Since 1988, when the United Nations declared December 1 as the first World AIDS Day, people worldwide have paused each year to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with the virus, and commemorate those who have lost their lives to AIDS.
A quarter-century since the first World AIDS Day, amazing progress has been made, but enormous challenges remain.
IAVI colleagues stand their ground.
(photo courtesy IAVI)
AIDS-related causes have killed 36 million people and continue to kill more than 1.5 million each year, including more than 250,000 children. Some 35 million people live with HIV today. While the number of new HIV infections is slowly declining, there were 2.3 million more in the last year alone. In sub-Saharan Africa, more young people report that they’re using condoms, but overall HIV/AIDS knowledge levels remain low. Even in the well-connected and aware United States, more than one million people live with HIV, one in five of them without knowing it.
Seven million people who need HIV drugs cannot get them, including nearly three out of four children with HIV. Many children have lost one or both parents to this epidemic, putting their access to education and healthcare at risk.
The global AIDS community stands behind the ambitious UNAIDS goal of “three zeros by 2015″: zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths, and zero discrimination. We have our work cut out for us. Barriers of stigma, prejudice, healthcare access, and economic and social inequality remain very high.
Those living with HIV need attention, quality healthcare, and social support—and we need to do more to prevent people from getting infected in the first place. Many public- and private-sector scientific, health, and humanitarian organizations are working to expand the current HIV “toolbox,” which includes such biomedical, structural, and behavioral interventions as antiretroviral treatment, community-based health education, condoms, voluntary medical male circumcision, and protocols to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
But these tools remain out of reach or of limited effectiveness for many who need them. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than 70 percent of the world’s cases of HIV, women and girls often remain less educated than, and socially and economically dependent on, men. They are often unable to insist that their partners use condoms, or to seek counseling and treatment in confidence. New tools that empower and enable women to learn about and take care of their own health are critical to changing this picture.
A preventive AIDS vaccine would be a powerful new tool. Modeling studies show that adding an AIDS vaccine with even limited efficacy to the HIV prevention arsenal could dramatically impact the infection trajectory. But finding and developing a vaccine against HIV/AIDS continues to pose one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time.
At the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), we strive to ensure that an effective and accessible AIDS vaccine becomes a reality. A nonprofit public-private research and development partnership, IAVI collaborates with more than 50 academic, industry, and government organizations around the world to accelerate the development of AIDS vaccines, and to advocate for the HIV prevention field.
As IAVI president and chief executive officer Margie McGlynn said in our World AIDS Day statement:
“There has been tremendous success in treating millions with HIV over the past three decades, but a great deal of continued commitment, innovation, and persistence will be needed to realize the vision of a world without AIDS.”
Ensuring the development of a safe, effective AIDS vaccine for all is a mission each of us at IAVI takes personally. Please visit www.iavi.org to learn more.
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Are you interested in joining the fight against HIV and AIDS? Search Idealist for almost 10,000 ways to get involved through a career, volunteer work, or an internship.
Survivors stand amidst debris in the city of Tacloban.
(photo via Erik de Castro/Reuters)
Over the weekend, Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the Philippines. The death toll is estimated at 10,000 in the Leyte province alone, and there is widespread infrastructure damage.
The Huffington Post and CNN have posted roundups of organizations that are sending supplies, people, and more. Here are some other ways to help:
Check your local Filipino-American groups or associations and the Super Typhoon Haiyan – Yolanda Recovery Facebook group for more ways to help. Please also leave a comment if you know of more opportunities.
A friendly recruiter chats up a prospective student at an Idealist Grad Fair. (Photo: Jung Fitzpatrick)
School may be out (or almost out) for the summer, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be on your radar. We’re kicking off the summer with two Idealist Grad Fairs and you’re invited! As always, the fairs are free, open to the public, and geared toward people who want to make a difference through their careers.
Learn more and RSVP:
Why attend our summer fairs?
Come beat the heat in air conditioned spaces – ones that are slightly more intimate than the fairs we host in New York and DC in September, which tend to draw huge crowds. You’ll have a chance to talk one-on-one with admissions folks from about 60 different programs, and mingle with people who are looking to further their education, achieve their career goals, and make a lasting impact on the world.
Bonus: You’ll be a step ahead of your peers by attending a summer fair. That’s three months before the fall Idealist Grad Fair season begins, and gives you lots of time to prepare applications for 2013! The early bird gets the worm, right?
Can’t make it to New York or DC?
