HIV/AIDS + LGBTQ Communities in the United States

Published: October 8, 2026

Author(s): Deekshita Ramanarayanan, Sammy Luffy

Region: National

The HIV/AIDS + LGBTQ Communities Issue Brief outlines the latest data regarding the status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how it intersects with LGBTQ communities in the United States. This resource covers the latest HIV/AIDS incidence and prevalence data in the U.S., as well as current trends in prevention and treatment across the country. The issue brief also includes information about the unique barriers that transgender and gender expansive individuals face when accessing HIV/AIDS services in addition to the impacts of recent federal funding cuts on domestic HIV/AIDS programs. The criminalization of HIV, as well as the HIV/AIDS philanthropic landscape are also included in this resource, alongside recommendations for grantmakers, movement organizations, and allied individuals to become stronger advocates for equitable HIV/AIDS services for LGBTQ communities across the country.

This issue brief was sponsored by AIDS United and features a call to action from Carl Baloney, Jr., President and CEO of AIDS United. Funders for LGBTQ Issues would like to thank the following experts that reviewed and provided feedback on this issue brief: S. Mandisa Moore-O’Neal, Executive Director at the Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP); Dr. Tonia Poteat, PhD; and the entire team at Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA).

About these Issue Briefs

In the past several years, LGBTQ communities have been at the crosshairs of a coordinated and vicious strategy to strip away our rights. In the United States, these attacks on bodily autonomy have taken the shape of executive actions and state legislation seeking to criminalize queer and trans existence–from the administration’s targeting of trans youth, to blocking global aid recipients from supporting trans rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and the nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in state legislatures across the country thus far in 2026, an intersectional response from philanthropy is needed.

The impact of these attacks are vast and far-reaching, with Black and Brown people, immigrants, and not only rural, but global LGBTQ communities left most vulnerable. In this context, Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ 2024 Annual Resource Tracking Report found a 15% decrease in philanthropic investment for LGBTQ communities and issues in the United States. This translates to a staggering $31.2 million drop from 2023 during a time when our communities are under attack. Similarly, funding awarded for transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary communities decreased by 9% from 2023 to 2024 as TGNC communities are being relentlessly targeted.

To strengthen philanthropy’s understanding of how the needs of LGBTQ communities intersect with related social justice issues and make the case for increased investment during this time of crisis, Funders for LGBTQ Issues is releasing a series of issue briefs offering a queer lens to intersectional topics, such as immigration, disability justice and HIV/AIDS. The briefs will include relevant data at the intersection of the issue and LGBTQ communities, as well as provide actionable steps for grantmakers to center these issues in their grantmaking strategies. We believe this series will offer a critical case-making tool for funders across the philanthropic sector to engage more proactively in the urgent needs of our communities.

*Throughout this resource, the acronym “LGBTQ” is inclusive of LGBTQ communities and individuals in all our diversity, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, intersex, asexual, agender, two-spirit, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and all persons who identify as LGBTQ+.