Want to become an inclusive organisation?
We are excited that you want to apply for the free Positive Allies Charter Mark! We have our five steps for you to follow below. After you have gathered your evidence for each of the five steps, then you can apply via our online form. All of the information you need for submission can be found on this page.
How well are we doing?
We have received excellent reviews of our free HIV and AIDS Awareness training course from attendees - this is part of your application to Positive Allies (note: all ratings are correct as of November 2022)
How did you find the teaching and delivery by the facilitator?
Average Score: 10/10
How did you find the resources used by the facilitator?
Average Score: 10/10
How would you now rate your confidence when discussing HIV?
Average Score: 8/10
Our Five Steps to Success
It is not a difficult or onerous process to apply for the Positive Allies Charter Mark. After you have gathered your supporting evidence and documentation, apply for the Positive Allies Charter Mark using the online application form and provide available evidence to show how you have met each of the five steps below. These steps should give you all of the guidance that you will need to submit your application, but if you are unsure please contact us.
We recommend that you put all of your collected evidence into one document for your submission to the Positive Allies Charter Mark. This may include photographs and screenshots as evidence, alongside your organisational narrative on our online form.
Step 1:
Named Champion
-
Demonstrate that your organisation has an effective Champion within the workplace who can work as a point of contact for people living with HIV and to drive this charter mark forward. This would be a named person in the organisation, and they would be present and prominent in any literature in your organisation for everyone to see.
Step 2:
Training
-
Key members of the organisation complete our free HIV and AIDS Awareness training course to increase their knowledge and awareness of HIV stigma and HIV awareness. The course is delivered virtually four times per year via MS Teams. You can find the dates of our next training courses, and how to sign up, by clicking here.
-
You can book your place on our training here, or if you have a very large team, we can deliver virtually to only your organisation if you want to contact us.
Please note that what is defined as 'key members' may vary across organisations. For a small charitable organisation this may be your staff and trustees, or volunteer team. For a larger private organisation, this may be key front facing management and HR. What is important for us, is to see that this training is widespread across your organisation.
Step 3:
Policy Change
-
The organisation has a Bullying and Harassment Policy (or similar) which clearly indicates zero tolerance around HIV-related stigma toward people living with HIV (this would be added to your existing policy).
-
Your organisation has a continuously reviewed policy that explicitly bars discrimination of someone living with HIV (this could be by integrating our HIV Staff and Volunteer Policy - we supply an example of that you can use and adopt, here).
Step 4:
Developing Positive Allies
-
Your organisation demonstrates a clear commitment to build on the work you already done and to strive for more (for example, providing evidence that you are progressing in other ways to make your organisation HIV-friendly and inclusive. For example, running an event for World AIDS Day on or near the 1st December).
-
Demonstrate that your organisation takes active steps to support HIV charities and community groups (this could be through your staff or volunteers taking part in fundraising activities, volunteer support, partnership working, joint research projects, and so on).
-
Demonstrate that your organisation has a visible presence of relevant HIV literature and awareness either physically on noticeboards, newsletters, or electronically, such as an intranet (many of these can be sourced from HIV organisations, such as Terrance Higgins Trust or the National AIDS Trust).
Step 5:
Submit Initial Application or Annual Report
-
Whether a new or existing charter mark holder, you provide an annual report sent to us to coincide with World AIDS Day (1st December) on the activities you have engaged in from the previous year, or are a new applicant with your initial information, to demonstrate your successful achievement of the five steps.
Ready to submit? You now submit your application, or annual review, with your supporting evidence document (please ensure all evidence is in one document such as a MS Word or an Adobe file) via the form here.
Annual Report Feedback
-
If you are new to applying (and successful) once you have submitted your application we will provide your organisation with pre-made social media content, our logo for your use, and an electronic certificate.
-
For already existing holders of the charter mark, Positive Allies ask you to provide an annual report of your previous years activity by December 1st, which you should submit via the form above (Step 5). We will send out an email reminder in November to all existing charter mark holders to remind them to submit their annual report.

"As a global human rights organisation, Positive Allies is a visible symbol of our commitment to all who volunteer with us"
ReportOUT