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!