The United States (US) Conference of Mayors (USCM), in cooperation with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for the HIV/AIDS Prevention Grants Program to strengthen local capacities to carry out HIV/AIDS prevention activities. Proposals will be accepted for implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention services for "Women of Colour at High Risk of HIV Infection".

USCM plans to award grants totaling approximately US$420,000 to local health departments, non-profit community-based organisations, and Native American tribes/nations for implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention projects for these populations. Approximately US$70,000 will be allocated to each of six grants for high-risk women. All proposals will be judged by an external panel of experts solely on merit; membership in USCM is not required.

Priority will be given to groups demonstrating strong community ties, with specific experience in serving the priority group or subgroup. No proposal will be selected for funding unless it provides clear evidence of the participation of the priority population in developing the proposal and a clear role for the priority population in conducting the proposed programme. Collaboration with any appropriate parties, local or national, is strongly encouraged; collaboration with any specific group or organisation is not required, but applications proposing no collaboration will need to substantiate the self-sufficiency of the applicant organisation. USCM will fund no more than one applicant per track from any given Metropolitan Statistical Area. Grants are for a 12-month period and are non-renewable.

Please note that these grants are restricted to projects whose intent is to provide direct prevention services to the community the project intends to reach. Research projects (“research” being defined as “a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalisable knowledge”) will not be funded.

Deadline for application is February 25 2008.

An original and three copies of the proposal must be received by the US Conference of Mayors by Monday February 25 2008 5:00 PM EST. No extensions will be granted. No faxes or emails will be accepted as grant applications. Each applicant must submit a project abstract using the form provided in the request for proposals.

Click here to download more information and detailed application guidelines in PDF format.

Click here to download information about previous grantees as a PDF document.