GTZ-IL is seeking proposals for $300,000 in grants

Getting to Zero Illinois (GTZ-IL) is happy to announce a request for proposals for its Community Grant program, which is a pool of grants totaling at least $300,000. The grants are intended to support organizations supporting people living with and vulnerable to HIV through HIV prevention, care, housing, advocacy and legal services. To help answer some of the many questions that will arise around the proposals and grants, we’ve developed this guide to help you! 

Who is eligible to apply? 

Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, local health departments and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) located in Illinois are eligible to apply. Coalitions, organizations or task forces that have a fiscal entity that is a 501(c)(3) status organization are also eligible to apply. For instance, the Illinois HIV Action Alliance (IHAA) is a coalition that would be eligible to apply.  

GTZ-IL is prioritizing Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC)-led and -serving organizations and small organizations with budgets of less than $1 million. If your organization’s priorities align with the GTZ-IL plan, if you serve people living with or vulnerable to HIV, and your organization’s budget is around $1 million, we welcome your application. GTZ-IL aims to fund organizations in each region of Illinois, as we are a statewide initiative.  

Who is not eligible to apply? 

Unfortunately, individuals, state-level government agencies, and for-profit organizations are not eligible to receive a grant. 

How much are the grants for? 

GTZ-IL will award a total of $300,000 in one-time grants. Each individual grant will range from $10,000 to $30,000 and the specific amount will depend on the proposal submitted. Some organizations might apply for $12,000, while others apply for the full $30,000. 

What projects are the grants intended to support? 

The grants can be used to further an organization’s community mobilization and advocacy; education and training; and programming and services. These groupings are intentionally broad to give organizations the flexibility to explain how their work aligns with one of those categories and advances the work of getting to zero new HIV cases in Illinois. 

Ideally, the grants would help an organization boost or scale a resource or program it already has. For instance, if your organization has a mobile van that has enough funding to go out into the community once a week, this grant could help your organization add an additional day of service. Other ideas for how an organization could use a grant include: expanding employment training opportunities for people living with HIV, adding a day of operation for an existing food bank and organizing an advocacy day.  

Why were the grants developed? 

GTZ-IL recognizes the contributions of many organizations across the state whose work is helping us get to zero new HIV cases in Illinois and ensuring all people living with HIV are connected to care and other resources needed to thrive. We also recognize that sometimes grants are not accessible to all organizations because of the grant’s requirements. The GTZ-IL grants were designed to support small organizations moving the work of GTZ-IL forward while ensuring resources to advance that work are more accessible. 

When and where can organizations apply? 

The application is currently open until Monday, April 26 at 5 p.m. Your organization can find more information and apply here. If you have additional questions, GTZ-IL will be hosting Zoom Q&A sessions where you can ask us questions directly on Monday, April 6; Tuesday, April 7;  Wednesday, April 8; and Friday, April 9. To join those sessions, click here.