AID FOR AIDS International

AID FOR AIDS (212-337-8043) saves countless lives every day by sending critical HIV medications, free of charge, to people living with AIDS throughout the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa.

How do you help people in my community?

While AFA's primary purpose is to help people in poorer countries gain access to vital HIV therapies, we do run programs to support immigrants to the US. Many immigrants living with HIV do not yet have access to information about extremely important healthcare issues, which makes it difficult for them to maintain a decent quality of life. Immigrants encounter several challenges including adjusting to a new environment, language barriers, cultural differences and plain old discrimination. Our local program assists participants to overcome their hurdles in a confidential and non-judgmental environment.

Why do you need my support?

Even a small gift will make a tremendous difference in someone's life.  Your donation will help pay for shipping of essential medications to a person living with HIV and AIDS in the developing world.  While the medications themselves are extremely expensive to purchase, these drugs are being donated by literally hundreds of people living with HIV and AIDS and their caregivers across the United States.  All that is needed is money to get them to our offices in new york and then to repackage and send them overseas.

AFA's intent for the future is to remain acutely focused on this mission to save lives overseas by collecting and shipping an even greater quantity of free HIV medications to those most in need of these therapies than in the past.  This however, will depend on being able to increase our financial support from individual donors. AFA is also now running prevention education programs focusing on youth in the developing world in order to attack HIV at its source to reduce the infection rate among teenagers. By helping to reduce the infection rate and by providing the best HIV medication available, we hope to dramatically reduce the number of HIV related deaths in the developing world.

AFA is different from other AIDS-related nonprofits worldwide because along with our innovative HIV medicine recycling program we are also committed to helping communities affected by HIV to become self-sufficient, empowered to improve their healthcare systems through advocacy.To this end, we help train treatment activists so that they can better lobby their governments to include HIV issues within the political agenda.

How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?

AFA is a community-based agency, run primarily by community members with a focus on ensuring that financial and medication donations reach the people who need them.  Medication distribution relies on a solid reputation for honor and integrity, and trust by our clients, and so too with our use of monetary donations to make this critical program possible. 

Our administrative costs are only 2.2  percent of total expenses, which means that 97.8 cents of every dollar we spend goes directly into our lifesaving programs.  This ratio of administrative to program costs is well within the guidelines of such standard-setting entities as the Better Business Bureau and the federal Office of Personnel Management, and is one of the lowest in the CFC.

AFA has already described how our programs offer a particularly efficient use of donor monies because they do not go towards purchasing extremely expensive HIV medications, but rather pay for the collection and shipment of these medications to people who would otherwise be without treatments and at frightening risk of AIDS related infections. 

In addition to its efficiency, AFA has developed a reputation for using financial contributions responsibly.  As such, our operations have always been transparent to the public, and our donors are always welcome to review our agency's annual audit conducted by an outside CPA, and our federal tax filings (form 990s).  To access AFA's financial information, either contact us at (212) 337-8043, or visit www.guidestar.org and view our agency's 990 using Aid for AIDS International as the search criteria.

We have an all-volunteer Board of Directors, many of whom contribute both time and money to the agency. And our pay scalefor salaried staff is on the low end of comparable not-for-profit agencies in the New York area, and well below what is offered in the private sector.

Can I Volunteer? How?

AFA relies on volunteers to help us operate a variety of programs.  We are always looking for new people who are willing to give of their time to our mission.  For information on how to volunteer at AFA, please call (212) 337-8043 and ask for Samuel Jurado.  Also, welcome TorchLighters, federal empolyees who are willing to speak on AFA's behalf at their place of employment.