| FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4C |
THE ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION (EJAF) SUPPORTS COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION PROGRAMS, HARM REDUCTION PROGRAMS, PUBLIC EDUCATION TO REDUCE THE STIGMA OF HIV/AIDS, ADVOCACY TO IMPROVE AIDS-RELATED PUBLIC POLICY, AND DIRECT SERVICES TO PERSONS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS, ESPECIALLY POPULATIONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. DIRECT SERVICES INCLUDE HIV/AIDS-RELATED MEDICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT, TESTING AND COUNSELING, ASSISTED LIVING, SOCIAL SERVICE COORDINATION, AND LEGAL AID. EJAF WORKS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AIDS UNITED, KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, MAC AIDS FUND, FORD FOUNDATION, FUNDING PARTNERS OF THE SYRINGE ACCESS FUND, AMFAR (THE FOUNDATION FOR AIDS RESEARCH), THE CLINTON HEALTH ACCESS INITIATIVE, AND OTHER GRANT-MAKERS TO FUND CUTTING-EDGE, COMMUNITY-CENTERED WORK. EJAF'S GRANT-MAKING INITIATIVES STRATEGICALLY TARGET KEY REGIONS AND POPULATIONS THAT ARE POORLY SERVED BY CURRENT PREVENTION EFFORTS AND MOST AT RISK OF INFECTION. THE FOUNDATION'S GRANT-MAKING PRIORITIES INCLUDE: (1) CRITICALLY UNDER-FUNDED COMMUNITIES OF THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, THE CARIBBEAN AND LATIN AMERICA; (2) HIGHLY MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS SUCH AS PEOPLE WHO INJECT DRUGS, (3) MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN (MSM), AND PRISONERS AND PAROLEES; AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS SUCH AS Black AMERICANS AND YOUNG PEOPLE. FINALLY, MANY OF THE GRANTS AWARDED BY EJAF CAN BE CLASSIFIED UNDER MORE THAN ONE OF THESE PRIORITY AREAS (I.E., LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH, BLACK AMERICANS IN THE RURAL SOUTH, GAY INJECTION DRUG USERS, AFRICAN AMERICAN GAY MEN, ETC.). FOR REPORTING PURPOSES, EJAF CATEGORIZES ITS GRANT-MAKING AS DOMESTIC (PROGRAMS CONDUCTED IN THE UNITED STATES) OR INTERNATIONAL (PROGRAMS CONDUCTED Inside and OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES for the benefit of programs outside of the United States). Total Domestic Grants awarded: $5,547,000 Total International Grants awarded: $820,275 2013 GRANT-MAKING PRIORITIES: (1) THE SOUTH: FEWER THAN HALF OF THE PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH WHO MEET GOVERNMENT CRITERIA FOR USE OF ANTIRETROVIRAL TREATMENT ARE LIKELY TO BE RECEIVING THESE DRUGS, AND A SIGNIFICANT SHARE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE HIV AND AIDS ARE TESTED TOO LATE IN THE COURSE OF THE DISEASE TO BENEFIT FROM EARLY CARE. IN THE U.S., 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE ARE LIVING WITH HIV. MEDICAL STANDARDS SAY THAT EVERYONE WITH HIV SHOULD CONSIDER TAKING ANTIVIRAL MEDICINES, BUT MOST PEOPLE AREN'T SUCCESSFULLY ON TREATMENT, AND ONE IN FIVE AMERICANS WHO HAVE HIV - 220,000 PEOPLE - ARE UNAWARE THAT THEY EVEN CARRY THE VIRUS. FIGURING OUT MEDICAL OPTIONS CAN BE COMPLICATED FOR ANYONE. FOR PEOPLE WITH A NEW HIV DIAGNOSIS, IT CAN FEEL OVERWHELMING TO TALK TO A DOCTOR ABOUT LONG-TERM TREATMENT. TARGETED EDUCATION AND SUPPORT CAN HELP PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THEIR TREATMENT OPTIONS, CHOOSE WHAT OPTION IS BEST FOR THEM, AND THEN SUCCEED IN THE TREATMENT. THAT'S WHY EJAF FUNDS DOZENS OF ORGANIZATIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHERN