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 $7 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.
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:
- AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland to support 5 Cleveland representatives attendance at the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Advocacy Association's 2010 Conference in Washington, D.C. in July, 2010.
- Cleveland International Film Festival to sponsor the screening of Emily Abt’s All of Us including expenses for Ms. Abt to attend and speak at the screening.
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LGBT Center of Cleveland to support 4 staff attending the 2nd Annual TransOhio Symposium in Columbus in August, 2010.
- Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center to support travel expenses for a staff member to attend the Comprehensive Risk Counseling and Services (CRCS) training in Indianapolis, April, 2010.
- Ohio AIDS Coalition to support transportation costs for women living with HIV/AIDS in Cuyahoga County to attend the Women’s Healing Weekend, June, 2010.
- Recovery Resources to support fees associated with obtaining an employment visa for their HIV supervisor.
- St. Paul’s Community Outreach to support travel expenses associated with their program manager’s attendance at the Comprehensive Risk Counseling and Services (CRCS) training in Indianapolis, April, 2010.
- University Hospital, AIDS Clinical Trial Unit to support three ACTU Community Advisory Board (CAB) members to attend the 2010 International Microbicides Conference in Pittsburgh, May, 2010.
Community Responsive Grants: In March, 2010, the AFC awarded responsive grants to support capacity building and program support needs in the community. To be added to the mailing list of recipients for future RFA’s (generally released each November), please send an e-mail with subject line “Mailing list” to ltharbert@CommunitySolutions.com. Current responsive grant recipients (April 1, 2010-March 31, 2011 unless noted) include:
- Care Alliance, to support their peer HIV/AIDS outreach program.
- Cuyahoga County Board of Health, to complete integration of HIV testing at the Board of Health clinic in Parma (April 1-August 30, 2010).
- MetroHealth Foundation, to complete implementation universal opt-out HIV testing across the MetroHealth hospital system.
- NorthEast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services, Inc. (NEON), to expand their Youth/Adolescent Awareness Program to two additional clinic sites (July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011).
- Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio, to support implementation and evaluation of Teens Talking to Teens (Triple T), a multi-tier peer education program with a focus on East Cleveland teenagers.
- Saint Paul’s Community Outreach, to pilot a series of group interventions with men who solicit, buy, trade, or profit from the sale of sex.
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:
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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.
National AIDS Fund Grants: Because the AFC is one of approximately 30 Community Partnerships of the National AIDS Fund, opportunities to apply for HIV-related grants administered by the National AIDS Fund 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 the National AIDS Fund as such opportunities arise.
AFC Policy for Funding Overhead Costs