OVERVIEW: Gilead Sciences, a maker of antiviral drugs, supports global health, public health and disease research in the U.S. and around the world through its foundation and a corporate giving program.
IP TAKE: Gilead Sciences makes grants through its charitable foundation and a robust corporate giving program. This funder focuses on education, prevention, treatment and research on the viral diseases for which it develops and manufactures medications. The corporate giving program runs an ongoing application program through the company’s website. For a corporate foundation, this is a relatively accessible funder. It likes to fund innovative work, but doesn’t take as many grantmaking risks as it does in its corporate pharmaceutical development. It’s also more bureaucratic than other funders.
It is worth noting that Gilead manufactures the antiviral medication remdesivir, which has been used to treat COVID-19 and has been provisionally approved for use in COVID-19 patients in several countries. Gilead has granted generic drug makers permission to produce and distribute the drug globally for low-cost treatment until the end of the crisis, although it is still generally very costly to patients in the U.S.
PROFILE: Established in 2005, the Gilead Foundation is the philanthropic arm of biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, a California-based global pharmaceuticals company that specializes in the development and manufacture of antiviral drugs. The foundation seeks "[t]o improve the health and well-being of underserved communities around the world," and supports expanded access to education, outreach, prevention and treatment services for HIV and hepatitis. Gilead Sciences also makes grants through a corporate funding program that supports healthcare and continuing medical education in the areas of HIV/AIDS, liver diseases, hematology, oncology and inflammatory and respiratory diseases. This funder also runs the HCV Elimination initiative for the advancement of scientific research on viral hepatitis.
Grants for Public Health
Gilead supports public health through its foundation and corporate giving programs. Recent foundation grants have supported HIV/AIDS and hepatitis treatment and care programs that serve low-income urban populations. Grantees include New Jersey’s Center for Viral Hepatitis, San Francisco’s Peer Health Exchange, the Kansas City Care Clinic, Healthcare for the Homeless Houston and the Minority AIDS Project of Los Angeles.
Corporate giving focuses on care and continuing education for medical professionals in the areas of HIV, liver diseases, hematology, oncology and inflammatory and respiratory diseases. Gilead does not provide information about its corporate grantees, and much of continuing medical education work occurs through signature programs that bear the company’s name. These programs include Gilead COMPASS, a Commitment to Partnership in Addressing AIDS in Southern States; Gilead HIV Age Positively; and Radian, a partnership with the Elton John AIDS Foundation to address AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
In 2021, Gilead established the Creating Possible Fund, which awards grants to organizations that focus on health justice, especially issues that affect people of color and LGBTQ+ youths.
Grants for Global Health
The Gilead Foundation’s global health funding prioritizes “programs that promote prevention, strengthen healthcare infrastructure, and provide education and social and financial support to the most vulnerable communities around the world.” Recent areas of interest include HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and access to treatment for visceral leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that is often fatal in HIV/AIDS patients. Gilead has worked extensively with the World Health Organization in these areas. Other grantees include Italy’s BLQ Checkpoint, an HIV testing facility, and U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which operates in ten sub-Saharan countries in Africa.
Gilead’s corporate funding program works with community organizations, hospitals and healthcare organizations around the world to improve and expand healthcare access for vulnerable and at-risk populations, running separate application programs for organizations North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Grants for Disease Research
The Gilead Foundation supports research on viral diseases including AIDS/HIV and hepatitis at research universities and institutes across the U.S. Recent grants have gone to the Liver Institute and Foundation for Education and Research, Columbia University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Oklahoma. Gilead also supports research through its HCV Elimination initiative, which supports innovative research by “early stage researchers from low and middle-income countries.”
Important Grant Details:
In 2020, the Gilead Foundation responded to the COVID19 crisis with over $20 million in rapid response grants to organizations providing emergency healthcare. Grantees included the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, Broadway Cares and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Guidelines for Grantseekers
In 2021, Gilead Sciences added $200 million to the foundation’s endowment. The foundation’s annual grantmaking approaches $8 million a year, with additional funding stemming from the corporate giving program. The average grant size is about $500,000. For information about past foundation grants, see the Gilead Foundations recent tax filings. For information about the corporate giving program, see the company’s partnerships and COVID-19 pages.
While the Gilead Foundation does not accept unsolicited applications for funding, the corporate giving program runs an ongoing online application system for organizations working in its areas of interest. General inquiries should be directed to corporate giving program staff via email or telephone at 650-522-1696.
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