EJAF December 2007 Grant List

This third round of EJAF grant awards for 2007 includes $350,000 in smaller discretionary grants varying from $5,000 - 50,000 awarded to community-based HIV prevention, care and service programs.  Many of these grants address priority areas identified in EJAF’s 2005 strategic grant evaluation – the Southern U.S., incarcerated populations, high risk populations, young people, and men who have sex with men (MSM). 

In addition, one of the larger grants included in this award cycle, a $100,000 grant to the ACLU National Prisons Project, engages EJAF’s priority area of addressing HIV in incarcerated populations.  This program is litigating key cases across the U.S. to secure medical treatment for prisoners with HIV and to end discrimination against prisoners on the basis of HIV status.    

The two remaining large grants, $150,000 to amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and $273,000 to The Collaborative Fund for HIV Treatment Preparedness represent EJAF’s first investments in a new priority region that will be undertaken more aggressively during 2008 – Latin America.  These grants will focus on HIV programs for MSM and HIV/AIDS treatment preparedness in the region.

Project Descriptions:

ACLU National Prisons Project, Washington, DC, $100,000
This is the only organization in the United States litigating prison, jail, juvenile, and immigration detention conditions of confinement on a national basis.  With just eight lawyers, the ACLU has litigation in 20-25 states at any given time.  In the last decade and a half, the ACLU has briefed and argued five cases about prisoners’ rights in the U.S. Supreme Court.  The National Prison Project has led the fights to secure medical treatment for prisoners with HIV and to end discrimination against prisoners on the basis of HIV status.   A Mississippi case, in which a federal court was persuaded to issue an injunction requiring the prison to provide medical care for HIV-positive prisoners that is consistent with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, remains the leading case on the constitutional requirements on this issue.  

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY, $150,000
amfAR has launched the MSM Initiative to support grassroots efforts to reduce HIV infection and transmission among men who have sex with men in developing countries by funding programs and partnerships related to HIV prevention, treatment, and care.  This grant will support the MSM Initiative’s activities in Latin America, a region of particular importance because MSM often face strong cultural and religious prohibitions that lead to decreased access to HIV prevention and care services.   The goals of this project are to support grassroots MSM organizations in developing countries to create and sustain peer-driven HIV programs; build awareness and understanding of HIV epidemics among MSM around the world; and develop strong policies and increase public funding for HIV-related services to MSM in developing countries.

The Collaborative Fund for HIV Treatment Preparedness, New York, NY, $273,000
The Collaborative Fund represents the first time that a global coalition of people living with AIDS has developed a funding mechanism that will allow them to set funding priorities and implement their strategies. Now in its third full year of operation, the Collaborative Fund has gained substantial support from more than nineteen funding partners, and has mobilized more than $9 million for community-based, peer-reviewed grant making and support services. In an effort to promote HIV treatment preparedness, the Collaborative Fund conducts a small grants program and regionally-based funding for technical assistance and network support. All funding decisions are made through a peer-review process conducted by community members in each of ten regions throughout the world.  This grant will support its activities in Latin America. 

AIDS Care Center for Education and Support Services (ACCESS), Norfolk, VA, $7,500
ACCESS has successfully implemented a new HIV testing program in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, testing 500 individuals in 2006.  This grant will enable ACCESS to extend the reach of this testing program by purchasing a cargo-style van to expand HIV testing to those living in rural areas who are unlikely to visit a clinic.  This vehicle is projected to increase the program's testing capacity by 50%.

AIDS Resource Center Ohio, Dayton, OH, $25,000
This organization provides HIV case management, prevention education, and HIV testing in 35 state counties.  This grant will support  its Mpowerment and HIV Counseling/Testing/Referral activities in Toledo and Dayton, in addition to other more rural areas of the state.  The target population of this program is gay bisexual, transgendered, and questioning men.  The goals are to provide prevention education and increase access to HIV testing and counseling, and subsequent referrals to related services.

AIDS Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay, ON, $10,000
This grant will support the organization’s Direct Client Services Program, which includes a food bank, transportation support, childcare, and health educational opportunities for underprivileged people living with HIV/AIDS.