U.S., TO REACH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH HIV TESTING, ENSURE THAT EVERYONE WHO TESTS HIV-POSITIVE CAN START AND STAY ON HIV TREATMENT, AND ADVOCATE SO THAT EVERYONE HAS THE HEALTHCARE THEY NEED. (2) THE CARIBBEAN AND LATIN AMERICA: APPROXIMATELY 240,000 PEOPLE ARE LIVING WITH HIV IN THE CARIBBEAN AND AN ADDITIONAL 1.5 MILLION IN LATIN AMERICA. THE CARIBBEAN IS THE SECOND-MOST HIV/AIDS-AFFECTED REGION IN THE WORLD AFTER SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. IN 2009 ALONE, IN THE CARIBBEAN AND LATIN AMERICA, MORE THAN 100,000 PEOPLE WERE NEWLY INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS AND NEARLY 500,000 PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV NEEDED HIV MEDICINES BUT WEREN'T ACCESSING THEM. THAT'S WHY EJAF INVESTS OVER $1 MILLION ANNUALLY TO SUPPORT HIV/AIDS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS AND HIV TESTING AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN AND LATIN AMERICA. (3) PEOPLE WHO INJECT DRUGS: PEOPLE WHO INJECT DRUGS ARE A RELATIVELY SMALL SHARE OF THE U.S. POPULATION, BUT THEY ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY REPRESENTED IN THE HIV EPIDEMIC. ABOUT 1 MILLION AMERICANS INJECT DRUGS, BUT INJECTION DRUG USE ACCOUNTS FOR APPROXIMATELY 16% OF NEW HIV INFECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. EVERY YEAR, EJAF GRANTS HELP MORE THAN 30,000 PEOPLE TO ACCESS CLEAN SYRINGES AND RELATED HARM REDUCTION SERVICES AND THEREBY AVOID GETTING INJECTION-RELATED HIV. AS A RESULT, HIV INFECTIONS DUE TO INJECTION DRUG USE IN THE U.S. ARE DOWN FROM 25% OF ALL INFECTIONS IN 2000 TO ONLY 10% TODAY. HOWEVER, THIS "GOOD NEWS" STILL MEANS THAT APPROXIMATELY 6,600 PEOPLE BECOME NEWLY INFECTED EACH YEAR DUE TO RISKS ENCOUNTERED IN INJECTION DRUG USE. THESE 6,600 INFECTIONS ARE ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE, AND THUS REMAIN ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE. THE POTENTIAL IS CLEAR: SCALED-UP PROGRAMMING COULD BRING THE ESTIMATED 6,600 ANNUAL INJECTION-RELATED HIV INFECTIONS DOWN TO ZERO. THAT'S WHY EJAF INVESTS $500,000 - $1 MILLION EVERY YEAR TO SUPPORT SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS ACROSS THE U.S., AS WELL AS CONTINUING ADVOCACY TO REMOVE THE BAN ON THE USE OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR SYRINGE EXCHANGE. (4) MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN: MORE THAN HALF OF ALL NEW HIV INFECTIONS EVERY YEAR IN THE U.S., LATIN AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN ARE AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN. DESPITE ALL EVIDENCE DEMONSTRATING THAT CONDOM USE CAN REDUCE SEXUAL TRANSMISSION OF HIV, AND THAT INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND COMMUNITY-LEVEL INTERVENTIONS CAN REDUCE HIV RISK BEHAVIORS, GROSSLY INADEQUATE FUNDING IS DEDICATED FROM GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SOURCES TO INTERVENTIONS TARGETING GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN. THAT'S WHY EJAF AWARDS MORE THAN $1 MILLION EVERY YEAR TO HELP DOZENS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE U.S., THE CARIBBEAN, AND LATIN AMERICA TO TAKE ON INNOVATIVE WORK FOR GAY MEN'S HEALTH. (5) HIV-POSITIVE PRISONERS AND PAROLEES: EVERY YEAR, 171,000 HIV-POSITIVE MEN AND WOMEN (1 IN 7 OF ALL PERSONS LIVING WITH HIV) PASS THROUGH A CORRECTIONAL FACILITY. WHEN THEY GET OUT, MOST ARE HANDED A ONE-WAY BUS TICKET, SOME