Staying Alive Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Staying Alive Foundation supports global health awareness, hygiene, and personal sanitation promotion. It also deals with mental health and domestic violence issues in Nigeria, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa, and in India.
IP TAKE: Previously, this foundation exclusively supported youth-led HIV prevention projects; however, it is now known primarily for its media content through MTV Shuga and MTV Nishedh. It no longer appears to prioritize its grantmaking and instead channels its funding toward content creation and peer education efforts.
PROFILE: In 1998, MTV launched Staying Alive, an international initiative focused on encouraging young people to protect themselves against HIV. MTV also created a documentary of the same name as an effort to further its HIV prevention goals. In 2005, MTV International, along with its partners, turned the initiative into the Staying Alive Foundation. The foundation has since evolved beyond its original focus on HIV and now addresses health concerns broadly. It seeks to “normalise [sic] important, difficult health topics and conversations that promote, encourage and facilitate open discussion and change for young people.” The foundation operates in both the U.S. and the U.K.
Grants for Global Health and Diseases
Staying Alive has lately placed less emphasis on project grants and support for HIV organizations and instead focused on several special campaigns related to health awareness, hygiene, and sanitation. MTV Shuga is a “ground-breaking 360-degree mass-media behaviour-change campaign” that “fuses sexual-health messaging with gripping storylines.” The series takes place in Nigeria, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa and is primarily aimed at African audiences. MTV Nishedh is its corresponding India campaign, and MTV Shuga Alone Together is a web-based effort focused on hygiene and sanitation, as well as mental health and domestic violence.
Important Grant Details:
Staying Alive does not make grants in the way that it once had. Its focus is now centered on its storytelling and education initiatives that promote health concerns globally.
Staying Alive accepts unsolicited applications. Grant seekers should keep an eye on its website to stay on top of upcoming deadlines.
PEOPLE:
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