“How many people in this room have previously received a foundation grant?”
City of Hope’s Tanya Mink, vice president of development, recently asked this question in an auditorium packed with dozens of representatives from nonprofit organizations serving patients and clients with HIV/AIDS. Only four people raised their hands.
 Assemblymember Anthony Portantino hosted a recent summit on HIV/AIDS. (Photo by p.cunningham) |
Yet these nonprofit agencies must continue to provide valuable services during a shrinking economy in a state where public funding is increasingly difficult to secure. Those attending the third annual San Gabriel Valley HIV/AIDS Action Summit at City of Hope in November faced this issue head on.
Assemblymember Anthony Portantino, who hosted the event to bring together stakeholders from throughout Los Angeles County, called for greater cooperation between private, public and nonprofit organizations during the state’s fiscal crisis.
“We must work together to go beyond our normal resources in order to find answers that will allow the continued provision of services to people in need,” Portantino said. “There’s just no choice but to continue finding ways to fund the ADAP [AIDS Drug Assistance Program] and the many other laudable AIDS services that so many of those in attendance are struggling to provide.”
The summit featured panelists Alexandra M. Levine, M.D., City of Hope’s chief medical officer, Joey Terrill, from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Philip Curtis, AIDS Project Los Angeles government affairs director, and Terry Goddard, executive director of the Serra Project. KNBC news anchor Beverly White moderated the discussion.
The half-day event guided attendees through discussions about tapping new sources of funding and innovative management techniques to save money while providing quality services.
“The lives of others depend on our ability to come up with creative solutions and engage in greater cooperation,” said Portantino, who has authored two bills — both signed into law — that will enable public health clinics to use AIDS funding more effectively.
