With TCCF, You Too Can Win The Cable Lottery!!!

Half a million dollar donation, half a million dollars!!! No that is not a typo, in the middle of recession announcements, bailout packages, and the reality that programmatic and staff cuts are here, we at Cable Positive are pleased to highlight the donation of $522, 350 in free airtime (or 10,477 spots) from Comcast to Legacy Community Health Services in Houston, Texas.

A Tony Cox Community Fund grantee Cycle 2 of 2008, Legacy Community Health Services received a $5,000 grant to produce a public education campaign entitled “Get Tested.” The project’s goals were to promote HIV awareness and HIV testing to the residents of Houston, Texas. The free HIV testing event promoted through Legacy’s public service announcement occurred on National HIV Testing Day and was promoted through advertisements in OutSmart magazine, Houston Style magazine, and the Houston Press; through posters and palm cards distributed throughout Houston; and through event information and a link on Legacy’s webpage and on their YouTube page, where the PSA was also available for viewing.

The “Get Tested” campaign shows different groups of people and asks the viewer what they have in common. The PSA featured representations of the target populations at highest risk of HIV/AIDS in Houston: a racially mixed group of men, a group of African American and Hispanic youth playing basketball, an older African American woman walking with groceries, and a young Latino couple. After showing all the different groups, the voiceover states that what the different groups have in common is that they may have HIV and they don’t know it. The PSA was so successful in getting the word out to the community about the National HIV Testing Day event that Legacy scheduled a second testing event for Sept. 20th at their satellite clinic in Houston’s predominately black neighborhood of Fifth Ward and the new information’s date and locale were tagged at the end of the “Get Tested” PSA. Unfortunately, the event had to be cancelled due to Hurricane Ike; which left Houston with massive power outages that lasted weeks.

The amazing community partnership that was developed and fostered between Comcast and Legacy Community Health Services is a prime example of the creative, innovative, and longstanding partnerships that can occur through the Tony Cox Community Fund grant. Think about Legacy and Comcast the next time a grant deadline comes around and you think, what can my agency do with $5,000? The answer would be A LOT!

Translating Media into the Real World

Connections. We all have them. Whether we are connected by family, friends, or mutual interests we are all connected to each other in many different ways. Now let’s add into the mix virtual connections; which are just another way that we associate, communicate, and meet or stay in contact with people. Virtual connections have made it possible to stay in touch with friends across the globe, and educate millions of people using only ONE tool.

This one touch system is what agencies strive for in attempting to connect with their communities. HIV/AIDS prevention education has traditionally been a multi-tiered process starting with engagement, to outreach, through to referral, then to intake, continuing with an assessment, then program enrollment, and then delivery of prevention education. This complicated process has made for programmatic cracks through which individuals fall through before ever achieving the end goal of education.

New media can help us fix some of these cracks by providing education in a faster manner. Through the use of technology, HIV/AIDS prevention education programs can educate using tools that can greatly complement an agency’s already existing programs, services, and outreach efforts. Through our Tony Cox Community Fund grant, some agencies have been able to bypass the old education system and integrate new media into their HIV/AIDS prevention education campaigns.

One such agency that was able to translate media into action is Covenant House AIDS Residential and Resource Program in Charleston, West Virginia. A Tony Cox Community Fund 2007 Cycle 2 grantee, Covenant House produced a public education campaign entitled, “Lies.” The public education campaign was strongly rooted in community relations and strengthened community ties with its subsequent airings. Due to the strength of “Lies,” Covenant House experienced an increase in phone calls for general HIV information, increase in clients coming to the agency, an increase in outreach and volunteerism requests, and experienced a huge turnout at their extremely successful ‘80s Night at the Broadway, a local gay club is now a partnering organization and with which they are producing “theme nights” promoting HIV prevention on a regular basis. Covenant House’s “Lies” public education campaign won a Positively Outstanding Programming (POP) award for Outstanding Community Partnership.

Covenant House used the exposure they received from the “Lies” public education campaign and was able to translate it into true outreach success; thanks to a generous donation from Suddenlink Communications, it was aired a total of 6,578 times on 35 different cable networks. “Lies” was placed on Covenant House’s YouTube page and sent to all their community contacts, while it has been viewed 58 times, it has been emailed between agencies consistently and Covenant House sent many DVD copies of “Lies” to their non-profit partners across that state, increasing the number of people accessing Covenant House’s HIV/AIDS prevention education.

