On the 10th anniversary of the founding of the consumer-goods-for-AIDS-relief organization that’s raised $350 million, a look back at what’s worked.
When Red was founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver back in 2006, it was born out of necessity. The Global Fund–an organization dedicated to fighting diseases like AIDS, TB, and malaria in the developing world–had launched in 2002, with a commitment to garner private sector engagement and raise funds from governments in an effort to accelerate the end of AIDS. But the private sector was not biting, contributing only $5 million in the Global Fund’s first four years. This low level of funding was threatening to jeopardize ongoing commitment levels from the public sector. So as all good innovation goes, Bono and Shriver identified the issue and set out on a mission: how to unlock private sector interest in stopping AIDS in Africa.
To read the full article on FastCo, click here.