When we launched this blog over two years ago, we stated our commitment to learning along with you to find new and creative ways to use new media in response to HIV/AIDS. Last week, we continued to honor this commitment by making 17 microgrants to organizations that are planning for and implementing new media to respond to HIV among communities of color (funds were distributed by Team PSA and the projects will be managed by John Snow, Inc. ). We received many, many excellent project ideas from across the country — from New York to Michigan to Hawaii and Alaska.

We will be working with these organizations over the coming months to share their new media efforts and lessons learned (through guest posts here on the blog, among other things). We just held a conference call to introduce them to each other and and we’d also like to introduce them, and their projects, to you:

• ActionAIDS : Take Action: HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Awareness Campaign
• Adult Well-Being Services : Wayne County Women Webberz Health Project (WC3 Health Project)
• Alameda County Public Health Department – Office of AIDS Administration : The Alameda County HIV/AIDS Information HUB (IHUB)
• Center for Health Justice : The Freedom Club Initiative
• Center of Excellence for Transgender Health : New Media Communication Plan for Engaging Diverse Transgender Individuals and Communities in Health-Promoting Activities
• Family Health Centers of San Diego : Creative Online Media Renewing Awareness and Delivering Education(COMRADE)
• Harm Reduction Coalition : After Party — A Social Marketing Campaign
• HIV/AIDS Resource Center(HARC) : Evaluation, Planning, and Innovation: Working to Create a Sex-Positive Online Community for Men Who Have Sex with Men
• In the Meantime Men’s Group : ITMT 411 – A Texting Initiative
• Interior AIDS Association : HIV Prevention and New Media for National HIV Testing Day and Beyond
• Love Heals : iLove – An Online Peer Education Project (for LEAP Alumnae)
• Metro TeenAIDS : Check My Style (An addition to REALtalkDC Campaign)
• Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance : Stop and Think/Espera y Piensa
• NYU School of Medicine – Lower New York Consortium : Youth Social Media Project
• Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center : Encouraging PLWHA to join Facebook to OPT-IN (Opportunities to Prevent Transmission) and Develop Better IN-SITE (Seeking Information Thru Eduction) to Improve Education, Knowledge and Social Support
• Rural Women’s Health Project : Voices of Immigrants in Action: New Media for HIV/AIDS Awareness and Social Mobilization
• St. Hope Foundation – the Fusion Center : FUSION Tea: An Online CommuniTEA for your LIFE!

We are excited that these projects will explore how to use new media strategies and tools to expand their programs. These are some of the early adopters in the HIV community, and we look forward to sharing their experiences with you here on the blog!