This is one part of AIDS United’s 2022 Impact Report.
AIDS United’s grantmaking portfolio dates back to our founding as the National AIDS Fund in 1987. For more than three decades, we have supported community-driven responses to the HIV epidemic throughout the country that reach the nation’s most disproportionately affected populations, including gay and bisexual men, people of color, women, people living in the South, transgender people, and more.
Harm Reduction Futures Fund
In April 2022, AIDS United launched the Harm Reduction Futures Fund, a refresh of its nearly two decades of harm reduction grantmaking. Building upon the Syringe Access Fund’s support for harm reduction programs across the United States, the Harm Reduction Futures Fund invests in 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.
Relief, Recovery and Resilience Fund
As the United States faced multiple epidemics, including HIV, viral hepatitis, overdose, and COVID-19, many areas throughout the country were impacted by several tropical storms and natural disasters that left people without the basic needs to survive. When these crises hit, the organizations serving people living with and affected by HIV must begin the arduous process of assessing the impact of these crises and meeting their client’s most pressing needs.
The Relief, Recovery, and Resilience Fund meet the immediate and urgent needs of people living with and vulnerable to HIV in regions affected by acute crises like earthquakes, hurricanes, and global pandemics. It was established in 2017 to respond to the triple hurricane disasters of Erma, Harvey and Maria.
In 2022, AIDS United provided $420,000 in grants to help organizations address community needs related to hurricanes Fiona and Ian with support from Gilead Sciences. AIDS United also provided technical assistance, capacity building and sector transformation, and policy and advocacy support to Puerto Rico.
The Relief, Recovery and Resilience Fund also gave $15,000 in emergency funding to the HIV community in Mississippi as they dealt with a monthslong water crisis.
Southern HIV Impact Fund
The Southern HIV Impact Fund is a collaborative project advocating for a coordinated response to HIV in partnership with community-based groups in the South. Managed by AIDS United, the fund is a collaboration between Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, the Levi Strauss Foundation, ViiV Healthcare and a generous anonymous donor.
iFORWARD is a special project of the Southern HIV Impact Fund. It is designed to address barriers southern organizations face in accessing appropriate technology to carry out their services and achieve their mission. The initiative made cash grants of up to $10,000 to seven Southern organizations in 2022.