Bailey House, New York, NY, $15,000
This grant will support Project FIRST (Formerly Incarcerated Rental Support and Training), a program that provides housing and support services to formerly incarcerated men and women living with HIV/AIDS.  In addition to housing, clients of Project FIRST receive a variety of services including HIV/AIDS counseling and referral to services, referrals to educational and vocational training programs, and socialization counseling.  Since 2003, Project FIRST has served 253 men and women.  Clients are referred to Bailey House from the New York State and New York City Departments of Correction, the New York City Department of Corrections, and from community-based organizations that provide services to former inmates.

Bruce House, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, $20,000
This organization offers supported living in subsidized apartments (for 40 people) and 24-hour intensive care at a 7 bed house for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Chattanooga CARES, Chattanooga, TN, $25,000
This organization provides HIV/AIDS prevention education programming and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Tennessee Valley.  This grant will help provide temporary housing and food vouchers for people living with HIV/AIDS in this region.  Currently, Chattanooga only has one agency providing housing for HIV positive individuals, and it only has seven bedrooms.  Additional housing opportunities made available through this funding would obviate the need for clients to reside temporarily in homeless shelters, where conditions increase the risk of acquiring other infections.

Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), New York, NY, $25,000
Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) is dedicated to serving the needs of Black Gay, bisexual and other men who experience same-sex desire. GMAD received funding in support of its Intensive Prevention Program, a concentrated effort to address the mental health needs of young Black men who have sex with men who are living with or at risk for acquiring HIV. The proposed activities of this project are (1) to create a speakers bureau composed of 10 HIV positive young Black MSM who will be trained as community educators. This group will participate in speaking engagements in schools, treatment programs, churches and other organizations where there are opportunities to engage Black gay youth. They will also be the face of a city-wide social marketing campaign that encourages HIV testing. (2) The second component of this campaign involves offering mental health services to clients referred through GMAD's HIV testing program, outreach at public and commercial sex venues and internet sites that cater to Black MSM.

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), New York, NY, $50,000
GMHC strives to reduce the spread of HIV; help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence; and keep the prevention, treatment, and cure of HIV an urgent national and local priority.  This grant will support HIV testing, outreach and prevention services for young men who have sex with men.  Targeted outreach will be conducted in NYC's five boroughs, where MSM are the group most affected by HIV.  Recent research has shown that this sort of targeted outreach of high-risk groups is a more effective method of identifying people unaware of their HIV status than mandatory testing of the general population.

God’s Love We Deliver (GLWD), New York, NY, $25,000
GLWD’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition.  This grant will support the preparation and delivery of over 3,000 meals.

International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Washington, DC, $25,000
Within the HIV/AIDS policy community, it now understood that the epidemic is disproportionately affecting women.  Unfortunately, many restrictions on funding in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), such as earmarked funding for abstinence only programs, fail to address the reality of sexual activity among women in the developing world.   This grant will support a communications and advocacy campaign that will seek to ensure gender considerations are more fully integrated into the terms of the US policy and programs on global HIV/AIDS, and specifically, the reauthorization of PEPFAR. 

Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Seattle, WA, $35,000
This organization implements prevention education programs, supports people living with HIV/AIDS, and advocates on behalf of those living with the disease.  This grant will fund a variety of services including youth prevention programs, Seattle and King County's needle exchange program, condom distribution to high-risk groups, and targeted prevention for crystal meth users.

Prisoners’ HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, $5,000
PASAN is dedicated to providing a grassroots response to the growing HIV/AIDS crisis in Canada's prisons.  PASAN's goal is to provide prisoners, ex-prisoners, and youth in custody with the information needed to protect themselves from HIV and Hepatitis C.  PASAN also provides case management to those living with HIV/AIDS.  This grant will support PASAN’s weekly drop-in program for prisoners recently released from incarceration.  This drop-in program affords the opportunity for case management, meals, and other services vital to these clients' successful transition back into society.

