Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish announced a donation to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in the US.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation will award the HRC Foundation $300,000 (€236,000). The grant was announced October 25, 2014 at the 18th Annual HRC National Dinner. The money will be used for HIV awareness and prevention programs, with a focus on young bisexual and gay men and transgender women.

According to the 2011 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV Surveillance Report HIV diagnoses for age groups 20-24 and 25-29 increased between 2008 to 2011. "We must put the same kind of resources and dedication and creativity that we put into the battle for marriage equality and apply it to the fight to end AIDS," Elton, said in a release. "Today, we have to fight stigma in the same way we did when we first took on AIDS 30 years ago – as if our lives depend on it – because they do. Now, as then, if we don’t lead this fight, no one will," he continued.



Jeff Krehely, HRC’s vice president and chief foundation officer noted, in a statement, "the grant will make a profound difference to the lives of countless people, especially the members of our community who are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS and the stigma surrounding the disease."

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