Access “Lies” on our new and improved website, www.cablepositive.org; you know you want to see it!!!

New Media, We Are Convinced… Now How Do We Start?

By Jennifer Medina

Myspace. Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. Just how does an agency fold these websites into their overall HIV prevention/education marketing plan? How does an agency make content that will attract their target population, while also educating and empowering them? These are just some of the questions faced when an agency decides to start to phase in new media into their outreach plan.

The silver lining is that many companies/organizations have already adopted new media as part of their HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns and these examples can help to frame an agency’s understanding of exactly how to do it. Mind you I say frame, not copy!! By understanding what has already been developed and implemented, an agency can work on not reinventing the virtual wheel.

One corporate example of pushing new media to new heights is MTV’s social networking community, ThinkMTV, www.think.mtv.com. Launched in September 2007, MTV is working to educate its’ build-in audience around such issues from voting to HIV/AIDS. Using their vast audience, ThinkMTV is using a multi-platform approach to educate young people around issues that matter to them. The website allows for youth generated content (in the form of vlogs, blogs, videos, and much more) to coexist alongside primary source material, providing a comprehensive understanding of an issue from many different points of view; all on one website!!

An international example of true incorporation of new media into HIV/AIDS prevention education is the “Condom, Condom!” cell phone ringtone (www.condomcondom.org) launched in four phases by the BBC World Service Trust, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This organization’s understanding of how cell phones are used by their target population allowed them to develop a prevention/education campaign that used in the best way possible one of the most portable vehicles of new media, the cell phone.

Now that we have looked at national and international examples of new media prevention/education integration, local examples are next. Make sure to tune in next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel….

How Connected Is Your Agency?

The internet has transformed our lives. It has allowed us to do research in minutes, send information and pictures in seconds, and connect with people across the globe in real time. Access and utilization of the World Wide Web has allowed for ideas and theories to cross physical miles and become part of a virtual network for which there is no sense of spatial or time limitations. First seen as a place for techies and information gathering, the internet has evolved into a “place” where social and behavioral change can occur.

While integration of the internet and new media (think text messaging, blogging, vlogging) into our personal lives has completely occurred, those of us in the AIDS service field have not always used it to its’ full advantage in our professional lives. Yes, I know that there are barriers: our employer does not allow access to the internet while at work, our office computers might have the slowest internet connection on earth, providing direct services does not allow us to integrate the internet into our professional lives, etc, etc.

I know these barriers because I have lived them, but, let me tell you that once you have the professional opportunity to integrate the internet and new media for client recruitment, outreach, feedback, and evaluation, you will never look back. New media is the vehicle through which the world is now communicating and is one of the major avenues through which social change is occurring.

Sites like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, may not sound like obvious places to conduct HIV/AIDS prevention education, but they are places where hundreds of thousands of people congregate on a daily basis; what better audience to have? These four entities are much more than just websites; they are the vehicles through which the world is now communicating and modes of social change. Take a chance; set up a case management blog, twitter your daily prevention education activities, promote an HIV/AIDS 101 workshop on Facebook, you might be very surprised by the feedback you receive.

Thank You Sarah Palin…

Who would ever think that Sarah Palin could make me think about new media, but she did!! I have to admit that I was riding Kingda Ka at Great Adventure when Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live and unfortunately, my husband and I do not have DVR. While I was really anticipating what it would be like to see Sarah Palin and Tina Fey on the same stage, I was not worried as I knew that I would find it online after its’ initial airing on Saturday night.

Needless to say, Sunday morning I ran to my computer to look for the SNL clips that I know were already available online. Lo and behold, they were uploaded and ready for viewing and I spent quite some time at the computer (with my mother, father, and sister) laughing at the antics of quite a cast of characters.

What can SNL, Sarah Palin, and Tina Fey possibly have to do with HIV/AIDS education? The answer is everything!! The fact that I missed the initial airing of that Saturday Night Live episode did not mean that I would never see it again or would have to diligently watch the re-run roster for the next year; viewing it was as easy as sitting in front of my computer. This is the true definition of new media, information at your fingertips when you want it, how you want it.

