Black Faith and HIV awards $850,000 to address HIV in the South

The newly branded Black Faith and HIV initiative at Wake Forest University School of Divinity’s Faith Coordinating Center recently awarded 21 organizations with grant funding to address HIV stigma in faith communities across the South. The grant recipients are based in 8 different states with projects that will reach faith communities across the southern region.

The grant awards range from $25,000 to $100,000 for a one-year grant cycle beginning in July of 2023. Organizations were awarded in one of three different grant areas: Faith Organizational Resiliency, Faith Action, and the Learning It Together Artist Cohort. All grantees will participate in training on topics related to faith and HIV as they work concurrently toward their project goals.

Five organizations received Faith Organizational Resiliency grants of up to $100,000 from the initiative. Recipients of the grant for this year include Lenoir County Circle of Friends in eastern North Carolina and the Vision Community Foundation located in Atlanta, GA. The Faith Organizational Resiliency grant focuses on infrastructure development and coalition and network building between faith communities and non-traditional partners.

A dozen organizations received a Faith Action of up to $50,000. These grants fund projects centered around faith to help reduce stigma, engage in spiritually integrated trauma-informed care, and aid in changing the perception of HIV/AIDs in the South. This year’s recipients include the Arkansas Black Gay Men’s Forum, Jefferson St. Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, TN, and Renacer En Vida Inc. in Oviedo, FL.

In addition to its organizational grant awards, the Faith Coordinating Center also awarded fiscally-sponsored artists with $25,000 in grant funding and membership in the second, Learning It Together Artist Cohort. This cohort will be trained in faith and HIV as it relates to the creation of varying art projects. The artist grant recipients include Elaine Lamson of the Mixxer Community Space who will also serve as an artist-in-residence at Wake Forest University School of Divinity this upcoming academic year.

Several of this year’s awardees will also be present at the Black Faith & HIV initiative’s upcoming faith leader summit, “Healing at the Intersections”, being held in Nashville, TN on August 16-18th. The summit is a one-of-a-kind intentional gathering for health providers, faith leaders, nonprofit directors, scholars, and many others to engage in self-healing, communal faith practices, and HIV advocacy. The convening also serves as a precursor to the 5th Year Anniversary Celebration of the Gilead COMPASS Initiative. Those wishing to attend the summit can do so by registering at blackfaith.org

Gilead COMPASS Initiative Faith Coordinating Center at Wake Forest University School of Divinity

2023 Grant Award Recipients

Faith Organizational Resiliency Grant Awardees

Freedom Center for Social Justice  (North Carolina)

Inspiration and Change (Florida)

Lenoir County Circle of Friends (North Carolina)

North Carolina AIDS Action Network (North Carolina)

Vision Community Foundation (Georgia)

Faith Action Grant Awardees

Arkansas Black Gay Mens Forum (Arkansas)

Authentic Voices Global (Texas)

Compassionate Atlanta (Georgia)

Do It For Me (Louisiana)

Foundations for Living (Georgia)

Hamilton Park UMC (Texas)

Health Awareness for Life (Florida)

High Impacto (Florida)

Jefferson St. Missionary Baptist Church (Tennessee)

Relationship Unleashed (Tennessee)

Renacer En Vida Nueva Inc. (Florida)

St. Paul AME Church (Alabama)

Learning It Together Artist Grant Awardees

HEROES (Louisiana)

Hued Songs (Florida)

Out of Hand Theater (Georgia)

Mixxer Community Makerspace (North Carolina)