Halting the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Washington, DC

Metro TeenAIDS is a non-profit organization that serves adolescents in the Washington, DC, area. Its mission is to help those young people who are living with HIV, to decrease new HIV infections through education, and to provide services to those young people whose lives have been impacted by the disease. Booz Allen Hamilton helped the organization regroup after losing a $250,000 grant — a third of its operating budget — when the Centers for Disease Control reallocated its HIV/AIDS prevention budget.

"Washington has one of the highest rates of new AIDS cases in the United States," said Booz Allen Principal Robin Portman. "As a member of the community and a good corporate citizen, we saw this as an opportunity to help improve this dire situation."

A group of consultants with expertise in strategic planning, health policy, and public health worked with Metro TeenAIDS on a pro bono basis to determine the organization's next steps. "Booz Allen conducted a number of facilitated sessions with Metro TeenAIDS that helped them think through what kind of organization they were and what type of organization they wanted to be," said Booz Allen Principal Kevin Vigilante.

Metro TeenAIDS was faced with the challenge of deciding whether it should fundamentally change its mission by offering a broader range of health services given the change in the funding environment or to downsize to a much smaller organization. "The end result was an organization that became stronger and much more focused on its core mission, which remained centered around supporting young people in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Vigilante.

Booz Allen also conducted extensive research into the funding environment for HIV prevention from private foundations and government agencies. This in-depth analysis of available funding streams helped Metro TeenAIDS identify several new funding sources and strategies that will allow the organization to become more self sustaining. The firm also sponsored Metro TeenAIDS' 2004 Art and Articles Auction, which helped diversify the organization's revenue stream by increasing their public exposure and their base of individual donors.

"The cause was right and it was also important to us to support employees who are volunteering their time with an organization that is important to them," said Vigilante. The Metro TeenAIDS Board of Directors includes Booz Allen Associates Mary Varghese and Debora Goldberg and Consultant Zahid Rathore.

"Booz Allen has been incredible. In a year when so many of our programs and so many young lives were in danger, Booz Allen invested in the young people of our region and the organization is stronger for it," said Adam Tenner, Executive Director of Metro TeenAIDS.

How You Can Help

For information on how you can get involved or make a donation, visit www.metroteenaids.org.

story posted March 25, 2005