While watching videos on the computer is nothing new, the speed and efficiency with which I can now find any and all types of media content online is new. According to the Associated Press, 10.2 million people watched the season-opening “Saturday Night Live”, an additional 1.2 million people recorded it on their DVRs and the skit was accessed online more than 13 million times. Remember that these are the numbers that NBC can track, while going viral through their company website, NBC has no way to track the number of times that it has been posted or emailed through hundreds of other sites. This is the nature of information in our new media world, once posted online, information has the opportunity to go viral within a few hours.

Now imagine if just a quarter of the people that went online to view the SNL clips went online to obtain HIV/AIDS information? What if they spent time with their family in front of the computer looking at HIV/AIDS related websites, public education campaigns, and various available programming? It is plausible and more than possible for online media to be at the forefront of HIV/AIDS information and to become the newest medium through which individuals and families can sit together and talk about what they are viewing on the screen.

This is the ultimate goal of Cable Positive’s different grant programs, to provide agencies with the funds and insight to translate their promotional and education campaigns onto multi-media platforms. With the correct use of new technology, HIV/AIDS information and education can be readily available through the press of an On-Demand button or the click of a mouse; when HIV/AIDS education goes viral online, it will be something viral that we can all celebrate.

Refocusing….

Let’s face it, times are hard. CNN’s red arrows continue to point to an economy that is responding to the greatest financial crisis of our time. It is hard not to become overwhelmed by the ever surrounding news of foreclosures, falling house prices, and the looming presidential election. It is enough to make to even the most uninterested American sit up and take notice, or at least change the channel from I Love Money to Anderson Cooper 360^o for 15 minutes.

It is a tumultuous time for non-profits across the country. Funding is being reallocated and/or lost, jobs are being cut, and sites are closing down; all while agencies must continue to prove their worth to the community and their funders, while doing more with less or less with less.

While our economy and job market continue to flounder, the CDC recently updated their 2006 new HIV infection rates to reflect an increase of 16,300 people living with HIV/AIDS, reaching a total of 56,300 HIV infections in the US compared to the previously reported 40,000. What does this mean?

It means that now, more than ever, is the time for innovative and flexible HIV prevention education. With less money to go around, a real possibility in a strapped household might be to have to choose between toilet paper and milk; personal protection items such as condoms, lubricants, dental dams, etc are left on the back burner. This is a very important time within our HIV/AIDS prevention community, back are the days when you teach people to make a dental dam by cutting up a plastic glove.

Also gone are the times of 500k, multi-year grants from the city, state, or local governments. Agencies must once again look to small foundation/private grants (who will to supplement funds to provide direct service and to market these services. I bring this up because the deadline for the Tony Cox Community Fund 2008 Cycle 2 was on September 12^th, 2008 and out of all the ASOs in the 50 states, we have a grand total of 25 applications. While I understand that a grant application can be an unwelcome addition to an already overworked and underpaid staff person’s job description; the benefits of up to $7,000 worth of unrestricted funds cannot be denied.

While the initial grant application may seem taxing, the results can be tremendous, including: a partnership with a local cable system (that can only grow), increased agency clientele, agency branding, increased agency recognition within your community (and in the surround areas), increased participation in agency events, increase in potential grant monies from PSA exposure, etc. etc.

Cable Positive’s motto, “we have work to do,” has never echoed stronger or with such urgency, do your research and apply for small grants, the worst that can happen is that you are funded!!!

Grant: $3,000, Outreach: In-Kind, Bronze Telly Award: PRICELESS

When AIDS Service Organizations apply for the Tony Cox Community Fund, they are usually thinking about how they will best utilize the unrestricted media funds. Outreach is planned, storyboards are set, and PSAs are filmed. At best, the resulting marketing campaign not only educates those in the community about HIV prevention and the services of the ASO, but also provides volunteers and donations for an agency event. Programmatic and agency accolades are part of the process of a job well done, but outside agency, or even outside industry, recognitions come few and far between. For this very reason, I want to share with you the very exciting award recently given to Northland Cares and Cable ONE in Prescott, Arizona.

Northland Cares, a 2007 Cycle 2 grantee of Cable Positive’s Tony Cox Community Fund, and their cable partner Cable ONE, were recognized with a Bronze Telly Award for outstanding achievement for their short video entitled “Bud’s Story.” (FYI, the Telly Awards honor outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, film production, and web commercials, videos, and films. This year’s competition had over 13,500 entries from all 50 states.)

