The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Announces Grant Awards: Over $3.2 Million in Awards Address the Needs of Under-served Populations

News provided by

Feb 13, 2012, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) today announced over $3.2 million in new grants that will further its mission to assist the most marginalized populations vulnerable to HIV infection. These new awards brought EJAF's final total grant-making commitments for calendar 2011 to a record $8,316,871, with disbursements totaling $7,006,871 last year.

These grants represent EJAF's continuing commitment to fund demographics and geographic regions that are seriously impacted by HIV/AIDS and under-served by traditional funders. Grant expenditures totaling $3,221,622 were awarded for 19 new and 29 renewal grants, including:

health services for Black women, one of the highest HIV-impacted populations in this country;
innovative programs focused on the health and rights of gay and bisexual men throughout the U.S.;
programs designed to help people with HIV who are leaving prison to access and stay on treatment and maintain their health as they reintegrate into society;
small community grants supporting services for gay men throughout Latin America;
clinical and mental health services for vulnerable populations in the Caribbean; and
additional funding totaling $1.6 million over two years to support over 50 community organizations providing needle exchange and harm reduction services for injection drug users.

"Through the efforts of hundreds of privately-funded syringe access programs, HIV incidence due to injection drug use in the U.S. has declined from 25% of all infections in 2000 to 9% today," said Executive Director Scott Campbell. "Scaled-up syringe access programming could bring injection-related HIV infections down to zero. Given Congress' unfortunate reinstatement of the ban on the use of federal funding for syringe exchange programs, EJAF's increased investments as one of the top three funders in this field are particularly crucial."

"For twenty years, EJAF has remained consistent in our mission, even as we've increased the scope and reach of our grant-making," added Chairman David Furnish. "Our most recent grants continue this historic focus, dedicating critical funding to the most urgent and under-resourced aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic."

About EJAF
The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was established as a nonprofit organization in the United States in 1992 and as a registered charity in the United Kingdom in 1993 by Sir Elton John. Together, both entities have raised more than $225 million for worthy programs in 55 countries around the globe since inception. Today, the Foundation is one of the world's leading nonprofit HIV/AIDS organizations supporting innovative HIV prevention programs, efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, and direct care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. The U.S. organization's current grant-making priorities target HIV prevention programs throughout the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean; HIV prevention and care services for highly marginalized and vulnerable populations; and HIV/AIDS prevention education and the promotion of sexual health for adolescents. For more information, please visit www.ejaf.org.

American Airlines is the official sponsoring airline of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

EJAF December 2011 Grant List

Caribbean
Partners In Health (PIH), Boston, MA, Renewal, $500,000
SeROvie, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, New, $50,000

Latin America
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, New York, NY, Renewal, $250,000
HIV Collaborative Fund at Tides Center, Renewal, $150,000

Southern United States
AIDS Alabama, Birmingham, AL, New, $25,000
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Akron, OH, Renewal, $50,000
BASIC NWFL, Inc., Panama City, FL, New, $34,500
North Carolina AIDS Action Network, Raleigh, NC, New, $50,000
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Houston, TX, New, $25,000
Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council, Lake Charles, LA, Renewal, $40,000

Domestic MSM Initiative
AIDS Care Center for Education & Support Services, Norfolk, VA, Renewal, $75,000
AIDS Resource Center Ohio, Dayton, OH, Renewal, $50,000
AIDS/HIV Services Group, Charlottesville, VA, Renewal, $32,000
Community AIDS Resource, Inc., dba Care Resource, Miami, FL, Renewal, $40,000
Compass, Inc., Lake Worth, FL, New, $35,000
Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Inc., Wilton Manors, FL, Renewal, $50,000
Harlem United Community AIDS Center, Inc., New York, NY, Renewal, $75,000
Health Outreach Prevention Education (H.O.P.E.), Tulsa, OK, Renewal, $50,000
HEAT Program/Research Foundation of SUNY, Brooklyn, NY, Renewal, $50,000
Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, New, $40,000
Michael Reese Research and Education Foundation, Chicago, IL, Renewal, $37,950
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, Renewal, $50,000
NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, Renewal, $50,000
Okaloosa AIDS Support and Informational Services, Inc. (OASIS), Fort Walton Beach, FL, Renewal, $75,000
Out Youth, Austin, TX, Renewal, $25,000
Positive Impact, Inc., Atlanta, GA, Renewal, $40,000
Resource Center of Dallas, Dallas, TX, New, $38,000
Sex Workers Project, New York, NY, New, $50,000
St. Hope Foundation, Inc., Houston, TX, New, $50,000
The Attic Youth Center, Philadelphia, PA, Renewal, $45,000
Trinity Lutheran Church, New York, NY, Renewal, $25,000
Youth Outlook, Naperville, IL, Renewal, $25,000

Injection Drug Users
Syringe Access Fund, Renewal, $620,000 over 2 years

Incarcerated Populations
ACLU Foundation, New York, NY, Renewal, $150,000
Bailey House, New York, NY, Renewal, $35,000
Correctional Association of NY, New York, NY, New, $50,000
Fan Free Clinic, Richmond, VA, New, $50,000
Health and Home Support Services, Inc., Newport News, VA, New, $50,000
Health People, Inc., New York, NY, New, $50,000
NCCI/The Center for HIV Law and Policy, New York, NY, Renewal, $50,000
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY, Renewal, $25,000
STAND, Inc., Decatur, GA, New, $40,000

African Americans
The Brooklyn Hospital Center: PATH Center, Brooklyn, NY, New, $25,000

Youth and Sexual Health
ACLU, New York, NY, Renewal, $50,000
HIV/AIDS Empowerment Resource Center for Young Women, Inc., Atlanta, GA, New, $34,172
NCCI/The Center for HIV Law and Policy, New York, NY, Renewal, $50,000
Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando, Inc., Orlando, FL, New, $25,000
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA, New, $45,000