New Funding Opportunity: “Conexiones Positivas” Positive Connections

AIDS United, with funding from ViiV Healthcare, is pleased to announce the opportunity for grant support through the Conexiones Positivas: Positive Connections Initiative. For this initiative, AIDS United will provide $100,000 in low barrier grant funds to organizations supporting Hispanic/Latinx gay, bisexual and transgender men who are from communities most affected by and vulnerable to HIV. The goals of Conexiones Positivas: Positive Connections are to:

• Use a low barrier grantmaking approach to enhance the investment in and strengthen the networks, leadership and support of Hispanic/Latinx gay, bisexual and transmasculine communities to educate and lessen stigma regarding HIV/AIDS.
• Enhance the capacity of funded organizations through culturally humble, competent, and linguistically accessible technical assistance and capacity building.
• Support the creation and enhancement of local community networks, as well as leverage national partnerships to support connection and lessen isolation.
• Support innovative advocacy and education efforts focused on stigma reduction based on grantees’ local, state and federal interest through community-identified approaches.

The program’s strategies will focus on three areas:

1. increasing grassroots mobilization of people living with HIV.
2. Identifying and developing leaders living with HIV.
3. Increasing meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in their organization.

Maximum annual awards will be $10,000 - $20,000 to six to eight grantee organizations serving and advocating for people living with HIV. Each applicant’s full proposal must demonstrate how they will meet the program’s three strategies. Ongoing funding is based on successful achievement of stated goals and subject to future funds appropriated by ViiV and AIDS United. Meaningful involvement of people living with HIV In the forty years since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first cases of what would later be defined as AIDS, biomedical interventions and access to quality care have transformed HIV from a once-fatal disease to a chronic, manageable condition. This progress would not have been possible without the advocacy and leadership of people living with HIV who were the driving force behind pushing for urgent HIV cure and treatment research. MIPA is the meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in the development, implementation, resolution, and evaluation of programs and policies that impact their lives. MIPA assumes that:

•  People living with HIV are subject-matter experts in the issues that they face and have the right to participate in decision-making processes about issues that affect their lives.
• Those most affected by issues are integral to identifying sustainable solutions to address them; and
• People living with HIV who are involved must be reflective of the local community affected by HIV. 

For additional information on MIPA, please access our page on the AIDS United website that has several different relevant resources linked here. We strongly encourage applicants to review these resources and reach out to Anselmo Fonseca directly at afonseca@aidsunited.org if there are further questions. The review committee for Conexiones Positivas: Positive Connections will place great weight on how an applicant has meaningfully involved PLHIV in the design and implementation of its organization’s work. Eligibility criteria  Sites that are regional, community and faith-based organizations including, but not limited to, AIDS service organizations, federally qualified health centers and/or established networks of people living with HIV are invited to apply if they meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Documented Non-Profit Status – Applicants must be non-profit, tax-exempt organizations, per the guidelines set forth by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with proper 501(c)3 status.
• Organizational Viability – Organizations should be viable with or without the grant. These funds are not intended to help start new organizations or serve as a replacement for discontinued funding.
• Representation Table – Hispanic/Latinx representation of people living with HIV is REQUIRED. Organizations that cannot or do not demonstrate a minimum of 51% PLHIV in the representation table at all levels will NOT be considered. For a copy of the Representation table click here for an English version or here for a Spanish version. 
• Annual budget should not exceed $1,000,000. For a copy of the project budget template click, English or Spanish version. 

The full RFP text, including information on each intervention strategy, can be accessed here. Completed RFPs must be submitted in the AIDS United grantee portal by 3 p.m. EST on Feb. 4, 2022. The portal will open on Dec. 13, 2021. For guidance on navigating the AIDS United grantee portal, click here for an English version or here for Spanish. AIDS United will convened an optional webinar to provide clarification about the RFP and essential application submission tips. To view the recording in English, click here. To view the recording in Spanish, click here.