Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
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National Grants
Rising Need, Record Grants: How Your Support Helps Those at Risk
Across the country, the longtime lifelines for people living with HIV are confronting a stark reality: government funding cuts, rising costs and increased demand are stretching resources thinner than ever.
In the face of this growing urgency, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS responded with its most ambitious year yet, awarding $9.5 million through its National Grants Program to 483 organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. An additional $8.38 million was shared with the Entertainment Community Fund.
These grants provide a crucial safety net of meals and medication, health care and hope. The record totals reflect both the extraordinary generosity of the theater community and the staggering need that generosity now meets.
“In this climate of political and economic uncertainty, Broadway Cares’ commitment to sustaining grassroots service providers like ours is deeply meaningful,” shared Aundaray Guess, executive director of GRIOT Circle in Brooklyn, New York. “[Its] partnership over the years has not only provided vital resources but has helped affirm the humanity and worth of the LGBTQ elders of color we serve.”
GRIOT Circle received a $10,000 grant to sustain its Buddy 2 Buddy program, which pairs volunteers with older adults living with HIV for wellness check-ins and companionship.
“From accompaniment to doctor’s appointments and consistent calls, to cultivating the deep emotional support that so many of our members rely on, this program remains a critical source of wellness, companionship and chosen family,” Guess said.
In San Diego, Townspeople continues to serve as a beacon of stability for people living with HIV/AIDS, providing housing, peer-based counseling and other lifesaving support. The organization received a $5,000 grant in support of its direct services, funding that fills critical gaps left by restricted public contracts.
“The kind of care we provide isn’t always visible on a spreadsheet,” William Ward, Townspeople’s grants and compliance specialist, said. “It looks like trust built over months, a timely intervention that prevents a crisis or simply showing up when no one else can. It’s in the way we listen, the way we stay and the way we honor each person’s path to stability.”
That compassion has also long extended to Nashville CARES, a Broadway Cares grantee since 1988. The organization provides comprehensive care for people living with HIV across Middle Tennessee, offering everything from case management and access to medication to food assistance, counseling and community-building programs.
Nashville CARES’ impact resonates through clients like Margaret, who knows firsthand how vital that support can be.
“I lost four apartments, and every time, Nashville CARES was there to pick me up,” Margaret said. “They never criticized me, never judged me. Through their programs, I learned everything I could about living with HIV, and got control of my health. But if folks start cutting the resources that keep us going, the death rate’s gonna soar again.”
In 2025, Broadway Cares awarded $12,500 to Nashville CARES. While these funds directly support Margaret and others like her in accessing life-affirming care, Nashville CARES – like many organizations across the South – faces the ongoing risk of losing critical funding beyond this generosity.
“Right now, we’re being funded year to year for prevention education in Tennessee, which makes it nearly impossible to build sustainable, long-term programs,” said Amna Osman, CEO of Nashville CARES. “We’re fighting every day just to keep these essential services going. That’s why the support of Broadway Cares and our donors means so much. Because we can see the difference it makes, every single day, in people’s lives and in our community.”
Together, these grants form a lifeline for millions navigating difficult, impossible choices – between rent or medication, between food or transportation to a doctor’s appointment. For Broadway Cares, this record-breaking year is not just a celebration of generosity, but a call to sustain it.
“While we can’t replace every dollar of lost funding, we can promise this: Broadway Cares will remain a steady, reliable partner, now and in the years ahead,” Executive Director Danny Whitman said. “The need has never been greater, and neither has our shared humanity.”
That shared humanity is what connects every meal delivered, every prescription filled and every hand extended in care. It’s what fuels GRIOT Circle’s Buddy 2 Buddy volunteers, inspires Townspeople’s frontline workers and drives Nashville CARES’ compassionate team to meet each client where they are.
“You’re helping people who are struggling,” Margaret said. “Paying a security deposit, turning lights back on, finding a safe place to live. Your generosity helps them live healthier, fuller lives. We can’t do it without you.”
National Grants By Fiscal Year
2025
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,912,900 |
| Local Social Service Organizations | $3,285,000 |
| Emergency Grants | $1,435,419 |
| Supplemental Grants | $1,013,560 |
| Supplemental Advocacy Grants | $250,000 |
| Theater Social Service and Advocacy Organizations | $365,761 |
| Theater Community Humanitarian Grants | $250,000 |
| Total: $9,512,640 | |
2024
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,830,000 |
| Local Social Service Organizations | $2,990,000 |
| Emergency Grants | $591,400 |
| Supplemental Support | $534,650 |
| Theater Social Service and Advocacy Organizations | $597,500 |
| Broadway Community Humanitarian Grants | $1,000,000 |
| Total: $8,543,550 | |
2023
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,827,500 |
| Local Social Service Organizations | $3,340,000 |
| Emergency Relief Grants | $550,000 |
| Supplemental grants and Shared Support | $944,000 |
| National Grants Program – Additional Support | $449,500 |
| Theater Organizations Social Service Grants | $395,000 |
| Broadway Community Emergency Response Grants | $600,000 |
| Total: $9,106,000 | |
2022
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,532,500 |
| Local AIDS Service Organizations | $3,180,000 |
| Emergency Relief Grants | $1,000,000 |
| Supplemental grants and Shared Support | $1,798,060 |
| Theater Organizations Social Service Grants | $367,500 |
| Total: $8,878,060 | |
2021
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,452,500 |
| Local AIDS Service Organizations | $2,539,000 |
| Emergency Grants for Pandemic Relief | $1,010,077 |
| Supplemental grants and Shared Support | $793,125 |
| Theater Organizations Social Service Grants | $317,500 |
| Total: $7,112,202 | |
2020
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,317,000 |
| Local AIDS Service Organizations | $2,023,000 |
| Emergency Grants for Pandemic Relief | $955,775 |
| Supplemental grants and Shared Support | $942,000 |
| Natural Disaster Relief in name of Broadway community | $200,000 |
| Total: $6,437,775 | |
2019
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,143,000 |
| Nationally Recognized AIDS Service and Advocacy Organizations | $1,157,500 |
| Local AIDS Service Organizations | $2,305,500 |
| Theatre Social Service Organizations | $189,500 |
| Natural Disaster Relief | $500,000 |
| Research, Special One-time Grants and Shared Support | $951,261 |
| Supplemental Emergency Grants | $695,871 |
| Physician Volunteers for the Arts | $90,000 |
| Total: $8,032,632 | |
2018
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $2,015,000 |
| Nationally Recognized AIDS Service and Advocacy Organizations | $1,150,000 |
| Local AIDS Service Organizations | $2,227,500 |
| Theatre Social Service Organizations | $152,500 |
| Hurricane Relief Grants to Hispanic Federation | $350,000 |
| Research, Special One-time Grants and Shared Support | $865,550 |
| Supplemental Emergency Grants | $488,191 |
| Physician Volunteers for the Arts | $85,000 |
| Total: $7,333,741 | |
2017
National Grants
| Food Service and Meal Delivery Programs | $1,915,000 |
| Nationally Recognized AIDS Service and Advocacy Organizations | $880,000 |
| Local AIDS Service Organizations | $2,133,500 |
| Supplemental Emergency Grants | $462,404 |
| Theatre Community Service Organizations, Research Grants, Special One-time and Share Support | $858,618 |
| Hurricane Relief | $425,000 |
| Physician Volunteers for the Arts | $75,000 |
| Total: $6,749,522 | |
2016
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