One characteristic of the global AIDS response is that funding is mostly limited to a small number of very large donors: Global Fund, World Bank, PEPFAR, and the Gates Foundation. These organizations make grants which are generally very large -- several million dollars each or more. Complementary small grants programs, common in other policy sectors (such as environment or education) hardly exist in global AIDS.

This creates two problems. First, many good ideas and opportunities require smaller amounts of funding than these organizations can provide. Second, and more importantly, programs and individuals need time to grow and demonstrate their worth. Only in an environment of small grants can good ideas flourish.

It is unrealistic to expect these organizations to develop small grants capabilities -- they are configured wrong for the task. What should happen instead is that one or more of them fund a small grants facility -- call it the Global AIDS Foundation -- to fund project ideas and individuals in the $5,000 - $500,000 range. Such a foundation could operate efficiently at $20 - $50 million per year.

There are good examples of such "small grants" foundations supported by larger entities. In the 1950s the US Government founded the Asia Foundation to support programs in across Asia, an effort which served as a model for subsequent organizations. Most recently, USAID (and subsequently other donors) have supported the Eurasia Foundation, which operates small grants programs in twelve countries of the former Soviet Union.

The collective funding for global AIDS totals billions of dollars annually. The entire effort would benefit from an effective small grants facility.