2012 NYC AIDS Fund Request for Proposals

Download proposal (containing the cover sheet) as a Word file >>

Date Issued: Thursday, August 23, 2012

Proposal Deadline: Wednesday, October 10, 2012

See 2011 NYC AIDS Fund grantees >>

Background

Founded in 1989, the New York City AIDS Fund (the AIDS Fund) is a group of grantmaking organizations in New York City whose goal is to increase private funding to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic by supporting the improvement, coordination, and targeting of community resources in New York City. Housed at The New York Community Trust, the AIDS Fund is dedicated to helping community groups provide vital programs and implement advocacy efforts that address the local HIV/AIDS epidemic. It also serves as a local community partnership site of AIDS United.

The AIDS Fund is guided by an advisory committee representing grantmaking organizations, public agencies, human service organizations, and people living with AIDS. Each year, the advisory committee reviews previous grants, completes an assessment to evaluate the current status of the local AIDS epidemic, and helps analyze the availability of government funding in order to determine where private funding is most needed and can have the greatest effect.

Since its inception, the AIDS Fund has awarded approximately $22 million to nonprofit agencies throughout the City’s five boroughs. This year, with lead funding from the Council of Fashion Designers of America & Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out event, the AIDS Fund expects to make grants totaling $800,000 for innovative programs and efforts in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention, advocacy, and services.

For further details about the New York City AIDS Fund and questions about the application process, please call Len McNally, program director at (212) 686-0010, ext. 556 or Phoebe Scarborough, Program Assistant at ext. 525.

2012 FUNDING PRIORITIES

PRIMARY HIV PREVENTION PROGRAMS
Grant Size: up to $50,000
The AIDS Fund will support primary HIV-prevention programs that address underlying challenges related to HIV infections, such as stigma, homophobia, relationship violence, substance use, and trauma. Projects may involve HIV-negative and/or HIV-positive individuals. Competitive proposals will use community methods of HIV prevention for the following people:

Men of color who have sex with men;
Girls and young women of color, especially whose male partners have been involved with correctional facilities;
Homeless LGBT youth;
Transgender individuals.

IMPROVING THE CAPACITY OF SERVICE PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY, TEST, AND TREAT HIV-POSITIVE INDIVIDUALS
Grant Size: up to $80,000
There is growing evidence that people who test positive for HIV and immediately receive appropriate care, including medications, have better health outcomes and are less likely to spread the virus to others. But many organizations do not have the capacity to provide patient-centered counseling, testing, health, and social services to the diverse populations affected by HIV/AIDS. As a result, opportunities to get people tested and use services are not realized. Of special interest are projects that improve care in multiple provider organizations and improve understanding of cultural values and sensitivity to life circumstances. Projects may include:

Joint projects by training agencies and health care providers that organize and train staff to provide client-centered services;

Projects that promote HIV testing in ambulatory care settings;
Programs that improve treatment adherence; Programs that improve treatment adherence;

Outreach and service projects that engage the hardest to reach individuals.

PUBLIC POLICY & ADVOCACY
Grant Size: up to $40,000
The AIDS Fund will support advocacy and public policy efforts that seek to increase public awareness about HIV/AIDS issues and ensure that HIV/AIDS remains a priority for public and private funders. We encourage proposals from organizations with projects that include individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. Issues of special interest include, but are not limited, to:

Ensuring that health care reform improves access to high quality services for people with HIV, including those ineligible for Medicaid;
Encouraging the local implementation of state policies dealing with health reform, harm reduction, and interactions with law enforcement;
Ensuring that people with AIDS have adequate housing.

APPLYING FOR A GRANT

Only one (1) application for a New York City organization will be considered. Eligible not-for-profit organizations include:

HIV/AIDS-specific and general community-based groups;
Health and social service providers;
Umbrella organizations and coalitions.

Please complete the attached cover sheet and submit a narrative proposal and project budget. Proposals must be typed in 12-point Times New Roman font on pages with at least 1” margins. Do not exceed eight (8) single-spaced, single-sided pages for the grant proposal narrative. Please paginate all pages, but do not staple the application.

Proposals should provide a clear and thorough response to the following questions:

What is the need to be addressed? Provide an overview of the relevant public health issues, including specific data and research findings. For advocacy projects, please also describe public or administrative policy barriers that your project seeks to change or sustain.
What are the specific project goal(s), objective(s), and activities? How do these address the above-stated need? Is this a new project, an expansion, or an ongoing effort? Please include a brief timeline of proposed activities on a separate page, not included in the 8-page narrative limit. Because the AIDS Fund seeks to fund programs that can be implemented as close to the date of award as possible, the timeline should include completion dates of relevant milestones and responsible parties. For prevention projects, please describe how the intervention is relevant to and will be carried out and how it will reach a significant number of people at high risk for HIV.
Which population(s) and/or neighborhood(s) are the focus of the project?
Describe the agency’s experience serving the project’s targeted population OR Describe the agency’s previous advocacy efforts and project results.
What is the organization’s mission? Describe programs/services and accomplishments. How does the proposed project fit with the agency’s mission, other programs and services, and/or strategic plan?
Will the proposed project be conducted as a collaborative effort among multiple agencies? If so, please describe the agencies’ relationship and linkage agreement. Include MOUs.
How will the project or service be evaluated to quantify results and measure success?
How does the agency propose to sustain the project financially after the conclusion of any AIDS Fund grant award?

9. What is the proposed project budget? Provide an itemized budget and a narrative explaining the requested funding. Please refer to the sample project budget attached.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

To apply for a grant, mail or hand-deliver four copies of the completed application to:

The New York City AIDS Fund
c/o The New York Community Trust
909 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022

All applications must be mailed or hand-delivered and received no later than 12:00 noon on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. No faxed, e-mailed, or late applications will be considered. Due to office building policy, hand-delivered proposals must be dropped-off at the 909 Third Avenue Message Center (The entrance is located on 54th Street). Please refer to the New York Community Trust website at nycommunitytrust.org for announcement of a date and location for a bidders conference in September, 2012.

GRANTS REVIEW PROCESS

The AIDS Fund grantmaking subcommittee will review all proposals. Applicants whose proposals are judged most consistent with the AIDS Fund’s current funding priorities will be notified in November to schedule a site visit or meeting with committee members to further discuss their project. Grant awards will be announced by January 2013.

GRANT APPLICATION CHECKLIST

Four (4) copies of the following:

Completed grant application cover sheet.

Proposal of no more than eight (8) narrative pages.

Itemized project budget, including revenues, expenses, and budget justification.
Additional project funding sources should be indicated, including funders, amount of funding already secured or being sought to support this specific project, and how that funding would be applied.
Current fiscal year operating budget, including the most recent audited financial statement or reported IRS 990 tax form.
Memorandum of Understanding from other agencies, when applicable.

One (1) copy of the following:

List of the organization’s Board of Directors and Officers.
IRS determination letter indicating not-for-profit, 501(c) 3 status.
For projects using a fiscal sponsor: Please also include the sponsoring agency’s IRS determination letter, fiscal sponsorship agreement letter, and its most recent audited financial statement or reported IRS 990 tax form.
The organization's most recent audited financial report or IRS 990 form.