Don’t fret if you can’t make it to either of the summer fairs. We have 17 more planned for the fall 2012 Idealist Grad Fair season, from Boston to Denver to Miami. Check out the full lineup and please spread the word to your friends in those cities who may be considering grad school.
Hope to see many of you at the fairs!
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Thanks to Kevin Kennedy, our Events and Communications Intern, for this post – and for all of your hard work supporting the Idealist Grad Fairs.
Photo by Alan Cleaver (Flickr/Creative Commons)
If you hurried to the Post Office today to pay your taxes or claim your refund, you’re in good company. Estimates are that 25% of U.S. taxpayers file on the last day each year. But don’t expect long lines at the post office; the IRS is hoping 80% of returns will be filed online, up from 77% last year. The deadline (technically tomorrow this year because of a holiday in Washington, DC) is critical for individual taxpayers – filing late results in penalties and interest for everyone.
Nonprofits get a break on their filing deadline in two ways: First, the due date for organizations with a December 31 fiscal year end is not until May 15th. And second, larger organizations can get an automatic six-months extension to pull their records together just by filing Form 4868.
But the risks for nonprofits of not filing at all are pretty dire. More than 400,000 entries have been removed from the roster of tax-exempt organizations since a 2006 law took effect. The IRS is now required to cull out of the list recognized organizations that don’t file the required reports for three consecutive years. When that happens, donors can’t take deductions from their personal taxes (and may have to file amended personal tax returns – a double whammy) and the organization will probably have to start all over again—filing a new application for recognition and paying the fees—if it wants to continue to operate. Not a good thing.
The “information return” that nonprofits file is called IRS Form 990. It comes in several versions. Time and trouble can be saved by picking the right one.
The Urban Institute offers an electronic filing service for groups that need to do a 990-EZ or a full 990 and don’t have anyone else to do it. Information about how that works is online at efile.form990.org. The service is free for organizations with less than $100,000 in revenue and carries a small fee for groups with larger annual budgets.
Larger organizations will usually have staff or outside help with accounting and bookkeeping to keep them on track with these requirements and deadline. Smaller organizations need to be sure they have clear answers to a short, but important, list of questions:
If you’re not sure all three questions have been answered for an organization you care about, then tomorrow—after your personal tax return is safely on its way—would be a good time to start getting things sorted out to be sure everything goes smoothly this year.
Eye candy and food for thought from our Facebook feed this morning:
Screen capture of the pinboard "Nonprofit Organizations" curated by NonprofitOrgs
What headlines, tweets, or tools caught your eye today?
Got debt? New initiatives from the White House might help you out. (Photo: Serge Melki, Flickr/Creative Commons)
Student loan expert Heather Jarvis writes:
On October 25, the Obama administration announced executive orders designed to assist struggling student loan borrowers. The President announced two new student loan initiatives:
- Pay As You Earn, making the Income-Based Repayment plan more generous for certain borrowers by fast-tracking improvements to the way payments are calculated and reducing the time it takes to earn forgiveness, and
- “Special” Consolidation Loans providing a modest interest rate reduction for student loan borrowers who have a specific combination of student loans.
If you’re wondering how these new initiatives might apply to you, read all the nitty-gritty details on Heather’s blog.
p.s. Want to meet Heather Jarvis and ask her your questions in person? She’ll be at our Idealist Grad Fair in Chapel Hill, NC this Saturday. Please spread the word if you’re in the Triangle!
Friendly admissions professionals want to get to know you in person. (Staff photo/J. Smith)
It’s time for our final four graduate degree fairs of 2011:
All of these events are free and open to the public, so please feel free to spread the word! The better our turnout at these fairs, the more likely we’ll be able to bring these free events back to the South in future years.
What happens at an Idealist Grad Fair? You get to meet admissions representatives from all sorts of programs that can help you further your social impact career – from education and social work to nonprofit administration and public policy to journalism and public interest law. Figure out how to make yourself a competitive candidate and clear up any questions about financial aid.
If you’re in one of these areas, we hope to see you this month!
See you Thursday, Denver. (Photo: Larry Johnson, Flickr/Creative Commons)
Thinking about going to graduate school to further your career and make a social impact?
We’re bringing Idealist Grad Fairs to 18 cities this fall. Here are the next six. Click on a city name for details and to RSVP:
All of the fairs are free, open to the public, and feature a free Q&A panel about admissions and financial aid from 6:00-7:00pm. See the rest of the season lineup at idealist.org/gradfairs.
