With funding from Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, AIDS United is pleased to announce the second year of funding for iFORWARD. Grants of up to $10,000 will be available for project-specific or general operating support.
Donor Name: AIDS United
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/28/2023
Size of the Grant: up to $10,000
Grant Duration: 12 months
Details:
The Southern HIV Impact Fund is a collaborative of funders seeking a greater collective impact against the disparities driving the HIV epidemic in marginalized communities in the South. iFORWARD, a special project of the Southern HIV Impact Fund, seeks to strengthen the technology infrastructure and digital capacity of HIV service organizations in the Southern United States.
iFORWARD recognizes the barriers that Southern organizations face in accessing appropriate technology to carry out their services and achieve their mission. This initiative aims to reduce these disparities by directing funds to and building the capacity of grassroots organizations in the South to:
- Improve community access to health information.
- Enhance organizational communication systems.
- Help to maintain a sense of client social and emotional support.
- Establish and maintain a virtual community.
- Extend organizations’ geographical reach.
- Reduce HIV-related stigma.
Funding Information
For the 2023-2024 cycle, $70,000 in funding is available through iFORWARD. AIDS United anticipates making approximately seven grants of up to $10,000 each to community-based organizations, racial and social justice organizations, AIDS service organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers and/or networks of PLWH across the South. Grants will be 12-months in length (June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024) and two types of grants will be offered:
- Project-specific grants to support a distinct project with clear goals, objectives, activities and measurable outcomes. Project-specific grants aligned with iFORWARD will support projects such as:
- Digital campaigns that promote linkage to HIV prevention services, HIV care and/or treatment as prevention.
- Digital campaigns that address barriers to care.
- Digital campaigns and/or hybrid events on addressing social and structural determinants of health.
- Creation of digital health literacy materials.
- Digital and hybrid advocacy events.
- Digital and hybrid workshops/events with high-impact populations.
- General operating grants that provide financial resources to an organization in support of its mission and overall activities, including operating expenses and overhead, rather than providing support for specific projects or programs. General operating requests aligned with iFORWARD will support activities such as:
- Staffing support for social media, mass media or content creation.
- Building infrastructure for Wi-Fi.
- Expansion of telehealth services, including live video conferencing, mobile health (mHealth) apps, “store and forward” electronic transmission, remote patient observations and teletherapy, telemedicine, and telepharmacy.
- Subscriptions to Zoom or other teleconferencing platforms.
- Purchase of infrastructure building tools such as hotspots.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding through iFORWARD, the applicant must meet the following criteria:
- Nonprofit Status – Applicants must be nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, per the guidelines set forth by the Internal Revenue Service with proper 501(c)(3) status. Organizations or coalitions that do not hold 501(c)(3) status must have a fiscal sponsor. Note that 501(c)(4) designation is not the same. While it is possible for an organization to have both IRS (c)(3) and (c)(4) status, AIDS United will verify that each applicant organization has a (c)(3) designation.
- Geographic Location – Applicants must have a staff member located in and provide services within the Southern United States. For this opportunity, the South is defined as: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
- Financial Stability – Organizations should be fiscally stable and viable before submission of the funding application. These funds are not intended to serve as a replacement for discontinued funding.
- Operating Budget – Only organizations with an annual operating budget of $1 million or less are eligible to apply. Applicants with fiscal sponsors should use their own budget amount, not their fiscal sponsor’s, to determine eligibility.
- Equity – iFORWARD recognizes that HIV outcomes are significantly impacted by poverty, racism, homophobia and transphobia, heterosexism and misogyny. As such, they will prioritize funding for organizations led by and serving Black and Latinx transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary people; Black and Latinx gay, bisexual, queer and same-gender-loving men; Black women; other communities of color; and gender identities and sexual orientations of people that letters and words cannot fully describe.
- Good Standing – Current or previous grantees of any AIDS United funding portfolio must be in good standing with regards to reporting and all other grant requirements.
- Protection of Information – All applicants will be required to provide a plan to protect patient information, including following guidelines in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as applicable.
- Relationship to AIDS United – Current AIDS United grantees, including current and past grantees of iFORWARD and/or the Southern HIV Impact Fund, are eligible to apply. Organizations who have not been funded by AIDS United before are also eligible to apply.
- Digital Marketing Expectations – Applicants must agree to digital marketing standards that balance culturally sensitive and appropriate digital content. AIDS United retains the right to review and/or approve digital marketing campaigns in consultation with grantees prior to public release.
For more information, visit AIDS United.