The video tells the story of a community member, who, since accessing treatment at Northland Cares has undergone a physical and mental transformation to become the center of his family and an activist for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the Arizona region. The video was the highlight of a community event in Flagstaff, AZ, and at the organization’s annual World AIDS Day breakfast. In addition to “Bud’s Story,” Northland Cares also made a series of Public Service Announcements that aired on Cable ONE, as well as marketing materials that were made available in distribution channels previously not reachable by the organization such as libraries and area colleges.

After the release of “Bud’s Story” and a Public Service Announcement, both produced by Cable ONE, Northland Cares’ client roster increased by 10% and due directly to the video, the organization augmented their donor pool by an additional 15%. In prior discussions about the benefits of being a TCCF grantee, I have spoken consistently about “value” and what the true total value a PSA can bring to an agency. With its’ increased community awareness, extensive HIV prevention education, increase in client and donor base, and a Bronze Telly award, Northland Care’s and Cable ONE’s multi-pronged approached to HIV education, outreach, and media distribution is truly a shining example of how a small $3,000 grant can snowball into a mighty avalanche.

What does June 27th mean to you?

Summertime brings forth images of beaches, barbeque, and HIV testing? This is the message that agencies are striving to convey as National HIV Testing Day draws nearer and nearer. In an apathetic AIDS world, we are regulated to constantly hearing that HIV is no longer truly an epidemic/pandemic, that it is something that is “easily manageable”; it is due to these very assumptions that June 27^th is such an important day for AIDS activists and service providers across the country.

I know that our calendar is full of “National Days,” January 31 is National Popcorn Day and Child Labor Day, March 1 is National Pig Day and Peanut Butter Lover's Day, and July 12 is National Pecan Pie Day; but the tone is truly serious on June 27^th, National HIV/AIDS Testing Day. In a country where there are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS and where 1 out of 4 people are HIV positive but do not know it, the mission and work of National HIV/AIDS Testing Day (and days like it) takes on an especially dire significance.

It is imperative to be proactive in the fight against HIV/AIDS and education is our only tried and true weapon. Agencies who have applied to the Tony Cox Community Fund know and understand that marketing their services is key to getting people through the door and provided with prevention education and/or care. Without proper outreach, an agency’s services are not known to the very community that is in need of them. This reaches to the very core as to why the Tony Cox Community Fund is more important that ever before.

Providing unrestricted marketing funds is completely unheard of (I mean come on, when was the last time your department of health said here is some money, do whatever marketing you want), but that is exactly what TCCF does!! Through the use of these unrestricted marketing funds, agencies produce and market public education campaigns that promote their services and/or a fundraising event. These HIV/AIDS fundraising events usually collect money for the agency while also providing free HIV/AIDS testing, education, and outreach to the community. This double pronged approach to community service provides the perfect opportunity for ASOs to fundraise while continuing to provide direct services to community members in need.

National HIV/Testing Day, National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, World AIDS Day, and other “National Days” are the perfect time to shine a spotlight on educating the public that HIV is still out there, that it still does not discriminate in who it infects, and that, at the current time, education is our only vaccine. Integrate these days into your outreach/community events and make them an important part of your yearly calendar, because if you don’t, June 27^th will lose its’ meaning and become just another dress down Friday.

Value Does Not Always Equal Money

How does an agency gauge the value of an RFP or grant and then decide to apply for it? How is it decided that one grant has more value than another and what exactly is the programmatic definition of value? Having been in HIV/AIDS direct service for the last ten years, I can tell you the easy way that most agencies calculate this, how much money will this grant provide to the agency?; using this baseline definition, agencies decide which RFPs and grants they are going to go after.

For example, $1 million grant will provide viable opportunities for an agency; essentially it can provide a plethora of new jobs, new rental space, incentives for clients, and a host of services and activities that will certainly benefit the community and consumers alike. The honest truth though is that $1 million grants are few and far between and as agencies, we must look beyond the dollar value of what a grant can provide. Looking beyond a grant’s monetary value is no easy task; it takes a group of people who are innovative, creative, and willing to pull their programs outside of the box. While I cannot argue that looking at the numbers is certainly one of the ways to ascertain a grants’ value to an agency, let’s discuss value in nonmonetary terms.

