Today, AIDS United announced the second round of awards totaling more than $3.1 million through the Fund for Resilience, Equity and Engagement to 13 organizations serving Black gay, bisexual, queer and same-gender-loving men and transgender and gender-nonconforming people throughout the United States. This is the second round of funding from FREE, a three-year, $11 million investment generously supported by the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
“We have seen in both HIV and now amid COVID-19 that, while Black GBQ/SGL men and people of trans experience bear an undue burden of these epidemics, they are too often left without resources to create change. But we know that these communities are critical forces for changing the impact of HIV in the United States,” said Jesse Milan, Jr., president and CEO of AIDS United. “Through FREE, we are giving concrete, much-needed support to communities too often under-resourced for building solutions that reflect their voices, needs and hopes. This second iteration of FREE will not only support organizations providing health services, but now also includes organizations that are implementing policy and advocacy work focusing on HIV.”
FREE advances community-focused approaches to HIV prevention and care that incorporate intersecting issues including social and economic inequities and other social determinants of health into their service models. The initiative also aims to increase the capacity of organizations that serve these communities and ensure their readiness for growth and long-term sustainability.
“We are looking forward to developing new models and approaches that better serve the community in innovative and human-centered ways,” said Gabriel Maldonado, MBA, chief executive officer at TruEvolution, a 2021 FREE grantee.
“As we actively serve many communities, we’re excited to show a for-us-by-us model that will not only reach the populations in need but also build a bridge for others as well,” said LaSaia Wade, MBA, executive director of Brave Space Alliance, a 2021 FREE grantee.
Meet all our 2021 FREE grantee partners:
- Brave Space Alliance; Chicago, Illinois.
- Bros in Convo Initiative; Orlando, Florida.
- Black Trans Advocacy Coalition; Dallas, Texas.
- CH-PIER; Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
- In the Meantime Men’s Group; Los Angeles, California.
- Southern AIDS Coalition; Birmingham, Alabama.
- The Normal Anomaly; Houston, Texas.
- Thrive SS Inc.; Atlanta, Georgia.
- The Knights and Orchids Society; Selma, Alabama.
- Transgender Law Center; Oakland, California.
- Translatin@ Coalition; Los Angeles, California.
- TruEvolution; Riverside, California.
- Us Helping Us; Washington, D.C.
To learn more about the Fund for Resilience, Equity and Engagement, visit our website.
