FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tony Freeman
(619) 291-3383

THE SAN DIEGO HIV FUNDING COLLABORATIVE
AT THE SAN DIEGO HUMAN DIGNITY FOUNDATION
GRANTS MORE THAN $550,000
TO LOCAL HIV/AIDS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

Dec. 9, 2010 – The San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative, a program of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, is pleased to announce that they have issued grants totaling more than $550,000 to 15 local HIV/AIDS service organizations. Programs receiving funding provide services from South Bay to North County and include the Teen Mobile Clinic, peer-to-peer youth outreach, home delivered meals, substance abuse treatment, HIV testing  and counseling, HIV case management, HIV legal services and a variety of other services.

“In the face of budget cuts and ongoing economic challenges for so many, it is especially meaningful to be able to present these checks to organizations who do the ground-level work of providing direct care and service to those living with HIV/AIDS,“ said Tony Freeman, executive director of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation. “We are committed to ensuring that our local organizations have the funds they need to continue to offer these vital programs and services."

The mission of the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative, a program of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, is to pool private funding and allocate those funds in a collaborative manner to HIV/AIDS related services in the San Diego region. Through a unique partnership with AIDS Walk San Diego, the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative is able to increase the impact of the dollars it raises by combining funds raised from AIDS Walk with other supporting donations to qualify for matching funds.

Partner organizations in the Funding Collaborative include: the Sunshine Brooks Permanent Fund of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, Alliance Healthcare Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Johnson & Johnson, McCarthy Family Foundation, National AIDS Fund, the Parker Foundation and Bill Hardt Presents.

The 2010 San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative grantees are: Being Alive, Bienestar Human Services, Christie's Place, Family Health Centers, Fraternity House, Mama's Kitchen, San Diego Hospice, San Diego LGBT Community Center, San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, San Diego Youth Services and Vista Community Clinic.

The San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, founded in 1996, is committed to working to improve the quality of life in San Diego’s LGBT community by promoting responsible philanthropy to enact positive social change.

AIDS Walk San Diego is San Diego's largest one-day HIV/AIDS fundraiser and the biggest non-governmental financial provider for HIV/AIDS in San Diego County. More than a dozen agencies -- serving thousands of clients -- rely on funds raised at the annual AIDS Walk to help provide essential prevention and care programs to thousands of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS. The 22nd annual AIDS Walk San Diego is scheduled to take place on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011.