I bring all this up because yesterday was my first experience at Cable Positive’s Positively Outstanding Programs (POP) Awards. Essentially, cable networks and agencies are recognized for the programming/public service campaigns that they produce throughout the year whose storylines include safer sex and HIV/AIDS messages. It was amazing to see so many different types of people come together for such a great event; there were high level executives from cable systems, programmers, television producers, AIDS Service Organizations, AIDS activists, and celebrities who support the cause of HIV/AIDS prevention. Now as I stood there for four hours, it occurred to me that THIS, THIS EVENT, should be considered an extremely valuable nonmonetary opportunity. The type of occasion to meet people who, while interested in helping promote HIV/AIDS prevention, are not employed providing HIV/AIDS direct services; people with whom innovate and creative projects could be discussed and more importantly, IMPLEMENTED.

The question is though, how does an ASO even learn about an event like the POP Awards? Now here comes the simple part, apply for the Tony Cox Community Fund!! Even if agencies are not awarded TCCF funds, they are placed into our database and sent newsletters and emails about all of Cable Positive’s events and fund raising activities. Cable Positive has events throughout the year and these networking events can provide valuable connections that can expand an agency’s mission and message through a variety of different media. Come hang out with us, I promise we don’t bite!!!!

Summer, summer, summertime!

It is officially June; in the HIV/AIDS prevention world that means a month centered around Gay Pride activities (HAPPY PRIDE!!!!!) and National HIV Testing Day. June also officially kicks off a summer full of outdoor HIV prevention activities including: programmatic outreach, tabling, and HIV/STI testing; all of which occur in a variety of venues that include outside health fairs, block parties, parades, barbeques, etc. All in all, June denotes “the busy season” for many Prevention/Education Departments at AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) nationwide.

Having already made you exhausted by reminding you of the summer’s workload, let me add a piece of corn to your summer work bbq; a signature summer event! Now, I can see the eyes rolling, the exasperated sighs, the hands fluttering that another summer event is just not feasible, not worth it, and not going to fly. While all of those reasons may be valid, let me throw something out there for you. In the midst of Medicaid cuts to COBRA case management, decreases in grant allotments, and the ever changing economy, it is time to think about the work that your agency does and how it is perceived by the community and the media. Your agency may provide the best case management, the most innovative HIV prevention programs, and provide a lifeline to thousands of clients, but if your community does not know the excellent work being conducted, your agency is essentially providing its services in a vacuum.

Now a signature summer event may certainly not be possible this year, but let us look ahead to next summer and how your agency can provide services to the community while also receiving the press/media that it deserves. My answer to you is the Tony Cox Community Fund (is anyone reading this really surprised??). Utilizing TCCF funds allow you to promote your event through media avenues that are not always utilized by ASOs; public education campaigns, website banners, online promotion, text messaging, and instant messaging are sources of new technology that can truly promote an event and have branding opportunities for both the agency and corporate sponsors.

Some agencies have balked at the fact that the Tony Cox Community Fund only provides up to $7,000 in unrestricted funding. While it is true that TCCF can provide up to $7,000 in true dollars, the cable connections, press recognition, and community exposure gained are worth their weight in gasoline, which at today’s prices is worth more than gold!

In The Know...

By Jennifer D. Medina

As I reflect on my 10^th year of working within the HIV/AIDS field, I realize that some old adages will forever ring true. The one that comes to mind for me, having returned from doing some serious volunteerism in New Orleans, is it’s not what you know but who you know. While it may seem trite and overused, it really struck me (as I was hanging dry wall on second story scaffolding at a Unitarian Universalist church in New Orleans), how very true these words are.

Let me explain myself…..

Cable Positive was fortunate enough to coordinate a HUGE volunteerism in New Orleans during the 2008 National Cable & Telecommunication Association Trade Show, known as “The Cable Show.” While prepping for the volunteerism, we looked to see what agencies were in need in New Orleans and how we could best help them. As a reference point, we contacted a Tony Cox Community Fund grantee, NO/AIDS Task Force, in order to follow-up with them regarding the needs of the community and how best to use the resources at our disposal (which included over 100 volunteers from NBC Universal, SES Americom, Time Warner, Rainbow Media, Imagine Communications, and other cable systems). After explaining our volunteerism proposal, NO/AIDS Task Force put us into communication with two residences in New Orleans for people living with HIV/AIDS that needed extensive landscaping and painting.