Image of monks volunteering in Kyegundo earthquake zone via SFTHQ (Flickr/Creative Commons)
Have you been thinking about volunteering abroad, but aren’t sure how to go about it? If you’re wondering where to go, how long you can afford to stay, and how you can be sure you’ll contribute to a meaningful and positive impact, here are two free events that might help:
At these free events, you can chat with representatives from organizations that lead volunteer projects in communities around the globe. You can also attend free workshops—sponsored by Cross-Cultural Solutions—on the basics of international service and strategies for making volunteering abroad more affordable.
Our former colleague Erin Barnhart is coordinating these fairs along with the International Volunteer Programs Association (IVPA), so we’re sure they’ll be beautifully organized and full of valuable info. Click the Eventbrite links above for the full details and to RSVP. And let us know if you go check ‘em out!
And if you can’t make it to one of these events, check out our International Volunteering Resource Center.
A Vivanista training (photo: Vivanista1, Flickr/Creative Commons)
Looking for practical ways to improve your fundraising, inspire donor loyalty, and broaden your community? Want to connect personally with other fundraisers and share your own expertise?
If you’ll be in the San Francisco area from November 10-12, you can do all this and more at the Vivanista Fundraising Summit. And between now and September 30, Idealist blog readers can access a $60 discount off the ticket prices using the code IDEALIST-VIP.
The summit features dozens of bootcamp workshops, plus “TED-style talks” from the likes of Adriana Gasciogne of Girls in Tech; Susan Gordon, Director of Nonprofit Services at Causes.com; Darian Rodriguez Heyman, organizer of Social Media for Nonprofits; Robert Rosenthal of VolunteerMatch; Tamsin Smith of (RED); Julia Hartz of Eventbrite, and many others.
Learn more about the full summit lineup at http://vivanista.com/fundraising-summit/, or follow along on Facebook or Twitter (@Vivanista and #fundsummit).
Click here to read the report at idealisthr.org.
This past spring, we reached out to the organizations on Idealist to learn how you had been impacted by the financial crisis of 2008, and how you were feeling about the future.
More than 3,000 of you responded: human resources professionals, executive directors, fundraising managers, volunteer coordinators – and often, all of the above. You work for small nonprofits and large ones. And as of June 2011, your mood overall seemed to be one of cautious optimism. Click here for the survey results.
Of course, this offers just one snapshot. Do the survey results ring true for what’s happening at your organization? Did things change this summer?
Sound off in the comments below, or join the conversation at idealisthr.org, our new space for nonprofit HR professionals.
It’s that time of year again! This summer we’re hosting five Idealist Grad Fairs:
Nothing warms our hearts like the chance to connect you with the program of your dreams. (Staff photo/Julia Smith)
If you join us…
You can meet representatives from 50+ graduate degree programs from across the country and attend a Q&A session about admissions and financial aid. All of the fairs are free, wheelchair accessible, and open to the public (but we do ask that you RSVP on those pages above).
Whether you kinda-maybe-sorta want to consider investing in grad school, or you’re 100% clear on which degree you want to pursue, this is a chance to enjoy a friendly, relaxed conversations with recruiters. And they love meeting members of the Idealist community.
If you’re not in one of those five cities…
Thanks, and we hope to see you at the fairs!
The clock is ticking! Photo via Flickr user Elaron (Creative Commons)
Nonprofits with a January to December fiscal year probably need to file a Form 990 with the IRS by Monday, May 16.
Oops…how do I know if it’s time to file?
The deadline for 990s is 5.5 months after the end of the organization’s fiscal year. If the last time a 990 was filed was in 2008, and none has been filed since, then the new three-years-and-you’re-out rule will apply this year.
What happens if I don’t file in time?
The IRS will automatically remove the organization from the list of recognized nonprofits when this year’s deadline is missed. If you’re responsible for your organization’s filings and you’re not sure things are up to date, then now would be the time to check!
How do I file?
Here are the thresholds that dictate which version of the Form 990 to file:
You can also file the 990-EZ and the full 990 online using tools developed by The Urban Institute. This is free for organizations with gross receipts under $100,000; there’s a fee for larger organizations.
Filing online offers many advantages: less chance of errors; no fat envelopes to mail with return-receipt requests at the post office; quicker and more efficient handling for the IRS.
I need more time!
Unless the process got underway a while ago, it may be too late to get everything done by the end of the day next Monday. If you’re a little behind, there’s just one form needed for an automatic three-month extension! All you have to do is file Form 8868 online at Form990.org.
