Identify HIV Funding Sources With a Searchable Map and Funders' Report

For 13 years, Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) has published an annual review of philanthropic funding for HIV/AIDS. In 2015, we created the first searchable map of total funding (and funders) by region, country and U.S. state. As many groups create fundraising plans, our latest report can help HIV community organizations identify new sources of support and stay informed of the full landscape of HIV funding.

The latest FCAA report reveals that global private funding for HIV/AIDS totaled $618 million in 2014, an 8% increase ($46 million) from 2013. The rise was driven by significant increases from the top two funders, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gilead Sciences, Inc. The influence of these grantors exemplifies the current concentration of HIV/AIDS philanthropic funding among top donors: The 20 largest funders accounted for 81% of total funding in 2014. Overall, HIV/AIDS funding from the private sector has been holding relatively steady around the $600-650 million mark for the past eight years.

The increase in private HIV funding from 2013 to 2014 was primarily directed toward the U.S. and was almost entirely attributable to increased contributions from one funder, Gilead Sciences. Private philanthropic HIV funding for the U.S. reached a new high of $139 million, and the U.S. was the top recipient country of all private HIV/AIDS funding globally in 2014. Gilead's $47 million dollar funding increase (174%), which reflects the dramatic growth of its earnings since 2013, paid for a variety of prevention and advocacy efforts, such as helping people living with HIV afford co-pays for medical treatment and pharmaceuticals; and supporting community-based organizations in the San Francisco area, HIV and hepatitis C screenings, and community education efforts around pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

The FCAA report captures data on more than 6,000 grants awarded in ten countries. It also represents the first time FCAA has conducted a grants-level analysis of HIV/AIDS funding. On pages 8-9 of the report you can see the first attempt to map top funders, target populations and intended use funding strategies by region. Further, on the new searchable map, you can find information on funding per country, region, and U.S. state.

The philanthropic response to HIV/AIDS is small but mighty: While it is only 2% of total global resources for HIV efforts in low- and middle-income countries, it is often the only source of critical support for advocacy, human rights, and key populations. Private philanthropic investments are also being leveraged to help civil society to hold governments accountable for their commitments. Read more about this from FCAA executive director John Barnes or in an overview of the history of the HIV/AIDS philanthropy.

FCAA envisions its report and map as tools to inform the work you do. As just one example, while globally men who have sex with men (MSM) are 19 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population, they received just $25 million in philanthropic funding in 2014 (ranking 10th among top target populations), and in total, LGBTQ-related HIV/AIDS grants (including MSM) received only 6% of total funding. Use this statistic when talking to funders about the critical need for, and current gap in, funding for LGBTQ and HIV work. Also be sure to visit Funders for LGBTQ Issues to see its reports tracking which U.S. foundations are funding LGBTQ populations, and amfaR to use its Fundraising Toolkit.

The FCAA report also offers you a list of 228 funders interested in HIV/AIDS issues (see appendix 1). Get to know them.

Share this report with your friends, colleagues and stakeholders. If you receive private funding from an organization NOT on this list, connect it to FCAA so its work can be included in future reports. To dive further into this new wealth of data, in coming months the FCAA will be publishing one-page reports on topics such as, "What does funding look like at the intersection of HIV and human rights?" and "How is philanthropy responding to the epidemic in the U.S. South?" Stay tuned to www.fcaaids.org and @FCAA for more information or to share how you're using this report.

Sarah Hamilton is the director of operations for Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA). Before working at FCAA, she was a senior associate at Rabin Strategic Partners (now Rabin Martin), a leading international health public affairs firm. Sarah currently lives in Spokane, Washington, with her husband, two sons and an increasing number of dogs and cats. She also serves on the board of directors for the Spokane AIDS Network. You can reach her at sarah@fcaaids.org.