Many (MANY) emails and phone calls later, NO/AIDS Task Force had a new 22ft (400 sq. ft) wall at their shared kitchen/food pantry facility, Project Lazarus had a completely landscaped facility (four buildings worth!!), newly cleaned windows (inside and out), and all grounds had been completed mulched, and Kent House had a freshly painted kitchen, completely weeded and cleaned garden entrance, and a brand new backyard, complete with new barbeque pit, new seating area/patio, reset brick walk, and over 20 new potted plants. Additionally, through a generous donation from Josh Sapan of Rainbow Media, 35 works of art were donated to Project Lazarus and Kent House and each resident was able to choose their favorite, take it off the wall at the art gallery, and take it home.

As I look back at all the good that happened because of that ONE phone call to NO/AIDS Task Force, I am overwhelmed by the professional game of telephone that occurred; I called Noel, who called Glen, who called Eric, who called Lois, who called Jeff; and then they ALL called me back. So the morale of the story is that no matter how big or small a grant (our Tony Cox Community Fund for example), even applying for it can build bridges/connections that will benefit your agency, your community, and sister agencies; knowing others in your community who do similar work can make for collaborations and partnerships that are mutually beneficial. Know your colleagues, know your community partners, know your consumers; you never know when you can all help each other out!

Trying not to get lost in translation…

In attendance at my first non HIV/AIDS related conference, the Association of Cable Communicators Forum 2008, entitled Access the Power, Connect. Communicate. Transform., I earnestly tried to see the connection between a cable public affairs conference and how it would provide me with new and different skills in order to oversee HIV/AIDS grant programs and direct service youth work. As the topics of discussion unfolded to talk about social media, social networking, negotiation, and branding; it slowly became clear to me that regardless of the industry, there are true similarities in the ways in which corporations and non-profit organizations attempt to get their message across to clients/consumers. Who is tapped into these mediums and how they are utilized within the different structures are a different matter altogether.

One of the sessions that most peaked my interest was a discussion on social media; which is the integration of technology, social interaction, and the construction of words and pictures. As I sat there learning how cable industries utilize the “blogosphere” to understand their clients, their communities, and the reputation of their brand in the overall marketplace, a light bulb went off in my head. I realized that non-profits are doing the same thing, just not explaining it in the same language!!!!! Online outreach has been occurring in the chat rooms of Manhunt.com, Facebook.com, and Myspace.com for quite some time now, with HIV/AIDS health education specialists answering health education questions through “im’ing” and “chatting” in specialty chat rooms and meeting individuals where they are at in terms of providing necessary information in a safe and secure environment, while guaranteeing the anonymity of the individual (which at times is the only safe way for someone to ask the a sexually charged health related question).

Websites, blogs, podcasts, etc. are some of the newest forms of social media that will allow for AIDS service organizations to recruit, educate, and inform their target populations. What ASOs need to do is to develop social network campaigns that delve into the gamut of its’ social services; although social media has traditionally been used by the Health Education/Prevention departments of ASOs, imagine the new services and ideas that could be garnered if agency social workers, case managers, or even the Executive Directors themselves had a blog? What if an agency’s youth group were allowed to blog on the agency website about issues that affected them daily? This open exchange of ideas and opinions would allow for the tailoring of services to meet specific needs, to the dissemination of new thoughts and ideas to flow from one agency to another, and could eventually lead to the partnering of agencies and programs that would have never thought of working together before.

The blogosphere’s influence can reach beyond what individuals think about a company and its’ services; a blog has the ability to inform, educate, and evaluate. It is a tool that can be utilized to gain vast social, economic, and attitudinal knowledge about a target population. While not all of our communities have access to a computer, and therefore do not have access to some of the tools of social media, it is important to think about integrating social media into an agency’s outreach roster in order to meet individuals on a variety of fronts: through direct social services, print campaigns, phone communication, public education announcements, websites, and lastly through a weekly blog or podcast. Imagine the educational possibilities if one individual could receive the same information through all of the above named media outlets?

