Our History

Six years after the first reported AIDS-related death by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), philanthropy was still slow to respond to the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk for contracting the virus. Funders Concerned About AIDS was founded in 1987 by a group of grantmakers dedicated to bringing philanthropic attention to the AIDS crisis.

“We could no longer stand by while the fight against the nation’s soon-to-be number one public health threat was being financed solely by raffle ticket sales. Philanthropy had to take its place at the table to support the hundreds of AIDS service, prevention and advocacy efforts that were mushrooming across the country and around the world.” Michael Seltzer, Founding Executive Director

Starting as a project at The New York Community Trust, Seltzer and founding chair Joyce Bove organized regular meetings for the group in New York City and nationally and nationally around topics such as mental health, the effect of HIV/AIDS on youth, and the growing global pandemic.

In just over 20 years FCAA has grown from an 80-member organization to represent more than 1,500 U.S.-based private philanthropic organizations engaged in HIV/AIDS. In 2009 this diverse community mobilized and disbursed $585 million in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

For a history of the AIDS epidemic, visit the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation’s interactive Global HIV/AIDS Timeline.