2012 Louisiana Community AIDS Partnership (LCAP) Challenge Grant HIV/AIDS Funding Announcement

December 2nd, 2011

The Louisiana Community AIDS Partnership (LCAP), in collaboration with AIDS United, the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), and local funders, is pleased to announce the availability of funding for HIV/AIDS efforts in the state of Louisiana.

This opportunity is being issued to community groups or organizations (e.g. service clubs, faith-based organizations, civic associations, etc.); private, non-profit organizations with 501(c)3 status; and public, non-profit organizations such as hospitals and educational institutions. Up to 5 organizations in the $5,000 - $10,000 range per organization will be funded for 12 months (January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012).

Previous challenge grantees may apply for this opportunity regardless of how many times they have received LCAP funding in the past. Organizations may only submit one application focused on one of the six areas described below. Partnerships and/or collaborative efforts are strongly encouraged to maximize impact. The LCAP Challenge Grant strategic funding goals and priorities fall into the following six categories (not in order of priority):

Community Innovations and Innovative Partnerships:

Funding will support HIV/AIDS programs/activities that are evidence informed but may need adaptation and testing for successful implementation and to ensure relevance in local settings and/or with new populations.

HIV Testing and Linkage to Care:

Funding will support innovative efforts to increase testing among populations most impacted by HIV/AIDS in Louisiana. This may include opt-out HIV testing, multiple community events (at least three), social media initiatives, and/or the use of network strategies (i.e. peer-based) to increase the number of individuals who seek testing and actually receive their test results in a specific jurisdiction or setting. A one-time community testing event will not be supported and the proposed activity or activities must be linked to HIV care and treatment.

Integration of HIV/AIDS within Existing Programs:

Funding will be used to support efforts to integrate HIV education and prevention activities into existing programs (i.e. social support programs, group discussions, etc) in order to reach populations that are impacted by HIV/AIDS in the state of Louisiana.

HIV Stigma Reduction:

Stigma has been identified as a major barrier in the provision of comprehensive HIV prevention and care services. Funding will be used to pilot and/or implement culturally appropriate strategies to reduce HIV/AIDS related stigma (i.e. training for specific audiences, development of assessment tools, etc).

Building a Cadre of Peer Health Navigators:

Peer health navigators serve an important role in linking individuals who are newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and individuals living with HIV/AIDS that are not in care into care. Funding will be used to support projects to enhance the pool of trained peer health navigators in the state using an existing curriculum such as the building blocks to peer success (http://peer.hdwg.org/training_toolkit) and/or other approaches.

Community Engagement and Mobilization:

Funding will be used to support one or more components of an existing HIV prevention plan that have been developed in collaboration with other community stakeholders. Funding will also be used to support efforts to convene a variety of stakeholders in order to develop a community HIV prevention plan.

Timeline

• December 2, 2011: HIV/AIDS Funding Announcement Release
• December 2, 2011 – December 12, 2011: Submission of questions related to announcement allowed via email and posted regularly on the LCAP website  www.lphi.org/lcap. A complete set of questions and answers will be posted on the LCAP website by COB December 12, 2011. Questions can be submitted to Michael Robinson via email at mrobinson@lphi.org.
• December 19, 2011: Application Submission Deadline - All applications must be received via email by 12:00 p.m. (noon) CST on December 19, 2011. Note: An email acknowledging receipt of your submission will be forwarded by COB December 19, 2011.
• December 30, 2011: Award Notification - Applicants will be notified of funding decisions via email.
• January 6, 2012: Agreement signing deadline - Contracts signed and returned.

 Application Instructions

• Type and single-space all proposals (12 point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins).
• Applicants can apply for up to $10,000 in funding.
• The application should not exceed three pages (budget not included in the 3-page limit).
• Please address each of the areas below in the application.
• E-mail an electronic copy to  mrobinson@lphi.org by 12:00 p.m. CST on December 19, 2011.

Application Format (3 page limit)

• Organization’s legal name
• Organization’s mailing address
• Primary Contact for Application
• Title, telephone number, fax number, and email address for primary contact
• Organization's Tax ID number
• Project title
• Funding category (see list on first page)
• Purpose of your organization (vision, mission, etc.)
• Describe the need your project and/or organization aims to address
• Population(s) and geographic area(s) served
• If applicable, describe your partners and their roles in the proposed project
• Describe the specific activities that will be conducted
• Describe the specific outcomes/deliverables of your project
• Describe how you will measure success for your project
• Describe how funding (not more than $10,000) will be spent (please include a brief budget - not included in the three page limit)

E-mail an electronic copy of your application to  mrobinson@lphi.org by 12:00 p.m. CST on December 19, 2011. Late applications will not be considered.

Questions

Questions can be submitted to Michael Robinson via email at mrobinson@lphi.org.