So I have to admit, I judged a corporate conference; I didn’t believe that it could provide me with new skills in order to re-define HIV/AIDS prevention and help me to learn how to look towards the future. I couldn’t have been more wrong, it seems that the cable industry and AIDS Services Organizations are both working towards the same goals: helping to serve more individuals, educating client’s about their services, and working to meet the expectations of their consumers; it just seems that we speak different languages, thesaurus anyone?

Tony Cox Community Fund Grantee Highlight

The long-term goal of the Tony Cox Community Fund is to facilitate an AIDS Service Organization with the resources in order to establish a long standing relationship with their local cable network, in order to partner a continuous joint effort in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This marriage of HIV prevention and media collaboration can be seen in the work done by The Penn Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2006 and 2007.

In 2006, CFAR staff and interns developed a campaign to encourage young adults to develop positive HIV/AIDS prevention strategies by emphasizing the importance of knowing one’s status, entitled “The Join Those Who Know, Get Tested.” With support and funds from Cable Positive, CFAR was able to design a campaign to encourage the youth of Philadelphia to go and get an HIV test; utilizing adolescents in order to make a campaign that spoke their language, spreading the word out as effectively and quickly as possible.

The grassroots outreach for the campaign started as an anonymous campaign logo displayed on flyers and stickers posted throughout the city (by outreach volunteers) in venues such as: local universities, coffee shops, gyms, grocery stores, etc.; two weeks before the airing of the public service announcements, the logos were updated with the Join Those Who Know, Get Tested slogan, in addition to the campaigns’ website address and toll free phone number in order to schedule an HIV test. Media venue and HIV prevention collaboration was further strengthened when CFAR partnered with the National Cinemedia in order to have the PSA played in all the mainstream movie theaters in the Philadelphia County area, before every showing of every movie, from June 16^th, 2006 to June 27^th, 2006.

The combination of good production, ingenious marketing, strong collaborations, and a passion to get the message of HIV prevention and testing across in a new and fresh way paved the road for CFAR to obtain results at many different levels. Comcast was originally slated to provide $10,000 work of in-kind media donation and ended up providing over $53,000 work of media value support. The number of hits to the CFAR website markedly increased in the months following the PSA campaign, showing an increase in the community’s awareness of the agency. Lastly, the Join Those Who Know, Get Tested PSA and grassroots was adopted up by Philadelphia Fight’s as their official National HIV Testing Day campaign for 2007. The multi-tiered and innovative approach to HIV prevention, testing, and outreach, coupled with start up funds from Cable Positive’s Tony Cox Community Fund, and truly stellar support from Comcast, allowed for a strong and lasting marriage between HIV prevention and media promotion.

TCCF 2008 Cycle 2 is just around the corner…

Did you miss the Tony Cox Community Fund 2008 Cycle 1 deadline? There is really no need to fret, as Cycle 2 is just months away; we anticipate a deadline of around September 14^th, 2008.

For those agencies that were not able to apply for the TCCF 2008 Cycle 1, the question is why did you not make use of the only unrestricted media funds available to AIDS Service Organizations in the United States? There can be so many answers to this question: not enough time to complete the RFP (request for proposals), there is no staff to oversee the project, you feel your agency does not have the infrastructure to take on a PSA campaign, your agency does not have the staff to write the application, the agency could not get a cable partner agreement, the list can go on and on. The project may have seemed like an additional headache and that completion of the grant application was easier said than done, right? Well you may be correct in understanding that TCCF 2008 Cycle 1 might not have been the best time to submit an application for your agency, but what about Cycle 2? The next few months would be a great time to identify which staff can complete the application, oversee the project, implement the timeline, and start the process of securing a cable partner.

We at Cable Positive understand the additional work that a PSA project can provide to an agency that is already strapped by overworked staff, under developed budgets, growing numbers of clients, and the trappings of paperwork, paperwork, paperwork (can anyone say a COBRA service plan??, WE KNOW!). Yet, think of that traditional pro/con’s list when you are thinking about applying for Tony Cox monies; I can promise you that the pros will always win. While the grant initial grant application may seem taxing, the results can be tremendous, including: a partnership with a local cable system (that can only grow), increased agency clientele, agency branding, increased agency recognition within your community (and in the surround areas), increased participation in agency events, increase in potential grant monies from PSA exposure, etc. etc.

