Strategic Directions 2023-2026

1. Strength in Numbers

Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on sustainable financial growth and organizational stability, seeking new and diversified funding partners and donors, and strengthening data infrastructure that will enhance our efficiency. Specifically, ACAS will:

• Establish and implement data tracking systems to better capture the client reach and impact of ACAS programs, to manage volunteers, and to track the current and potential interests of funders, donors and corporate sponsors

• Develop and implement a Resource Mobilization Plan for ACAS, that includes fund development, human resource development and outreach to new potential funders, donors and corporate sponsors, particularly focusing on opportunities that support multi-year, unrestricted or operational infrastructure, and nurturing relationships with existing donors and sponsors

• Prioritize strong human resources, including investment in fundraising, bookkeeping, program evaluation, and equity-focused human resource policies

2. Open Relationship

Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on establishing and nurturing strategic partnerships, allyship and collaboration. ACAS will maintain a strong grounding in our service and advocacy roots, ensuring that we maintain our identity and our independence, and enter new relationships with clear expectations, responsibilities and attention to power imbalances. Opening up our relationships will lead to expanded volunteer programs, reaching new clients, attracting new donors and funders, and enhancing the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of our programming. Specifically, ACAS will:

• Take a proactive role in identifying and approaching partners and be more innovative branching out to Asian and non-Asian supporters, including those who serve the same population but are not HIV-focused, those who are HIV-focused but serve overlapping sub-populations, and organizations that have services not offered by ACAS, or which work in other geographic locations

• Strategically seek collaborative programming partnerships that allow for knowledge sharing and fund merging and avoid competition for funding

3. Meeting at the Intersection

Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on enriching, evolving and creating programming that includes vulnerable communities, other than those directly impacted by HIV. This is not to say that ACAS will abandon our strong legacy or diminish the central role of our HIV-focused prevention and support services. By seeking ways to serve community members at the intersections of their identities, ACAS will increase our relevance to a wider variety of sub-populations. Specifically, ACAS will:

• Make better use of environmental scan and needs assessment research, and epidemiologic data to ensure that we are tracking emerging trends and issues, and identify offerings of allied organizations to identify gaps in services

• Expand outreach and seek allyship with community members and organizations addressing issues such as homophobia, transphobia, racism, decolonization, poverty, housing, sexual health, mental health, harm reduction, art therapy, food security, and BIPOC justice

• Create and nurture intergenerational programs, spaces and relationships that build on ACAS’s legacy and strengthen cultural connections between youth, elders and mid-career individuals

4. Putting Our Best Face Forward

Over the next three years, ACAS will focus on developing a stronger outward-facing profile, accentuating our presence – advocacy messaging, organizational promotion, social marketing and service delivery – particularly through online/digital modes of communication with our stakeholders. Expanding our digital presence will allow ACAS to reach community members and potential supporters (volunteers, donors, funders, corporate sponsors) beyond the GTA. Specifically, ACAS will:

• Create digital content that increases the visibility of ACAS and celebrates ACAS’s legacy, particularly our role in HIV prevention, support and advocacy

• Create and expand a blend of education and engagement methods – virtual and in-person – that builds on ACAS’s successes in community development, peer-based social support, volunteer engagement, and cultural belonging

• Create and implement a Communications and Marketing Strategy in order to increase ACAS’s visibility, to reach new community members and supporters, to gather feedback, to celebrate ACAS members, staff, volunteers and supporters, and to generate new revenue