Visit http://personaldemocracy.com/pdf-2011/ to learn more.
Personal Democracy Forum is a month away, and as a member of the Idealist community, you qualify for a $100 discount off the registration cost.
What is PdF?
Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) is “the world’s leading conference exploring and analyzing technology’s impact on politics and government.” It takes place June 6-7 in New York City.
This year’s theme is Agents of Change. Say the organizers:
We’ll be shifting focus from technology itself to what people do with these new tools; how key actors like organizers, political leaders, volunteers, and followers interact; and how these players are learning from and adapting to the new environment they are themselves helping create and shape.
Learn more and register at www.Personaldemocracy.com/Conference.
Who can I see there?
Speakers this year will include:
And how do I snag that discount?
Simply enter the code IDEALIST2011 when you register, and you’ll be charged $100 less than the stated price.
Here's hoping this firestorm ultimately helps to move responsible education efforts forward. (Photo: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Flickr/Creative Commons)
Greg Mortenson, founder of Central Asia Institute and author/subject of the books Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools, has been under an uncomfortable spotlight this week. Accusations that he and CAI aren’t what they seem have prompted big conversations about international development work, nonprofit governance, and more.
(In case you haven’t been following along, author Jon Krakauer recently released Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way, in which he presents evidence that Mortenson fabricated portions of his bestselling books. CBS’ 60 Minutes featured a story called Questions Over Greg Mortenson’s Stories; Mortenson, who had declined an interview, issued a response earlier this week, as did the CAI board.)
Here are some follow-up headlines we’ve spotted this week.
Pakistan Does Have an Education Crisis Despite Questions About Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea – Rebecca Winthrop, Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution:
Good intentions do not necessarily translate into effective international development practices and NGO management. In the ongoing search for successful aid models, it is important to highlight that there are many professional non-profit organizations that do excellent education work in Pakistan. Many of them are Pakistani organizations, such as the Citizens Foundation and the Children’s Global Network. Community involvement and leadership are central to many of the work of these organizations, which is further supported by the education expertise of local staff and implementation of basic organizational management principles to track funds and monitor activities.
Eureka and Other Myths: A Reflection on Three Cups of Tea – Katherine Lucey for PeaceXPeace:
There is such a palpable desire for an origination story, an epic tale of good versus evil, a lost soul finding redemption or a single moment of inspiration…Real solutions don’t happen that way.
Three Cups of Tea and the Stories We Tell – Macy Halford, The New Yorker:
There’s a tacit understanding between the author of a book that draws attention to a social injustice while proffering a solution and the buyer of that book: the understanding is that the purchase is akin to a donation…Savvy authors of these types of books (like Rebecca Skloot), will tell the press exactly what they’re doing with it. Mortenson, if he is innocent, is going to have to do better than impassioned denials.
For many, many more responses, see the roundups at Good Intentions are Not Enough and zunguzungu.
What’s your take on all of this?
Just a few articles that caught our attention recently:
Crowdsourcing a Better World and On the Web, a Revolution in Giving (New York Times Opinionator blog):
In the first piece, Tina Rosenberg explores “what crowdsourcing can do to help civilians contribute to social change in a way that is both useful and emotionally satisfying.” In the latter, she breaks down the strengths and drawbacks of crowdfunding sites like DonorsChoose and Kickstarter.
Next Stop, Volunteering! The Do Good Bus Makes Community Service Easy and Fun (GOOD):
From the article:
For her birthday, [co-founder Rebecca] Pontius organized a party bus and noticed the camaraderie created amongst her friends just by traveling to a new location together. Teaming up with two of her friends, Hannah Halliwell and Stephen Snedden, the trio decided to combine the fun of a party bus with a service trip as a way to make volunteering easy and accessible.
Why Sting Operations Cheapen Public Policy Discourse (Nonprofit Quarterly):
NPR. ACORN. Planned Parenthood. Sting operations, writes Rick Cohen, “have reduced public discourse to the level of ‘Candid Camera.’” Cohen argues that in this era it is important for nonprofits to stay transparent; stand firm in their beliefs; keep egos in check; and correct misguided staff, improve management, and train employees carefully.
Serious stuff. Image via makelessnoise (Flickr/Creative Commons).
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Send us a headline for our never-ever-exhaustive news roundup! If you read something that moved you to action or gave you hope, leave a comment below or tweet it to us @idealist.
