The Positive Action US: Southern Initiative was launched on July 6th, 2010. It is a collaborative, community-focused program designed to address gaps in services or programs that support linkages to care and treatment adherence among individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The launch of a Positive Action U.S. signature program focused on the South follows extensive consultations with some of the sector’s leading non-governmental organizations, practitioners and policy-makers to better understand the personal, societal and structural barriers that may prevent people from accessing and maintaining care. The Positive Action US: Southern Initiative builds on the strengths of the legacy GSK Positive Action program and the Pfizer Foundation’s Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative and the ConnectHIV initiative.
The initiative will provide support in a two-phased process: Letter of Interest phase and Request for Proposal phase. All eligible organizations are invited to provide up to a three-page Letter of Interest (LOI) by Friday, July 30th and select organizations from the LOI phase will be invited to apply for the Request for Proposal (RFP) phase. All confirmed RFP finalists will be invited to attend the United States Conference on AIDS in Orlando, FL in September.
Grant criteria and application
The Positive Action US: Southern Initiative has opened its first Letter of Interest (LOI) invitation, starting on July 6th, 2010, as part one of a two-phased process. LOIs should be prepared by following this detailed guidance (Download LOI) and submitted by the deadline, 5pm Eastern Time on Friday, July 30th, 2010. This document contains full guidance and a mandatory application form. A preliminary set of answers to some of the most frequently asked questions can be found here.
LOIs submitted late, or that do not follow this guidance and comply with its criteria will not be considered. Unsolicited requests for funds outside of this period and process will not be considered.
Select organizations from the LOI phase will be invited by early-August to apply for the Request for Proposal (RFP) phase and the RFP deadline will be Friday, September 3rd. All RFP finalists who complete all RFP requirements will be invited to attend the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) in Orlando, FL in September. Final grant decisions will be announced prior to the USCA.
Key eligibility criteria include the following:
- Have current 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable status (collaborations between two or more service providers are encouraged but the lead organization must be a nonprofit, tax-exempt community-based service provider).
- Be located or at least registered in the state and provide services in one or more of the following 4 states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
- Have a proven track record in working in HIV/AIDS (at least five years) as well as an ongoing, innovative program that focuses on linking HIV positive individuals into care and/or enhancing their treatment adherence and delaying disease progression.
- Request funds to address critical gaps in services or program enhancements/expansions of an existing, successful program, not new program. Core program must have been in operations for at least 12 months prior to the submission of the LOI.
- Have strong community relationships with referral services to community organizations and state/local health department(s).
- Have experienced staff dedicated to HIV/AIDS programs/services.
- Have strong, documented experience in program evaluation (such as experience with process and outcome evaluation, prior use of knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) surveys with clients) to be able to assess the value of the program enhancement/expansion.
- Agree to partner with the ViiV Healthcare Positive Action partners in creating a regional network of ASOs and to share lessons learned about comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention approaches.
- Request funds that are no more than 10% of your total operating budget, as calculated against your most completed fiscal year. For example, to request the grant maximum of $50,000, your organization’s operating budget must be $500,000 or larger.
For further details, please review the
LOI Application and the
Frequently Asked Questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have tried to provide all the information you should need to prepare your LOI, including a set of FAQs, but you may have additional questions. Queries received by e-mail (usgrants@ViiVhealthcare.com) with the subject line of “Southern Initiative” will be answered as quickly as possible and will be used to update the existing FAQs periodically.