FAQ

• Is (RED) a 501c3?

  Yes (RED) is a 501c3.  (RED) is a division of The ONE Campaign, a 501c3 organization.

• What is (RED)™?

  (RED) is a charity that works with the world’s most iconic brands and organizations to bring millions of people into the global fight against AIDS. (RED) partners direct a portion of their profits from (RED)-branded products, services and events to the Global Fund to invest in HIV/AIDS programs in Africa, with a focus on countries with high prevalence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. (RED) has contributed nearly $210 million to support Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia.  So far more than 14 million people have been reached with prevention, treatment, counseling, and care services through these grants.

• Why have you created (RED)?

  (RED) was created to engage the private sector, its marketing prowess and funds in the fight against AIDS in Africa. The Global Fund was established as a public-private partnership but, before (RED) launched, businesses had contributed just $5 million to the Global Fund in four years while the public sector had given more than $5 billion. (RED) was designed to kick-start a steady flow of corporate money into the Global Fund, and it has.

  Since its launch in the Spring of 2006, (RED) has generated nearly $210 million for the Global Fund –more than any other business initiative has contributed to the Global Fund. 100% of (RED) money goes directly to the Global Fund, to finance programs fighting AIDS in Africa.

• Where can I find the (RED) Annual Report?

  Since (RED) is a division of The ONE Campaign, detailed information about (RED) will be included in ONE’s Annual Report starting in 2013, which can be found on ONE’s website: www.one.org.

• What is Bono’s involvement?

  Bono and Bobby Shriver created (RED) to engage the private sector in the fight against AIDS in Africa. After they set up DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) together in 2002, it became apparent that while DATA leveraged investment from the public sector to the Global Fund, a need remained for greater private sector funding. (RED) was born to generate a sustainable flow of money from the private sector to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. In 2008, DATA merged with ONE.

• How are (RED) and ONE related?

  (RED) is a division of The ONE Campaign, a global grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization also co-founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver.  ONE fights extreme poverty and preventable disease (including HIV/AIDS), particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressing political leaders to support smart, effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures.  (RED) was established in 2006 to drive corporate profits into the Global Fund to fund AIDS programs in Africa.  (RED) has contributed nearly $210 million to support Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia. So far more than 14 million people have been reached with prevention, treatment, counseling, and care services through these grants.

• Why is (RED) narrowing its focus to helping eliminate mother-to-child-transmission of HIV by 2015?

  The world is at a critical milestone in the fight against AIDS: by 2015 we can virtually eliminate the transmission of HIV from moms to their babies.  On World AIDS Day 2010, (RED) launched “The AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015″ campaign and has joined the global health community in raising funds and awareness to help achieve this goal.

  More than 1,000 babies are born every day with HIV when this is nearly entirely preventable with access to the right treatment.  The medicines exist to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to ensure that all children are born HIV-free, but women need to have access to HIV testing during pregnancy. If a woman tests positive, she can receive antiretroviral medication right away to lower the potency of the virus in her system and continue to receive treatment during and after labor to block the passage of the virus to her newborn. This and other efforts such as infant feeding guidance have been shown to block mother-to-child transmission in up to 99 percent of cases.

  If we act, we can ensure no baby is born with HIV by 2015, and deliver the first AIDS-free generation in 30 years.  This is one of three pillars that, when reached, can mark what global health leaders are calling ‘the beginning of the end of AIDS.’  In order to ensure that we get the number of babies born each day down from 1,000 to near zero, 1.4 million pregnant women with HIV will need to get treatment at a cost of around 40 cents a day.  This goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV is within our grasp.  With continued funding and focus, we could see this possibility become reality as early as the year 2015.

• What is the relevance of the name (RED)?

  (RED) is the color of emergency. Every day 3,200 people die because they don’t have access to the medicine to stay alive, and many others are fighting for their lives.

• How does (RED) work?

  (RED) partners with iconic brands and organizations to develop (RED)-branded products and services that generate contributions to the Global Fund to invest in HIV/AIDS programs in Africa, with a focus on countries with high prevalence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.  (RED) and its partners provide consumers and activists a wide range of activities and behaviors that trigger corporate giving to the Global Fund.  (RED) operations are funded by charitable grants and foundations, along with a small license activation fee from our corporate partners.

