Responsive Grants

The AIDS Funding Collaborative (AFC) is a public/private partnership based in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, established in 1994 to strengthen the community’s response to HIV/AIDS. The Collaborative was formed following a recommendation by the local Citizens’ Committee on HIV/AIDS to create a coordinated method for allocating community-based funding. Since its inception, AFC has invested over $13 million into HIV/AIDS-related services, capacity-building activities, and prevention efforts in Greater Cleveland. The Collaborative includes funding partners such as the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County, The City of Cleveland, The Cleveland Foundation, Cuyahoga County, The George Gund Foundation, and Mt. Sinai Health Foundation. Additional partners include The AIDS Clinical Trials Unit/Center for AIDS Research Clinical Core at Case Western Reserve University and the Ryan White Part A Program at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. The Collaborative is housed within the Center for Community Solutions, which provides fiscal and administrative support. The AFC’s mission focuses on ending the HIV epidemic and fostering a community that supports those living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS. The Collaborative operates with a vision centered on community involvement, leadership from impacted individuals, and a strong commitment to racial equity, acknowledging the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on African Americans and other marginalized groups in the region. Its strategic goals include strengthening the HIV ecosystem, increasing prevention and care access, minimizing systemic barriers, and sustaining AFC’s operational capacity. Funding is available through several mechanisms including discretionary grants, catalyst grants, targeted grants, and the annual responsive grants cycle, which this Request for Applications (RFA) supports. The priority funding areas are HIV care and support services aligned with Ryan White categories, HIV prevention services emphasizing harm reduction and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and community-led or neighborhood-based HIV programming focused on the most affected zip codes in Cuyahoga County. Eligible projects must address at least one of these priorities, with specific attention to high-need neighborhoods and priority populations such as African Americans, men who have sex with men, high-risk youth, transgender and non-binary individuals, people involved with transactional sex, and people who inject drugs. Eligible applicants include nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations and public agencies that serve populations affected by HIV/AIDS in Cuyahoga County. Organizations applying for general operating support must have a primary mission specific to HIV/AIDS. Proposals from organizations outside Cuyahoga County may be considered if they address state-level policy change that will impact county residents. Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) first; selected organizations will then be invited to submit full proposals. Collaborative proposals are encouraged, requiring Memoranda of Understanding where applicable. The application process includes submitting a required LOI form by July 1, 2025, after which selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals due August 29, 2025. Funding will commence on October 1, 2025. Technical assistance meetings for applicants will be held on June 10 and 11, 2025, and attendance is optional but encouraged. Full proposals must adhere to strict formatting guidelines, include detailed project narratives, budget and narrative (except for general operating support), and relevant attachments. Electronic submission is required via email to jpatterson@communitysolutions.com, with Julie Patterson, AFC Director, available for contact at (216) 290-4940. Evaluation of proposals will consider alignment with AFC’s priorities, quality of the proposed project, service to high-need neighborhoods, engagement of people living with HIV/AIDS, and effective collaboration and use of resources. Final funding decisions will be made during the AFC Advisory Committee meeting in October 2025. A summary of the technical assistance meetings will be posted on the AFC website for applicants’ reference.

Ensure alignment with AFC funding priorities, meaningfully involve people living with HIV/AIDS, collaborate with partners, and provide a realistic and detailed budget narrative.