SAN FRANCISCO & FOSTER CITY, Calif.–The National AIDS Memorial together with the Gilead Foundation today announced a transformative three-year, ~$3 million commitment to help preserve the history of the HIV epidemic, expand public education and engagement, and inspire the next generation of leaders advancing access to care. The fight against HIV/AIDS has always depended on more than medicine. It has required scientific innovation, public education, activism, compassion, communities caring for one another through crisis and change, and a shared commitment to ensuring these stories are never lost.
National AIDS Memorial and the Gilead Foundation Launch Major Investment to Expand HIV/AIDS Education and Community Leadership
The initiative will help expand leadership development for emerging advocates, increase access to the stories preserved within the AIDS Memorial Quilt, elevate community voices through public engagement programs, and support stewardship of the National AIDS Memorial Grove.
“The history of the HIV movement is defined by acts of courage, activism, compassion, and community leadership. Through the Gilead Foundation’s partnership with the National AIDS Memorial, we are helping ensure those stories and experiences continue to educate future generations and inspire them to make their own contributions,” said Daniel O’Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gilead Sciences. “As science transforms what is possible in the fight against HIV, the hard-won lessons of this movement must continue to guide how we advance innovation, expand access, and support the communities most affected.”
For the National AIDS Memorial and the Gilead Foundation, that commitment reflects a shared belief that remembrance is not simply about preserving history but helping shape what comes next.
“The work of remembrance is future work,” said John Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer of the National AIDS Memorial. “This transformative commitment allows us not only to care for the Quilt and Grove entrusted to us, but to ensure that the stories and enduring lessons of the HIV/AIDS movement remain active forces in public life. We want future generations to understand not only the history of the epidemic, but the determination that shaped the response, and to recognize their own power to carry that work forward.”
The commitment will expand the Pedro Zamora Young Leaders Scholarship and Fellowship Program, creating new opportunities for emerging leaders pursuing careers in public health, medicine, education, social justice, and HIV advocacy. It will also support a multi-year effort to preserve and re-digitize thousands of AIDS Memorial Quilt panels, making them more accessible to families, educators, students, researchers, and communities worldwide.
The initiative will expand public programs that encourage dialogue on leadership, community engagement, and the ongoing HIV response, including the National AIDS Memorial Leadership Award and Speaker Series. Funding will also support conservation efforts, volunteer programs, and future enhancements at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, a place of reflection, healing, and community connection.
The initiative builds on years of collaboration between the National AIDS Memorial and the Gilead Foundation, including support for Quilt preservation, public education initiatives, and programs reaching communities disproportionately impacted by HIV. The commitment arrives at a milestone moment for the HIV community: this year the Grove marks its 35th anniversary, and in 2027 the Quilt will reach its 40th. Together they stand as national symbols of remembrance, resilience and community action.
Funding will also support future chapters of Surviving Voices, the National AIDS Memorial’s award-winning documentary series preserving oral histories from people and communities affected by HIV. Alongside expanded Quilt access, leadership programs, and community engagement initiatives, these efforts will help ensure the experiences and contributions of those impacted by the epidemic remain visible and accessible for future generations.
Today, the AIDS Memorial Quilt remains the world’s largest community folk art project, with more than 50,000 panels honoring more than 110,000 lives. Together with the Grove, these living memorials continue to serve as places of remembrance and resources for education, connection, and engagement.
As the HIV community looks ahead, the National AIDS Memorial and the Gilead Foundation remain committed to ensuring that the history, voices, and lessons that shaped the response to HIV continue to inspire progress toward a healthier future for all.
About the National AIDS Memorial
The National AIDS Memorial stewards the National AIDS Memorial Grove and the AIDS Memorial Quilt to remember, heal, and inspire—and to ensure the ongoing story and lessons of the AIDS crisis foster a more just, healthy society.
About the Gilead Foundation
The Gilead Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works to create a thriving health ecosystem. The Gilead Foundation takes a holistic approach to mitigate the root causes of health inequities by providing resources to organizations that empower people with the skills to be their own best advocate and create systems of support that strengthen communities, classrooms and workplaces.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, cancer and inflammation. In 2025, Gilead announced a planned $32 billion investment to further strengthen its U.S. footprint to power the next era of discovery, job creation and public health preparedness – while continuing to invest globally to ensure patients everywhere benefit from its scientific innovation. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, Calif.
For more information about Gilead, please visit the company’s website at www.gilead.com, follow Gilead on X/Twitter (@Gilead Sciences) and LinkedIn (@Gilead-Sciences).
Contacts
Gilead Contacts:
Elizabeth Baxter, Media
public_affairs@gilead.com