  (RED) partners direct a portion of their profits from (RED)-branded products, services and events directly to the Global Fund. The consumer does not pay extra for this. (RED) never handles this money – it is sent directly to the Global Fund with no overhead taken out. That means that 100% of the money from the sale of (RED) products goes directly to the ground in Africa in the form of Global Fund (RED) grants. (RED) has contributed nearly $210 million to support Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia.  So far more than 14 million people have been reached with prevention, treatment, counseling, and care services through these grants. (RED) dollars are used to support programs that have helped provide life-saving antiretroviral therapy for 220,000 HIV-positive people, put more than 130,000 HIV-positive pregnant women on preventative antiretroviral therapy to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission and reached 13 million people with HIV testing and counselling.

• Which brands are involved with (RED) so far?

  Our Proud Partners include: Apple, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Bugaboo, Claro, The Coca-Cola Company, Converse, Nike, Penfolds, SAP, Starbucks, Telcel and American Express (UK only). Typically (RED) proud partners deliver a minimum of $1 million to the Global Fund annually.

  Our Special Edition Partners include: Bottletop, FEED, Girl Skateboards, Mophie, Nanda Home, Shazam, Solange Azagury-Partridge, Tourneau and TOUS. These smaller companies designate a percentage of their profits from (RED) products for the Global Fund. While the amounts the special edition partners generate are less than $1 million a year, they are important members of the (RED) family as they help bring (RED)’s message into new and niche audiences.

• Do (RED) products cost more?

  No, they do not. The point of (RED) is for the partner company to contribute money to the Global Fund by sharing a portion of its profit to help people affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. The company pays extra – the purchaser does not.

• Are (RED) products always the color red? How will consumers know what is (RED) and what isn’t?

  Making the products the color red is not a requirement. However, some products are red in color. All will bear the (PRODUCT)^RED logo lockup. While the intent of the mark is to educate the consumer about (RED) and the impact that can be made in Africa, all products are made to reflect the highest standards of each brand which consumers naturally search out. Consumers get a product they want and those living with HIV in Africa get the medicine they need.

• Are (RED) products tax deductible?

  Since (RED) products are purchased through our corporate partners, (RED) products are not tax deductible.

• How does (RED) finance all of the big marketing campaigns behind (RED) products?

  (RED) doesn’t pay for those campaigns. As part of our relationship with our partner brands, (RED) works with these companies to direct some of their overall marketing budget to market not only the (RED) products but also the issues — i.e., that 3,200 Africans are dying unnecessarily every day from AIDS, a preventable and treatable disease. These are funds from their existing marketing budgets that if not used to market (RED), would be spent to market other products that do not contribute at all to the fight against AIDS in Africa.

• How does a company partner with (RED)?

  There is no one way we go about this. When (RED) partners with a company, that company has category exclusivity and we seek partners that can maximize return for the Global Fund from that given category. If you have an idea for a partnership, feel free to send an email to partnerships@joinred.com. Due to the large influx of responses, we will only respond to proposals that are right for (RED).

• Why is there an age criterion request on some pages of your website?

  (RED) and Penfolds have come together to create Penfolds (PRODUCT)^RED wines. (RED) and Belvedere Vodka have come together to create the Belvedere (PRODUCT)^RED Special Edition Vodka bottle. The Age Restriction request included in certain Penfolds and Belvedere content on joinred.com is a responsible measure taken so that the alcohol-based content on joinred.com is not directly marketed to underage individuals.

• Where does (RED) money go?

  Funds generated through (RED)-branded products and services are sent directly to the Global Fund to be invested in Global Fund (RED) grants — pre-selected Global Fund-financed HIV/AIDS grants that focus on countries with high prevalence of mother-to-child transmission.  (RED) dollars currently support Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants in six countries: Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia. These grants support locally-designed programs that provide antiretroviral therapy for HIV positive individuals, support HIV prevention, feed and educate children orphaned by AIDS and provide the low-cost treatments needed to reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to child.  Each country determines the exact needs of their country and how the money will be used. All programs are reviewed and measured for success.

• What is the Global Fund?

