The AMAAD Institute (Arming Minorities Against Addiction and Disease Institute) is a nonprofit organization that provides support services primarily to gay Black men in the greater Los Angeles area. The AMAAD Institute receives most of its funding from federal, state, and local government agencies.

While the AMAAD Institute’s programs are non-political, the leadership and culture of the organization is left-wing. Executive director Gerald Garth founded and runs a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training consulting firm, and the AMAAD Institute has attributed the suffering of racial minorities and LGBTQ individuals to being “disproportionately impacted as the result of systemic inequities.” ¹

As of May 2023, the AMAAD Institute had 30 employees, ² up from 12 in 2019 and two in 2017. ³

Activities

HIV Education and Empowerment

With funding from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Los Angeles County Division of HIV and STD Program, the AMAAD Institute and the L.A. County + USC Medical Center Foundation run the HIV Education and Empowerment Program, an initiative to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County. The program funds HIV testing, HIV treatment, and education. ⁴

Reclaiming Innocence

The AMAAD Institute’s Reclaiming Innocence program assists released convicts with housing and mental health. ⁵

House of Resiliency

The AMAAD Institute’s House of Resiliency provides substance abuse rehabilitation, particularly to young gay men. ⁶

Project Impact

The AMAAD Institute’s Project Impact offers a wide range of services to ex-convicts, including mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and vocational training. The program is funded by the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office on Reentry. ⁷

Funding

In 2021, $3.2 million out of $3.3 million of the AMAAD Institute’s revenue came from government grants. The largest source of funding was the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which contributed over $1.3 million. ⁸

The AMAAD Institute has received funding from numerous other governments and government agencies, including the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, and the State of California Board of State Community Corrections. ⁹

The AMAAD Institute has received funding from numerous nonprofits, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, PhRMA, the Sierra Health Foundation, Equality California, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the California Community Foundation, Amity Foundation, Advocates for Human Potential, and Public Health Institute. ¹⁰

The AMAAD Institute has received funding from Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company. ¹¹

In 2021, the AMAAD Institute earned $48,629 from its programs. ¹²

In 2021, the AMAAD Institute spent $2,785,692. Out of the sum, the organization spent almost $1.1 million on ex-convict reentry services, $1 million on health and wellness, and $400,000 on housing support. ¹³

Leadership

AMAAD Institute executive director Gerald Garth previously worked as the organization’s chief operating officer. Garth is the founder and director of the Garth Management Group, a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting company. ¹⁴

Earlier, Garth worked as the manager of prevention and care with the Black AIDS Institute; director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Los Angeles LGBT Center; and as founder of the Black LGBTQ+ Activists for Change. He is one of the leaders of the African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative, serves as co-chair of the Black Caucus of the Los Angeles Commission on HIV, and is president of LA Pride. In 2020, Garth was an organizer of Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles. ¹⁵

1. “Final Summary.” Los Angeles County. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dmh/1118966_FY18-19BlackLGBTQ_NetworkFinalSummary.pdf.
2. “Meet Our Team.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/meet-our-team/.
3. “AMAAD Institute offers sense of community to LGBT people.” Black Press U.S.A. August 12, 2019. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://blackpressusa.com/amaad-institute-offers-sense-of-community-to-lgbt-people/?fbclid=IwAR2BVSvR6dlaIxO8xxowNeF7Bq_malc974Avcv-ZvN3CPix62Mnw00inQ90.
4. “Programs.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/programs/.
5. “Programs.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/programs/.
6. “Programs.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/programs/.
7. “Programs.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/programs/.
8. “AMAAD Institute.” ProPublica. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_audit/25221620211.
9. “Our Funders.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/home/our-funders/.
10. “Our Funders.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/home/our-funders/.
11. “Our Funders.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/home/our-funders/.
12. “AMAAD Institute.” ProPublica. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_audit/25221620211.
13. “AMAAD Institute.” ProPublica. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_audit/25221620211.
14. “Where the Passion Begins.” Garth Management Group. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://www.thegarthgroup.com/about.
15. “Meet Our Team.” AMAAD Institute. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://amaad.org/meet-our-team/