AIDS United: Harm Reduction Futures Fund Grant

The AIDS United Harm Reduction Futures Fund aims to combat the HIV epidemic by supporting organizations that provide syringe services and harm reduction programs. This initiative focuses on reducing health disparities for people who use drugs, promoting community-driven solutions, and ensuring equitable access to health services. Grants ranging from $10,000 to $40,000 will support organizations led by and serving Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, especially in underserved areas. Direct service applications are currently prioritized.

The Harm Reduction Futures Fund (formerly the Syringe Access Fund) is a collaborative grantmaking initiative that seeks to reduce the health, psychosocial, and socioeconomic disparities experienced by people who use drugs (PWUD). The Harm Reduction Futures Fund invests in evidence-based and community-driven approaches to prevent the transmission of both HIV and viral hepatitis, reduce injection-related injuries, increase overdose prevention and reversal efforts, and connect people who use drugs to comprehensive prevention, treatment, and support services.
The Harm Reduction Futures Fund will award grants this Round to three kinds of organizations:

• syringe services programs providing direct services, harm reduction organizations supporting multiple syringe service programs providing direct services

Please note, we are currently not offering advocacy grants. At this time only direct service applications will be accepted.
Purpose
The primary goal of the Harm Reduction Futures Fund is to provide core support for programs that demonstrate:

• an ability to provide high quality syringe and other drug user health services to one or more identified communities

The Harm Reduction Futures Fund seeks to identify and support organizations across intersecting movements to enhance and coordinate services for people who use drugs. It supports and funds organizations that are led by and/or meaningfully involve and serve networks of people who use drugs, including in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services. In Round 16, the Harm Reduction Futures Fund will prioritize support for programs that are led by and serve Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), as well as those in jurisdictions of high need and low resources. Other compelling factors may include the leadership of current or former sex workers; prevalence of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other blood-borne pathogens in a community; injection drug use prevalence; opioid use; overdose incidence; availability of local funding.
Funding
AIDS United expects to provide one-year cash grants to a total cohort of  7 to 15 organizations.
Direct Service organizations are invited to submit proposals for $10,000 to $25,000 for one year.AU anticipates 5-13 programs will receive fundingMulti-Program Support organizations are invited to submit proposals for $25,000 to $40,000 for one year. AU anticipates 1 program will receive funding

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, applicants must meet one or both of the following criteria. For Multi-Program Support, the ultimate beneficiaries of the grant must meet the criteria below.Racial Equity – Applicant organizations led by and serving a majority of people of color.AIDS United is defining “BIPOC-led organizations” as those with: a self-identified BIPOC executive director/highest paid staff or equivalent (or 50%+ if a Co-Director/flat leadership model), 51%+ self-identified BIPOC in senior leadership, and 51%+ self identified BIPOC among staffAIDS United is defining “BIPOC-serving organizations” as those serving 51%+ of participants who self-identify as BIPOCAreas of High Need/Low Resource – Programs in this category and/or the jurisdictions in which they serve can be defined as (but not limited to):SSPs are not sanctioned in the area you serveSSPs are highly restricted in the area you serveZoning LawsChallenging to get sanctionedMandated one-for-one servicesNewly establishedPrimarily LGBTQ-servingNo or very little state or local financial support for suppliesDemand far outweighs supplyHarm Reduction and/or drug use supplies highly criminalizedLimited or no access to needs-based SSPs outside of the applicant organizationServing a large geographic areaSmall program with high volume distributionLimited access to suppliesServing communities not reached by other service providers or SSPsApplicants must also meet all the following criteria:Budget Applicants must have a total organizational budget of less than $1,500,000.Applicants with fiscal sponsors should use their own budget amount, not their fiscal sponsor’s, to determine eligibility.Geographic LocationApplicants must be located and perform work within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Native American Reservations/Tribal Lands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.Non-Profit StatusApplicants must be non-profit, tax-exempt organizations, per the guidelines set forth by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with proper 501(c)(3) status.Verification of this federal status will be undertaken by AIDS United before final grant decisions are made. Organizations or coalitions that do not hold 501(c)(3) status must have a fiscal sponsor that does.Financial Stability Organizations should be fiscally stable and viable prior to submission of the funding application, meaning organizations should have the financial ability to operate for the duration of the grant period.Funding Categories Proposals must be submitted by: syringe services programs providing direct services, harm reduction organizations supporting multiple syringe service programs providing direct services or harm reduction organizations conducting community advocacy activities focused on legalizing or strengthening syringe services programs and other health interventions for PWUD at the local, state, and federal levels.Organizations are eligible to apply under only ONE categoryGrant Period Applicants must be able to utilize the funds within the 12-month grant period