  The Global Fund is the organization that (RED) works with to put the money generated from (RED)-branded products and services, directly on the ground in Africa. The Global Fund is the world’s leading financer of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The Global Fund invests 100% of (RED) dollars in HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. Programs supported by (RED) and the Global Fund in Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia have reached more than 14 million people with prevention, treatment, counseling, and care services through these programs.

• Why Africa?

  Of the over 34 million people living with HIV/AIDS across the globe, more than 23 million of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the worst affected region in the world because the epidemic began there much earlier than anywhere else and fewer people have access to the medicine they need to stay alive. It costs around 40 cents a day to fund the pills needed to keep someone living with HIV in Africa alive. Still, a majority of the people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $2 a day. Increasing numbers are becoming infected every day, as the virus flourishes in conditions of poverty, especially among women. Every day, 3,200 people in Africa die from this preventable, treatable disease.

• What is The Lazarus Effect?

  In as little as 90 days, two pills which cost roughly 40 cents a day can bring someone with HIV from sick and frail, to healthy and vibrant. The pills are called antiretrovirals, or ARVs, and this transformation is called the “The Lazarus Effect”. The results are nothing short of miraculous. Take a look for yourself here.

• How can a foundation apply to be a beneficiary of (RED) funds?

  All requests for Global Fund financing are coordinated and made through a national body in each country known as the Country Coordinating Mechanism or CCM. The Global Fund supports the plans, projects and interventions which countries themselves have selected as their national priorities. These strategies and priorities are determined by a wide range of stakeholders and are coordinated by the Country Coordination Mechanism, or CCM, which is comprised of representatives from all relevant sectors, including Government, Civil Society, the Private Sector, and Communities affected by the diseases. This nationally owned and inclusive mechanism ensures that the country’s strategies and priorities are determined in an integrated and effective manner and that funds are channeled in the most impactful way.

  The CCM submits a country’s final proposal for funding to the Global Fund. The Global Fund does not accept proposals directly from individuals, groups or organizations, and all proposals for funding must be channeled through the CCM in the country. The contact information for every CCM can be found on the Global Fund’s website http://www.theglobalfund.org/. Click on the drop-down menu named “Or Choose A Country” on the left-hand side of the home page and select a country; this will lead directly to the information page for that country containing contact information for CCM members.

  Additional information about the proposal process can be found at: http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/rounds/applicationprocess. The proposal forms and guidelines for CCMs can also be found there. The allocation of funding to specific projects occurs upon the approval of a new grant proposal; the timing and availability of funding will vary by country.

  Funds generated through (PRODUCT)^RED products and events are sent to (RED) grants — pre-selected Global Fund-financed HIV and AIDS grants in Africa. At present, the (RED) grant portfolio includes Rwanda, Lesotho, Swaziland, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa. Updates to the (RED) grant portfolio can be found at:http://www.joinred.com/static/impact/impact_red_contributions_to_date. As with all Global Fund grants, the projects supported by (RED) are selected by the CCM in that country, as described above. This ensures that (RED) funds are invested in programs that are not only effective but also aligned with the national AIDS strategies and priorities. The process for applying for funding also remains unchanged, as described above, ensuring that there is no duplication of effort or unnecessary administrative burden placed on the CCM and grant recipients.

• How can I donate money?

  You don’t have to be a corporation or a governing body to donate to the Global Fund inspired by (RED). Anyone can do it. There are already millions of dollars at work on the ground in Africa thanks to individuals who made donations large and small – a true testament to the power of collective action. Click here to find out how you can donate (please note that you will be taken to the United Nations Foundation website that accepts donations on behalf of the Global Fund).

• How can (RED) support my own fundraising efforts?

  In regards to potential funding, 100% of the money that (RED) raises goes directly to The Global Fund, as they are our sole beneficiary.  Unfortunately, we therefore don’t have the capacity to donate to other organizations or fundraising efforts. The (RED) name and brand logo as well as the (PRODUCT) RED name and logo are legally protected marks. Therefore, partnering with (RED) does involve “permission” and unfortunately we cannot allow the use of our (RED) logo or (RED) words in any other contexts. That said, you can absolutely support (RED) by donating a portion of your company’s earnings directly to the Global Fund and you may mark your contribution as “Inspired by (RED).

• I have a question that’s not listed here. Who can I ask?

  Please email us at hello@joinred.com. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can (it may take a few days).