Project Angel Food, Los Angeles, CA, $20,000
Since 1989, Project Angel Food has been preparing and delivering meals that are nutritionally-tailored to people with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles.  Sixty-three percent of Project Angel Food's clients are people of color and the majority live in extreme poverty subsisting on a limited, very fixed income.

World Pulse Media, San Francisco, CA, $30,000
World Pulse Media is seeking to create a pilot, biweekly multimedia, digital magazine program, Talk to the Future, to be broadcast via the Internet featuring conversations and interviews with some of the most innovative people working on the cutting edge of AIDS and global public health – as well as pioneers in overlapping fields such as sustainability, new technology and new media that are impacting our global response to AIDS. Talk to the Future will be produced and hosted by Anne-christine d’Adesky, an award-winning journalist, author and documentary filmmaker. The goals of this project are to spotlight and communicate those leading efforts at the cutting edge of the epidemic and to have an impact on policymakers. The program aims to spotlight positive change, innovation, creative leadership, field-tested “best practice” programs and models in HIV/AIDS that deserve greater attention and support, and could be applied more widely.

EJAF August 2007 Grant List

These awards include a grant of $850,000 to continue support for two initiatives in collaboration with the National AIDS Fund (NAF) addressing the needs of Incarcerated Populations and underfunded communities in the Southern United States.  25% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. pass through correctional facilities each year, and the HIV infection rate in prisons is estimated to be 8-10 times higher than the general population, with limited institutional support for HIV prevention and care programs.  Despite the South representing 41% of the U.S. population living with HIV, southern communities receive only 15% of HIV/AIDS grants made by the largest 50 U.S. HIV/AIDS-focused philanthropies, and most of these grants were in the major metropolitan areas of North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.  These key areas remain an important focus of EJAF’s grant-making.

Project Descriptions:

National AIDS Fund, Washington, DC, $850,000
Through the National AIDS Fund, EJAF will be supporting Challenge Grants targeting Incarcerated Populations ($350,000) and underfunded communities in the Southern United States ($500,000): 

Incarcerated Populations
It is estimated that 25% of people living with HIV in the United States pass through correctional facilities each year, and the percentage of prison inmates who are confirmed to have AIDS is three times higher than in the general U.S. population, and the HIV infection rate is estimated to be eight to ten times higher.  While HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent among populations in correctional institutions, there is typically limited institutional support for HIV prevention and care activities.  Highlighted projects include the expansion of prevention services specifically targeting high-risk juvenile offenders, peer education programming for incarcerated adults, and the development of statewide models for discharge planning of HIV-positive inmates.

Southern United States
The National AIDS Fund is leading two major philanthropic efforts in the Southern United States: (1) Southern REACH (Regional Expansion of Access and Capacity to Address HIV/AIDS) and (2) Community Partnership expansion, to build and support collaborative, statewide leadership in key Southern States.  Through Southern REACH , the National AIDS Fund makes grants directly to community-based organizations based on nationally developed priorities.  Community Partnership expansion is focused on engaging philanthropy, civil society and local HIV/AIDS leaders to increase and direct private sector resources to address HIV/AIDS.  While NAF works to build longer-term local infrastructure through Community Partnership expansion, investments made through Southern REACH will have a more immediate impact in expanding HIV/AIDS care and services in this region.

Black AIDS Institute, Los Angeles, CA, $100,000
African Americans are being disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.  Although African Americans represent only 12% of the U.S. population, they accounted for half of AIDS cases diagnosed in 2005.   The Black AIDS Mobilization (BAM) campaign calls on major African American organizations to make fighting AIDS a top priority by setting concrete measurable goals, objectives and activities with real deadlines that are tailored to their unique niches and capabilities; and develop mechanisms to track activities and evaluate progress.  Nineteen organizations have already signed on to the campaign, including the NAACP, Black Entertainment Television, the National Urban League, and American Urban Radio Networks.

Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative, New York, NY, $250,000
For the past five years, the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) has been working with governments and partners in the Caribbean to launch and scale-up HIV/AIDS treatment and care.  CHAI’s work in this region for the next several years will consist of an array of activities including its rural initiative, which seeks to make ARV treatment available in underserved and impoverished rural areas; a pediatric initiative aimed at increasing the breadth and quality of pediatric treatment and care, and including a new focus on eradicating mother to child transmission of HIV; working with governments to reduce the cost of treatments and ensure the sustainability of treatment delivery; assisting governments with the development of national HIV/AIDS plans; and providing technical assistance to health care workers and clinics.

Collaborative Fund for HIV Treatment Preparedness, New York, NY, $350,000
The Collaborative Fund is a partnership of people living with HIV/AIDS, community organizations, international organizations, multilateral agencies, and donors. Each partner brings its expertise and resources to further the goal of effective HIV treatment delivery and use around the world.  In 2006, with funding from EJAF and other contributing partners, the Collaborative Fund provided $200,000 for small grants and a total of $175,000 for regional coordination, technical assistance, network development, and program monitoring activities in the Caribbean region.   This year, the Collaborative Fund seeks to increase the total amount to be awarded in small grants to $300,000, as the Caribbean region now has the capacity to absorb these additional funds both through funding more programs throughout the region and through increase of the average grant award.  Funding will also be directed to increased program evaluation and monitoring and technical assistance for grantees.

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY, $150,000
In every country of the world, men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected and at risk for HIV, and in many places they confront neglect, discrimination, and even criminalization.  amfAR has established the MSM Initiative as of June 2007.  Operating in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean, the MSM Initiative will have two core program components: small program grants focused on MSM and HIV; and policy and communications support at global, regional, and national levels to generate media, policy change, and information resources for MSM programs.  This grant will support amfAR’s work in the Caribbean.

Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA, $350,000
In 2006, EJAF joined with the Kaiser Foundation and the Ford Foundation as the funding partners of the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP).   Since its launch in May 2006, the CBMP has grown to include more than 40 leading broadcasters from 23 Caribbean countries and territories across the region, in an unprecedented collaboration to develop a coordinated media response to AIDS.  CBMP broadcast members have made HIV/AIDS a business priority – committing to a minimum of 30 seconds of airtime per hour (or about 12 minutes per day) to HIV content across all programming genres, including news, public affairs, entertainment, and new media platforms.   Over the next year, the CBMP will focus on building Caribbean institutional capacity while it continues to deliver strong program activities and creative content. 

Syringe Access Fund, New York, NY, $350,000
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), injection drug use has accounted for approximately one-third of all adult AIDS cases and 60% of Hepatitis C cases reported in the United States.  Access to sterile injection equipment, including syringes, has been proven to reduce these infection risks.  Unfortunately, the U.S. government has prohibited the use of federal funds for syringe access since 1988.  The Syringe Access Fund is a collaborative grant-making initiative that strives to reduce the risk of HIV infection and other blood-borne pathogens among injection drug users, their sexual partners and children through expanded access to sterile syringes. 

Advocates for Youth, Washington, DC, $200,000
The past decade of federal support for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs represents one of the most successful strategic initiatives for the conservative right in the United States.  Evidence-based comprehensive sex education has been discredited to the disservice of American youth.   Advocates for Youth is committed to challenging abstinence-only and anti-condom policies and to fighting for appropriate sexual education for adolescents.  Advocates for Youth will enact a three-pronged strategy to promote comprehensive sex education for adolescents, which will educate, support and activate its extensive community of youth advocates; promote the use of condoms through its RightsRepsectResponsibility campaign; and partner with community based organizations that serve youth of color to redress homophobia and ensure that gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered youth are being appropriately served. 

National Urban Technology Center, New York, NY, $300,000
Urban Tech develops relevant, user-friendly technology products and implements programs for urban youth that build leadership and address the social, emotional and cultural issues that create barriers to healthy living and academic success.  Youth Leadership Academy, one of Urban Tech’s programs, is a web-based life skills curriculum offered in classrooms as well as after-school and summer programs.  The Youth Leadership Academy program includes a health series that addresses the following topics: nutrition and exercise, personal relationships, substance abuse prevention, and HIV and AIDS awareness.   In 2005, Urban Tech was selected by the New York City Department of Education to integrate YLA into the Children First curriculum and the instructional program of the New York City Public Schools.  Urban Tech will use this EJAF grant to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention by implementing Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) programs in 30 New York City middle schools.  Funding would also be directed to extensive professional development for teachers including group workshops, and co-teaching and mentoring of teachers to support and enhance instruction in the classroom.

