FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Conexiones Positivas Fund awards $150,000 in grants to seventeen organizations
Contact: Christopher J. Cuevas (ccuavas@aidsunited.org)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Conexiones Positivas Fund is proud to announce its third cohort of grantees for the 2024 funding cycle. This is the largest iteration of the Conexiones Positivas Fund (CPF), with seventeen organizations awarded grants ranging between $7,500-$10,000 to support general operations, organizational development, and the implementation of projects directly impacting Latinx/e1 people living with and vulnerable to HIV.
“We are supporting an amazing cohort of grantees in a single grant period who, after careful consideration from our external Grant Review Committee’s process, reflect our strategic priorities said,” says Jessica Martinez, Program Manager at AIDS United. “CPF have invested supporting organizations from various regions with an important commitment to supporting programs in Southern regions. We recognize that a large population of Latine people living with HIV reside in Southern regions and require a multipronged approach to tackling HIV in their communities.”
The Conexiones Positivas Fund is generously supported by a partnership with ViiV Healthcare, in the fight to reduce stigma and improve access to care for Latinx gay, bisexual, queer and trans men living with and affected by HIV. The strategic priorities of the Conexiones Positivas Fund at AIDS United have been co-designed by a community advisory board comprised of dedicated Latinx leaders living with HIV from. These leaders span from across the United States, each informing the reach and guiding the grantmaking efforts of the fund. To date, AIDS United’s Latinx Programs, which house the Conexiones Positivas Fund, has provided $475,000 in grants to 30 organizations nationwide that are effectively addressing the prevention, care, support, advocacy, and leadership needs of Latinx communities most affected by HIV.
The 2024 grantees are:
Aguilar Salud*
Alpha Trans PR*
Asheboro Latinx Services*
Arianna’s Center Puerto Rico
Community Health, Prevention, Intervention, Education & Research (CH-PIER)
Gran Varones
Gua’Kia*
Latinx+*
LILA Latinx LGBTQI Initiative**
Out My Closet
Sol Collective**
Trans Empowerment Coalition**
Trans Men Empowerment**
Trans Power in Diversity**
TransSalud Corp**
Waves Ahead*
We Are Family**
*indicates the organization has also been funded in prior cycles
**indicates first-time funding by AIDS United
“We are extremely proud to continue to diversify our grantee cohort yearly and increase the reach that the Conexiones Positivas Fund has for our Latine community,” said Christopher J. Cuevas, Senior Program Manager at AIDS United. “This year, our, external review committee focused on encouraging our partners to uphold the principles of MIPA (meaningful involvement of people living with HIV), which centers on Latine individuals living with HIV, thus empowering the next generation of HIV leaders for our community.”
The CPF team implemented several new tools to enhance the capacity building assistance (CBA) support within the Conexiones Positivas Fund. The team collaborating with grantee partners to will structure the professional and organizational development learning sessions. Grantee partners will not only be able to receive individualized capacity building assistance, but proactively engage other programs or projects across the cohort to share their knowledge, and exchange skills and strategies.
“We hope these peer-driven learning communities foster collaboration and growth across the cohort that create networks of people living with HIV, advocates, outreach workers, and organizations. We hope our grantee partners, continue to call on the community for support with their projects and collaborate with us, and one another, to get us closer to ending the HIV epidemic in the US,” Cuevas continues.
“We are extremely excited that Arianna’s Center was one of the organizations selected to receive funding to bolster our work advocating for the transgender community and will aid our HIV prevention,” said Ashely Figueroa the Consulting Deputy Director at Arianna’s Center Puerto Rico. “Support from the Conexiones Positivas Fund will support various initiatives and leaders working to address the HIV epidemic among communities across Puerto Rico. Funds from this grant will allow us to aid transgender and gender-nonconforming people across Puerto Rico to access legal assistance to change their gender markers and legal name on their government issued-ID and make access to gender-affirming care more widespread.
About the fund:
Latinx people are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, accounting for 29% of new diagnoses despite only accounting for 18% of the total U.S. population. The Conexiones Positivas/Positive Connections Fund is a grantmaking initiative investing in leadership and capacity development for Latinx people living with HIV. The grants help organizations address, reduce, and eliminate HIV stigma, build HIV prevention and care, and enhance support services and advocacy. CPF is supported by ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Community Grant Program.
Questions can be directed to Christopher J. Cuevas, senior program manager of Latinx initiatives at ccuevas@aidsunited.org or Jessica Martinez, program manager of Latinx initiatives at jmartinez@aidsunited.org.
