their responses.9 In the early years of AIDS

their responses.9 In the early years of AIDS, the silence of the U.S. government was
deafening. Internationally, despite documented cases of AIDS in Africa as early as
1984; governments of wealthy nations, African governments and many multilateral
institutions were also slow in their responses to AIDS.10 11
Early mobilization responding to community needs
Despite the early lethargy of the philanthropic response, some foundation support for
HIV/AIDS initiatives did begin to flow in 1983, two years after the first identified case of
AIDS.12 Total foundation support for HIV/AIDS in 1983 amounted to $216,000
awarded through five grants; eleven grants totaling $131,000 dollars in 1984; and fortythree
grants totaling $981,333 dollars in 1985.13 The first five grants awarded to
HIV/AIDS-related issues were given by two community foundations, the New York
Community Trust and the San Francisco Foundation, and by the United Hospital Fund,
the Charles A. Dana Foundation, and the Joint Foundation Support.14 These first grants
were awarded to organizations that existed before the epidemic, had experience in
social services and were responding to the epidemic.15 Early in the AIDS epidemic,
sympathetic staff or board members who had a personal connection to AIDS were often
responsible for their foundations’ entries into the field.16
From the for-profit sector, the insurance and pharmaceutical industries comprised the
first consistent corporate philanthropic involvement with HIV/AIDS-related issues.17 In
addition to corporate support, members of the entertainment and design industries
formed groups to respond to the epidemic, as AIDS was disproportionately impacting
their communities.18 Finally, several foundations were created exclusively to support
research and care on HIV/AIDS, such as the American Foundation for AIDS Research
(amfAR) which was founded in 1985.
Initial foundation and corporate support for AIDS was concentrated in the major U.S.
and European cities where the funders were based and where the AIDS epidemic was
most visible. Funding was directed to AIDS services, research, and legal efforts related