Aid for AIDS, New York, NY, $35,000
Aid for AIDS is dedicated to collecting surplus HIV medications in the United States and recycling them for distribution to people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the developing world.  In 2006, funding from EJAF was used to extend the reach of their Be a Hero program's appeal to AIDS service organizations throughout the US, and to help cover costs of shipping medication to the Caribbean, which was the priority for dissemination of the donated medication.  Ultimately, this EJAF funding helped increase Aid for AIDS' drug shipments by 10%.  The work of Aid for AIDS was further validated when Universal Healthcare Trust donated $8.5M worth of HIV medication to the organization, which was used to treat nomadic populations in Central America.  This grant will help Aid for AIDS to continue to scale-up its HIV/AIDS medication collection, and the subsequent distribution of medication throughout the developing world.  

AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago, IL, $10,000
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago has convened the International Rectal Microbicide Working Group (IRMWG) to raise awareness and advocate for the development of safe and effective rectal microbicides.  Microbicides are anti-HIV gels, foams and creams that are applied vaginally or rectally to reduce the risk of HIV transmission during intercourse.  Rectal microbicide research has been underfunded because of its taboo nature, although it could be used to in conjunction with condoms or independently to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.  The IRMWG currently has 400 members from 35 countries working to advance research and advocacy related to the development of rectal microbicides. 

AIDS Survival Project, Atlanta, GA, $50,000
AIDS Survival Project's HIV Advocacy Program works to ensure the proper representation of people living with HIV in the implementation and formulation of public policy in Georgia.  The HIV Advocacy Program focuses on the following areas: (1) Leadership of Georgia's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Task Force, which provides HIV medications to individuals with limited or no health coverage.  (2) Organizing Georgia's only annual HIV public policy briefing.  (3) Conducting public awareness campaigns and educational sessions related to current HIV/AIDS issues.  (4) Arranging for people living with HIV/AIDS to meet with state legislative and congressional leaders and facilitating an annual Legislative AIDS Awareness Day.

BAY Positives, San Francisco, CA, $10,000
Bay Area Young Positives is dedicated to serving young people living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS in San Francisco.  BAY Positive's programming includes prevention education outreach to local schools, parks, and clubs; counseling; a drop-in center; internet outreach that includes a "Live Chat" service that allows youth to speak to a health educator online; and other social activities organized to engage the at-risk target group.

Brotherhood Sister Sol, New York, NY, $25,000
The Brotherhood Sister Sol (BHSS) is a Harlem-based organization with a mission to help Black and Latino youth develop into critical thinkers and community leaders.  BHSS offers educational programs to enrich and empower its young participants.  Last year, EJAF issued BHSS a $10,000 grant to expand its programming related to sexual health and responsibility, redressing of sexism and misogyny, and bias reduction.  Specific topics addressed through these programs included responsible sexual decision making, HIV/AIDS and STD prevention, gender dynamics and homophobia.  This grant will help BHSS to continue these programs.

Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, Toronto, ON, Canada, $10,000
The Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) is dedicated to funding research on HIV/AIDS, including prevention education.  CANFAR's Have a Heart program is Canada's only nation-wide youth HIV/AIDS awareness program.  Have a Heart has been facilitated in 2,800 schools, and involved more than 1.4 million youth since its inception 12 years ago.  The goal of this program is to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among adolescents by involving students and their teachers in raising funds for youth-targeted prevention education research. 

Friends in Deed, New York, NY, $15,000
Friends in Deed, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Education, provides on-site HIV/AIDS prevention education workshops to teens throughout the New York metropolitan area.  Friends in Deed targets vulnerable populations with its programs, specifically Latinos and African Americans, and during the 2007 school year reached over 100,000 students.  The Friends in Deed HIV/AIDS programs are provided to schools free of charge, and allow for the implementation of this programming in schools that may be constrained with limited budgets.