Remember that creative and innovative partnerships are fostered and sometimes those relationships come from taking a risk. Take risk on media, we promise it won’t hurt; apply for Tony Cox Community Fund 08 Cycle 2, coming to an ASO near you in September 2008.

Ask not what you can do for media; ask what media can do for you!

Who has never found themselves parked on the couch, channel surfing, looking for something, anything to watch on television? Now picture a public education campaign (or public service announcement) for your agency’s HIV testing event flashes across the screen. Happily you can now settle into a program knowing that other channel surfers in your neighborhood have been educated about HIV and might take the opportunity to come to your agency’s event. This scene is not a fantasy, it is the main objective of Cable Positive’s Tony Cox Community Fund grant; what is different about TCCF is that is not a grant just to support an ASO’s programs, it is to encourage ASOs to use the media as a resource and to fund an ASO’s campaign, with the long term goal to help form a relationship between that ASO and their local cable network.

According to the Global Media AIDS Initiative, 72% of Americans identify television, radio, and newspapers as their primary source of information about HIV/AIDS; surpassing doctors, family, and friends as primary sources of information. Media organizations have an enormous sphere of influence on all demographics, defining what people wear, what they say, and even, what types of food they eat. Media frames products and ideas and allows them to enter our lives through mainstream points of entrance, i.e., our radios, televisions, computers, cell phones, iPods, etc.

Media’s role in HIV/AIDS prevention is vital; media allows for easy access to the homes of millions of people around the world. It allows for extremely pertinent information to be flow through trust worthy channels and be viable and accessible over an extended period of time. Media can, and has been used, to combat HIV/AIDS denial, stigma, discrimination, and apathy across all socioeconomic levels and can bring messages of tolerance and awareness through a medium that is available and accessible to most of the population. By working hand in hand with the media, ASOs can assure themselves that their HIV prevention message will reach as many of their target population as possible, while also serving to educate the general population at the same time; which is a win/win situation. Whether it is an HIV education podcast, radio commercial, or PSA, ASOs must continue to recognize the value of cable network partnerships and not be afraid to jump into these relationships feet first.

Greetings!!!

My name is Jennifer D. Medina and I am the new Director of Programs at Cable Positive. I have been working in the HIV/AIDS field for the past ten years; from my internship in Development to my work as a COBRA Case Manager and then Assistant Director of Health Education and Prevention, my years in the field have truly been phenomenal learning experiences. As I come on board to the Tony Cox Community Fund, I hope to use my HIV/AIDS prevention skills and meld them with the new cable industry language that I am slowly but surely learning! Although I am newly integrating into the Cable Positive family, I have been able to introduce myself to quite a number of grantees and I must say that I am extremely excited to continue the great relationships established.

Now some of you AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) out there are reading this blog and may be saying to yourself, what is Cable Positive and what is the Tony Cox Community Fund? Let me bring you up to speed! Cable Positive was founded in February 1992 by three concerned cable executives, with the mission of organizing cable's resources in the fight against AIDS. Our mission is to mobilize the talents, resources, access and influence of the cable and telecommunications industry to raise HIV/AIDS awareness; support HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care; and strive to end stigma by creating a more compassionate climate for people whose lives have been affected by HIV or AIDS. Cable Positive’s Tony Cox Community Fund is a national grant program that exists to encourage community-based AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) and cable outlets to partner in joint community outreach efforts, or to produce and distribute new, locally focused HIV/AIDS-related programs and Public Service Announcements (PSAs). Over the years, the Tony Cox Community Fund has become one of the nation’s largest and most targeted HIV/AIDS grassroots funding mechanisms.

In layman’s terms, Cable Positive and its’ programs strive to be the liaison between the cable industry and national HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Understanding that funding sources do not always allocate enough money for media outreach, the Tony Cox Community Fund works to bridge that gap. Through a grant of up to $7,000, the TCCF endeavors to produce public education messages, or public service announcements, for agencies that have a fantastic program that they would like to promote or a very important event (focused around HIV/AIDS prevention) that they would like to advertise to the television watching public, which is basically, all of us!! I look forward to seeing your submissions for Cycle 1, which are due on March 14, 2007. If you have any additional questions or need further clarification on what we do as an agency, please do not hesitate to contact me at either jennifer@cablepositive.org or at 212.459.1504.

Best Regards,