AFC Grantmaking


Current Funding Opportunity:  On November 10, 2011, the AFC released a Request for Applications (RFA) for its 2012-2013 responsive funding cycle.  The funding priorities for this RFA are:  1) strengthening systems; 2) seeding and measuring innovation; and 3) organizing and leading policy/advocacy efforts.  This funding opportunity is open to agencies that serve or engage in work that impacts a population affected by HIV/AIDS.  Applicants need not provide HIV-specific services, but the proposed project must address a funding priority described in this RFA.

The full RFA, Letter of Inquiry form, budget form, and proposal cover sheet are available here for downloading.  The submission deadline for Letters of Inquiry is noon on December 19, 2011. 

AFC hosted two technical assistance meetings for grantseekers interested in applying for funding.  Click here for notes from those meetings.  We also welcome inquiries from agencies as they prepare their applications.




The AFC aims to fill funding gaps, address unmet and emerging funding needs, and remain flexible and responsive to the community in its grantmaking. Each November, the AFC puts out a Request for Applications (RFA) for funding in the following year. Our grantmaking strategies include: (1) availability of discretionary grants, not to exceed $5,000, for short-term or one-time HIV/AIDS-related needs in the community that are not supported by other community HIV funds; 2) targeted grantmaking, which enables the AFC to respond in a timely manner to emerging needs by inviting agencies to submit a proposal to address specific populations or areas of unmet need as they are identified by the AFC or other community organizations; 3) strategic responsive grants awarded to applicants responding to the annual request for proposals issued by the AFC and focused on targeted priority areas; and (4) strategic community responsive grantmaking, awarded to applicants responding to requests for proposals issued by the AFC and focused on targeted priority areas. The unifying theme is that these approaches are aimed at building community capacity and adding value to the community’s collective effort to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic by filling gaps that other more restricted funding streams in the community cannot. 

To date, the AFC has leveraged and invested over $8 million to support HIV/AIDS-related services, activities, and prevention efforts in the Greater Cleveland region. Grants have ranged in size from less than $200 to more than $200,000.

Community Responsive Grants: In March, 2011, the AFC awarded responsive grants to support capacity building and program support needs in the community. Current responsive grant recipients (April 1, 2011-March 31, 2012) include:

  • Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland: HIV Testing and Prevention, $13,800 
      
  • LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland: Be Sex Smart, $20,000
     
  • Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio: Teens Talking to Teens (Triple T), $22,900
     
  • St. Paul's Community Outreach: Men's Group: Motivating, Educating, Nurturing and Socializing, $22,630
     
  • University Hospitals of Cleveland: Routinizing HIV Testing in an Emergency Department Setting, $10,000
        
  • Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland: Ursuline Piazza Capacity Building, $10,048

Discretionary Grants:
  Discretionary grantmaking through the AFC is designed to provide supplemental funding opportunities for a variety of short-term or one-time HIV/AIDS-related needs in the community that are not supported by other community HIV funds.  Each request is limited to $5,000 and the AFC limits its total discretionary grantmaking to $25,000 per calendar year. The AFC's discretionary grant policy outlines the intended purpose of its discretionary grantmaking and the process for applying.  Discretionary grant funds for HIV-related activities are available only to not-for-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) agencies and governmental organizations in Northeast Ohio.  Individuals and organizations without 510(c)(3) status applying for discretionary grant funds must be sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization that agrees to serve as fiscal agent for the grant funds. Recent Discretionary Grant recipients include: 

  • Ohio AIDS Coalition (OAC), to support transportation and programming for local advocates to attend AIDS Watch Ohio 2011 in Columbus
     
  • Last Chance Ohio, to support production of an HIV prevention film
     
  • Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center, to support travel expenses for a local advocate to attend National AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth, and Families Conference
     
  • United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, for a forum in observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
     
  • Cleveland International Film Festival, to support the screening of We Were Here, a documentary on the emergence of HIV/AIDS in San Francisco
     
  • Care Alliance, to support expenses associated with community event, "An Evening with Jeanne White Ginder," the mother of Ryan White

Targeted Grants:
  As part of the AFC's commitment to become even more strategic and timely with its grantmaking, we began a program of targeted grantmaking in the summer of 2005.  With targeted grantmaking, the AFC invites agencies to submit proposals addressing priority areas as they are identified by the AFC or other community organizations. Although these proposals are invited by the AFC, they are subject to the same review and decision-making process laid out in the AFC's bylaws. Current Targeted Grant Recipients include: 
 
  • The Center for Community Solutions, as fiscal agent for the Collabortive for Comprehensive School-Age Health (the Collaborative), to support the Collaborative's advocacy efforts to expand access to comprehensive sexuality education in school districts in Cuyahoga County. 
     
  • Business Volunteers Unlimited, to address the organizational capacity needs of agencies providing HIV/AIDS programming in Cuyahoga County.
     
  • The Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland, to support their syringe exchange program.
      
  • The Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging (WRAAA), to implement HIV training of professionals serving older adults.


AIDS United Fund Grants:
  Because the AFC is one of approximately 30 Community Partnerships of AIDS United, opportunities to apply for HIV-related grants administered by AIDS United are available periodically to agencies in our community. We will post information on this site about funding opportunities available through the AFC's affiliation with AIDS United as such opportunities arise. 

AFC Grant Forms and Policies:

AFC Policy for Funding Overhead Costs
Discretionary Grant Policy
Proposal Budget Form