This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

[] [Skip to page content] [Skip to News column] [Skip to legal, accreditation and sitemap links]

ASHM Gift Fund

Untitled document

The ASHM Domestic Gift Fund (CFN17788) was established in 2003 to fund HIV and Hepatitis C health education activities in Australia.

ASHM is currently applying to AusAID for tax deductible donations to be applied to projects throughout Australasia and neighbouring countries in Asia and Pacific regions.

The Gift Fund seeks contributions from companies, industry, government, and individuals. Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted through the ASHM's secure Online Payment page. All donations of $2.00 and over are tax deductible. 

Objectives 

Through it's activities the ASHM Gift Fund aims to:

  • Promote greater awareness and understanding of HIV and AIDS, viral hepatitis and related diseases
  • Improve HIV and AIDS treatment and care
  • Increase capacity in HIV and viral hepatitis research
  • Contribute to Australia's ongoing national HIV and viral hepatitis programs 

Gift Fund Activities and Beneficiaries

Scholarships

ASHM Undergraduate and Junior Researcher Support Awards

Through your assistance in providing these awards, young researchers are able to discuss their work in a larger forum and gain input and feedback from established scientists in their fields. This leads to a refreshed approach to studies and advances in research to help those living with HIV and/or viral hepatitis.

These scholarships help to keep ground-breaking basic and clinical science research here in Australia to ensure we maintain a research community to rival international efforts.

The ASHM Undergraduate and Junior Researcher Support Awards promote clinical research among young scientists and researchers across the country, in the areas of HIV and AIDS and viral hepatitis. The ASHM Gift Fund supports these Awards.

Awardees receive:
  • Travel, accommodation and registration assistance to the annual ASHM Conference
  • Invitations to join relevant ASHM committees and to access resources and archives in the ASHM library
  • Opportunities to incorporate state-of-the-art innovations gathered at the conference into their current research
Previous Awardees are some of Australia’s most promising researchers in their fields, working in a range of diverse areas: 
  • HIV vaccine development as a global priority
  • Antiretroviral therapy and current standards of care for those living with HIV
  • Hepatitis C disease progression
  • Emergence of multi-drug resistant HIV 
Testimonials

Recent Undergraduate Award recipients in 2007 had the following testimonies to give:

Receiving the award “will provide you with the opportunity to meet and interact with other researchers who share similar interests and help you to explore new ideas for your research” The ASHM conference “exposed me to the depth of HIV research around the world and also gave me a greater understanding of the social and clinical implications of HIV research” - Amy Cheung, University of Melbourne 

“I was able to gather a lot more information about other HIV-related research carried out in different parts of the world” which has “deepened and widened my knowledge which has helped me in my own research” – Dino Tan, University of Western Australia                  

“I was also able to present the work I had generated in the first year of my PhD and this allowed me to network with other researchers at the forefront of their field”. The experience was “a fantastic forum to learn about a wide variety of issues surrounding the HIV pandemic” - Joey Lai, Westmead Millennium Institute

The conference “allowed me to interact with fellow researchers with similar interests and gave me the opportunity to access a wider scope of information in the HIV research field” – Liyen Loh, University of Melbourne 

ASHM Conference Scholarships

Conference scholarships promote education for priority groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) healthcare workers and those practicing in rural and remote areas.  

Scholarship awardees receive: 

  • Registration to the ASHM conference
  • Funding for evidence-based prevention and HIV management programs and workshops for specific populations (e.g. for people working with indigenous and rural populations)
  • Opportunities to present relevant research at the ASHM conference, particularly in the areas of basic science, clinical medicine, community programs, public health and prevention
  • Support for transfer of knowledge to local communities  

By engaging ATSI and remote area healthcare workers into ongoing research, ASHM Scholarships increase clinical skills and knowledge of HIV and AIDS. This benefits populations with reduced access to HIV and viral hepatitis healthcare services. 

International

ASHM is currently applying to AusAID for tax deductible status for donations to it's International Program.

ASHM’s International Program provides assistance in the setting up and ongoing support of partner organisations for HIV and AIDS health care professionals in Asian and Pacific regions. Collaborations and activities include enhancing organisational capacity, development and review of policy guidelines and strategies and health care worker training and mentoring programs.

By supporting these organisations, ASHM  is instrumental in the provision of:

  • Capacity development for teams of national HIV health care providers in regional countries
  • Improved access to treatments and care services for people living with HIV and AIDS
  • Educational materials to resource-poor settings
  • Training courses to facilitate local provision of treatment and care

Education and Training

  • Establishment and operation of HIV/AIDS and HCV health education programs
  • Funding to support the delivery of courses in new locations
  • Course fee subsidies to expand access where fees are a barrier to participation  

ASHM Gift Fund Committee

The ASHM Gift Fund Committee is a subcommittee of the ASHM Board. It will consider applications for support and make recommendations to the Board. The ASHM Secretariat administers the Gift Fund.

All projects funded by the Gift Fund will be documented on the ASHM website and in ASHMNews. The work of the Gift Fund will be recorded in the ASHM Annual Report.

How can you contribute?

Proceeds from any special or fundraising activity and one-off or regular donations can be made to the Gift Fund.

Alternatively, you can assist by:

  • Pledging a set amount over a number of years
  • Making a bequest in your Will
  • Establishing a scholarship
  • Donating to the Gift Fund in lieu of flowers or gifts
  • Donating when joining ASHM or renewing your membership
  • Nominating to have some, or all, of your speaker fee donated to the Gift Fund if you are a presenter at an ASHM training course

Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted through the ASHM's secure Online Payment page. All donations of $2.00 and over are tax deductible.

More information

Australasian Society for HIV Medicine
Locked Bag 5057
Darlinghurst NSW 1300

tel: +61 2 8204 0770
fax: +61 2 9212 4670
email: ASHM