McLaren Housing Society, Vancouver, BC, Canada, $15,000
The McLaren Housing Society is dedicated to providing safe and affordable housing for low-income persons living with HIV and AIDS in British Columbia.  McLaren is currently able to provide housing for a total of 103 clients.  This grant will subsidize housing for 3-4 HIV positive clients for one year.

Ms Foundation for Women, New York, NY, $50,000
The Ms. Foundation for Women supports grassroots organizations across the United States to sustain the voices and visions of women who are leading change in their communities, with a focus on supporting low income women, young women, and women of color.  Founded in 1996, the Women and AIDS Fund (WAF) of the Ms. Foundation for Women is dedicated to supporting advocacy efforts by and for women living with HIV/AIDS.  WAF has unified its local level grantees to form the National Women and AIDS Collective (NWAC), a national policy group led by HIV positive women.  NWAC is undertaking its first national policy campaign, which is challenging the CDC's  definition of at-risk populations for HIV/AIDS because it limits free testing for many women who fall outside of the "at-risk" definition.  Working in concert with Ms. Foundation staff, NWAC will seek to expand access to free testing and gather data about the effect of HIV/AIDS on women. 

Project Open Hand, San Francisco, CA, $15,000
Annually, Project Open Hand provides nutritious meals to 3,500 clients living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco and Alameda County.  Project Open Hand was founded in San Francisco in 1985 as a service for 7 home-bound people living with HIVAIDS and has grown to serve clients living with breast cancer and other critical illnesses.  This grant will provide approximately 8,400 meals for clients living with HIV/AIDS.

EJAF March 2007 Grant List

These awards include a grant of nearly $2 million to support EJAF's long-standing Challenge and Leadership Grant collaboration with the National AIDS Fund (NAF). The NAF currently supports 29 Community Partnerships across the U.S. that help local communities develop HIV prevention and service programs specific to their unique needs. Part of this funding will support NAF's long-term goal to establish enough NAF Community Partnerships to reach HIV-infected individuals in every state and U.S. territory within the next 5 years.

Project Descriptions:

National AIDS Fund (NAF), Washington D.C., $1,953,000
This grant will support the National AIDS Fund's core grant-making in 2007. Additionally, this grant will fund NAF's Challenge Grant program and a $25,000 Leadership Grant for the first year of a new Community Partnership in Colorado, as well as Leadership Grant funding for two Community Partnership Expansion Sites in high priority areas outside of the South. Given NAF's goal of extending its presence to every state and U.S. territory over the next five years, funding will also go Expansion Site Pilot Grants, a new program concept for efficiently facilitating expansion and testing potential new Community Partnership sites.

AIDS Service Center, Pasadena, CA, $7,500
The AIDS Service Center provides comprehensive HIV care in Los Angeles County, including case management; housing assistance; mental health counseling and support groups; treatment advocacy and education; and food, legal, and transportation assistance. Additionally, ASC provides prevention education programs in the community.

Camp Heartland, Minneapolis, MN, $20,000
Since 1989, the Birch Family Camp program has grown from serving 7 AIDS-impacted families from the Bronx to being the largest camp in the Eastern United States dedicated to providing HIV-impacted families with a dynamic and rewarding camping experience which includes medical, social and psychological support. Each summer Birch Family Camp serves 80 families (approximately 250 campers, including 140 children) through two one-week sessions. The program is staffed by 200 volunteers from all walks of life; most reside across the country; others from around the world. This volunteer group also includes former teen and adult campers. This grant will support scholarships for 24 children, ages 6 months to 17 years old.

