2004 Annual Report

GRANTMAKING

Betty Smith and Leslie Morgan

In difficult economic times, AFC grants provide critical support to community-based organizations that serve populations living with and at risk for HIV.

AFC is the Midwest's largest source of private funding for local AIDS organizations, providing more than $14 million for HIV prevention, care, and advocacy projects since 1988. Our grants support innovative projects that other funders often deem too risky or controversial, while also helping agencies pay for essential operating costs. Since 1989, AFC has prioritized funding organizations governed by and serving communities of color. Betty Smith is the founder and executive director of the South Side Help Center, which provides HIV services in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood. The South Side Help Center received its first grant from AFC in 1991 and has successfully competed for funding ever since. AFC Board Member Leslie Morgan has contributed hundreds of volunteer hours over the past eight years reviewing grant proposals and evaluating the impact of AFC's support in the community. Morgan, a retail executive, currently serves as AFC's grantmaking co-chair.

APRIL 2004

The National AIDS Fund and the Elton John AIDS Foundation provide AFC a $75,000 challenge grant, which AFC matches two-to-one and funds 15 HIV prevention projects.