited.org.

The Melanated Movement is an education and awareness campaign working to end the HIV epidemic and stigma and tackle misinformation through education, prevention and stories from Black cisgender and transgender women living with HIV. 

We are dedicated to educating Black cis and trans women about prevention and risk and providing solutions for those in care — as well as giving a platform for stories by Black women living with the virus to help fight stigma and end the epidemic. 

Get involved.

The Transgender Leadership Initiative is a leadership development program supporting transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming leaders of color who are emerging leaders in their communities. TLI aims to facilitate and improve the professional development and community services/programs of trans leaders.

The Conexiones Positivas Fund was established in 2020 by a group of philanthropists in the HIV sector seeking to address the rising rates of HIV among Latine communities across the United States and Puerto Rico. 

Uniquely positioned at the intersection of corporate, political, and grassroots power, CPF supports individuals, organizations, initiatives, and innovations addressing the health and wellness of Latine communities. Conexiones Positiveas Fund has two core initiatives: 

Caminos Fund 
Supporting emerging organizations and leaders of color working at the intersection of racial and health justice to incubate their visions for action and systemic change. 

Desarrollo Fund 
Supporting frontline organizations and movement leaders to design innovative strategies that accelerate change and promote the health and well-being of Latine communities. 

The Conexiones Positivas Fund is generously supported by ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Grant Program, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign, and Merck Pharmaceuticals. 

 

Partnering and Communicating Together (PACT) is a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Division of HIV Prevention, and AIDS United to support the dissemination of CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together (Together) campaign via the use of digital and social media platforms and disseminate Together campaign materials, messaging, and other CDC resources that support HIV/AIDS prevention at in-person and virtual events. 

AIDS United’s We Are United Communications Campaign is our unique approach to empowering communities disproportionately impacted by HIV through the PACT initiative.

We Are United builds partnerships and supply resources to support a range of organizations and community influencers seeking to apply an integrated approach to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS, reduce HIV/AIDS stigma, promote the importance of HIV/AIDS testing and prevention options, and encourage people living with HIV/AIDS to begin and stay in treatment through creative digital and social media engagement and/or in-person activities. 

Through our harm reduction portfolio, we engage in grant-making, technical assistance and advocacy to reduce the health, psychosocial and socioeconomic disparities experienced by people who use drugs. Our harm reduction grants and initiatives support evidence-based and community-driven approaches to prevent the transmission of both HIV and viral hepatitis, reduce injection-related injuries, increase overdose prevention and reversal efforts, and connect people who use drugs to comprehensive prevention, treatment and support services.
 

We work to help meet the immediate and urgent needs of those of us living with and vulnerable to HIV in regions affected by urgent crises like earthquakes and hurricanes, and now the COVID-19 pandemic.

In partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the San Francisco Community Health Center-Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, AIDS United provides technical expertise to health departments and community organizations, helping these organizations to optimally plan, integrate, implement and sustain comprehensive HIV prevention programs and services.

We provide community-based organizations with the help and tools they need to effectively address the HIV epidemic in their communities.

 

AIDS United is part of the evaluation and technical assistance provider for the Black Women First Initiative, in partnership with The University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, and Impact Marketing + Communications. The initiative supports the design, implementation and evaluation of bundled evidence-informed interventions for Black women living with HIV.

Using Innovative Interventions Strategies to Improve Health Outcomes Among People With HIV, often shortened to 2iS, is a collaboration between The Fenway Institute and AIDS United. The project is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The initiative’s goal is to improve the HIV care continuum outcomes of linkage-to-care, reengagement, retention in care, and viral suppression among people living with HIV. 2iS funds up to 20 Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs and other HIV service organizations nationally.  These intervention strategies seek to improve HIV health outcomes for: 

  • People with substance use disorder.
  • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth (13-24 years old).
  • People who are or have been justice involved.
  • People who use telehealth services.