Desert AIDS Project, Palm Springs, CA, $25,000
Desert AIDS Project offers a variety of educational outreach programs including the POZ Speaker's Bureau, which sends HIV-positive speakers into local schools to provide HIV/AIDS educational sessions; prevention programs that seek to encourage safer sex among HIV-positive individuals; and the development of two websites addressing gay men's health issues including crystal methamphetamine use. The SAFE-T-NET program targets HIV-positive individuals that need assistance staying in the system of care. Vulnerable populations that are assisted under this program include drug users, those suffering from economic hardships, and mental illness. This grant would also support the group's anonymous testing services, which in 2006 conducted over 1,400 HIV tests.

The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), New York, NY, $50,000
In an effort to support syringe exchange programs, amfAR is documenting the proven efficacy of such programs in reducing HIV infection. amfAR supports the only national annual survey of syringe exchange organizations, conducted by Beth Israel Medical Center, which is used by syringe exchange programs for advocacy and educational purposes. Because of the current ban on the use of US government funds to support syringe exchange, and an increasing number of political attacks against harm reduction models, amfAR is committed to disseminating irrefutable evidence of the efficacy of such programs.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York, NY, $150,000
HRW is conducting a wide-ranging examination of the intersection of HIV and the detained populations in the United States. This investigation will focus on the impact of changing HIV testing protocols in jails and prisons, the availability of HIV prevention information and services, access to necessary treatment, and obstacles to adherence. Further, HRW will press key federal, state, and prison authorities to take the necessary steps to uphold their obligations to this vulnerable population. In the coming year, HRW will compile its first report related to this issue, which will focus on New York state (which has among the highest HIV prevalence rates in the country in its correctional facilities) and the approaches currently in place to deal with HIV/AIDS and the consequences of inadequate ARV treatment in correctional facilities. This report will form the basis of an advocacy campaign conducted at the national level.

International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Washington, DC, $30,000
ICRW will conduct a workshop this spring focused on the expansion of provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling. The workshop will focus on the recently released World Health Organization/ UNAIDS draft Guidance on Provider-Initiated HIV Testing and Counseling in Health Facilities, which endorses provider-initiated testing while acknowledging the issues of privacy and stigma associated with HIV. The group will devise an advocacy strategy to ensure the appropriate implementation of HIV testing in high level epidemic areas. The workshop will culminate in the creation of the "Stony Point Agenda for Research and Advocacy on the Expansion of HIV Testing," and participants will begin work on the first phase of research related to this project.

Maison du Parc, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, $13,000
This Montreal HIV/AIDS hospice offers palliative care for its residents. This grant will support the purchase of prescription and nonprescription drugs for its residents.

Project Open Hand, Atlanta, GA, $25,000
This program provides meals to people suffering with HIV/AIDS that preclude their ability to cook for themselves. Project Open Hand relies on a force of over 18,000 volunteers to accomplish its work. This grant will fund over 5,883 meals to people living with HIV/AIDS.

talkSafe/PLUSES, New York, NY, $10,000
This organization offers free counseling services to gay and bisexual men in New York City with the goal of preventing HIV/AIDS. Housed in the Comprehensive HIV Center at St. Vincent's Hospital, talkSafe offers extensive post-HIV-test counseling for gay and bisexual men. The goals of this counseling are twofold: (1) to encourage those who test negative to eliminate high-risk sexual behaviors, and (2) to help those who test positive cope with these results. Counseling sessions are conducted by graduate students who are studying social work and psychology at area universities.

US Fund for UNICEF, New York, NY, $50,000
In Guatemala, approximately 455,000 women become pregnant each year, while in 2006 only 50,000 women received HIV testing and counseling. UNICEF plans to use the expertise gained from a pilot program initiated in 2002 in Guatemala City's Roosevelt Hospital and expand access to prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV to 16 sites in Guatemala, 8 in hospitals and 8 in local clinics and obstetric service centers. The goal of this program is to keep the rates of mother to child transmission below 5% in the sixteen sites.

Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP), Asheville, NC, $15,000
This is the only AIDS service organization in the 17 counties of Western North Carolina. WNCAP employs two full-time HIV prevention educators who provide programming in a variety of settings from correctional facilities to local schools, substance abuse groups and shelters. WNCAP also focuses prevention education efforts on African American women and facilitates a needle exchange program in Asheville, NC, Western North Carolina's major urban center.