CASH, AND NOTHING ELSE. FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKELY TO HAVE TROUBLED FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, FRAYED SOCIAL SUPPORT, MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION ISSUES, AND SERIOUS CHALLENGES IN FINDING HOUSING AND JOBS, THE ISSUE OF HIV TREATMENT IS USUALLY NOT FIRST ON THE LIST OF PRIORITIES. A LOT OF PEOPLE STOP TAKING THEIR MEDICATIONS WHILE THEY SORT OUT THEIR LIVES. PERMITTING 1 IN 7 PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV TO FALL OUT OF MEDICAL CARE AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AFTER THEY REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM MAKES NO SENSE. IT'S NOT ONLY FOOLISH, IT'S A BETRAYAL OF AMERICA'S GOAL TO END THE EPIDEMIC OF AIDS. THAT'S WHY EJAF INVESTS EVERY YEAR IN PROGRAMS TO GIVE PEOPLE WHO ARE RELEASED FROM PRISON THE SUPPORT THEY NEED TO OBTAIN ADEQUATE HEALTHCARE AND THE OTHER SERVICES THEY NEED TO STABILIZE THEIR LIVES. (6) AFRICAN AMERICANS: THE UNITED STATES PRIDES ITSELF AS THE LAND OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, BUT OUR COUNTRY HAS WORK TO DO TO FULLY ACHIEVE THAT PROMISE. AFRICAN AMERICANS IN PARTICULAR FACE LESS OPPORTUNITY THAN MOST - LESS ACCESS TO COLLEGE EDUCATION AND JOBS, HIGHER RATES OF POVERTY, AND WORSE HEALTH STATISTICS FOR CONDITIONS LIKE ASTHMA, DIABETES, AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. HIV IS NO EXCEPTION. AFRICAN AMERICANS FACE HIGHER RATES OF HIV INFECTION THAN ANY OTHER RACIAL/ETHNIC/ NATIONAL GROUP IN THE U.S. AND AFRICAN AMERICAN GAY MEN AGES 13-24 ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN HALF OF ALL NEW HIV INFECTIONS AMONG GAY MEN IN THAT AGE GROUP. EJAF BELIEVES THAT THIS CAN CHANGE. THAT'S WHY EJAF SUPPORTS STRONG CONSISTENT ADVOCACY BY AFRICAN AMERICAN ACTIVISTS IN THE U.S. TO IMPROVE HIV TESTING, TREATMENT, AND HEALTH CARE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS AND TO HELP IMPROVE THEIR LIVES BY GETTING ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND JOBS. (7) YOUTH AND SEXUAL HEALTH: OVER ONE THIRD (35%) OF ALL NEW HIV INFECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, THE CARIBBEAN, AND LATIN AMERICA ARE AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE AGE 13-29, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE NEWLY HIV-POSITIVE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GAY YOUTH. IN NATIONAL U.S. SURVEYS, A QUARTER OF AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS REPORT BEING CURRENTLY SEXUALLY ACTIVE (HAVING HAD SEX DURING THE PRECEDING THREE MONTHS), YET MORE THAN ONE THIRD OF SEXUALLY ACTIVE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS REPORT NOT USING CONDOMS AT THEIR LAST SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, RATES OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS CAN BE REDUCED THROUGH SCHOOL-BASED AND PEER-BASED SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAMS, BUT THESE PROGRAMS DO NOT EXIST AT SUFFICIENT SCALE, QUALITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY TO BRING DOWN THESE HIGH INFECTION RATES. THAT'S WHY EVERY YEAR, EJAF INVESTS MORE THAN $500,000 TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE ADVOCATE FOR HEALTH POLICIES AND HEALTH SERVICES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THEIR NEEDS, AND ASSIST NATIONAL ADVOCACY GROUPS TO PUSH FOR BETTER HEALTH SERVICES TARGETED TO YOUNG PEOPLE. |
Attach to Form 990 or 990-EZ.