The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation provides gifts in two fields: medical research directed towards the cure and treatment of AIDS and HIV infection and the advancement of photography at the institutional level.
The Foundation’s Board of Trustees reviews all applications at its quarterly meetings. The Foundation is not capable of providing emergency assistance; applicants should be prepared to wait several weeks or months for decisions to be made. The Board takes all requests seriously and attempts to make meaningful and informed decisions.
There is no formal application or deadline. If your project falls within the Foundation’s Guidelines described below, please provide, if applicable, a description of the project and institution, other financial resources obtained or being sought, a project budget, full descriptions and qualifications of personnel involved including other similar or dissimilar projects for which they were responsible, a selection of images for photography-related projects, and any other relevant materials.
PHOTOGRAPHY The Foundation provides support for museums and other public institutions to create or expand photography departments, including the acquisition of photographs, as well as study and exhibition facilities related to photography. Support is also available for exhibitions, which ideally will be accompanied by quality catalogues to insure the documentation of photography as a fine art. In the appropriate circumstance, the Foundation will also assist independent curators in developing photography exhibitions. The Board does not weigh photography projects based on the causes, subjects, and themes linked to Robert Mapplethorpe’s name. Rather, the quality of the work is the main criterion for the Board. The Foundation does not provide scholarships or grants to individual photographers
AIDS RESEARCH The Foundation provides funding for scientific research directed towards the treatment or cure of AIDS and HIV related infections. The Foundation does not provide money for social services, health care facilities or equipment, or projects that are not linked to a specific research agenda. The Board makes funding decisions in the field of HIV/AIDS research in consultation with qualified outside experts. The Foundation is currently seeking proposals for projects benefiting and/or being conducted in the New York area.