The DIVA Foundation

The D.I.V.A. Foundation is a nonprofit 501c (3) charitable organization founded by Sheryl Lee Ralph in 1990 as a memorial to the many friends she lost to HIV/AIDS while in the original Broadway company of Dreamgirls. The organization focuses on generating resources and coordinating activities to create awareness of and combat against HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. The D.I.V.A. Foundation produces and utilizes televised and digital health awareness content (music, entertainment programming, panels, and discussions) as vehicles to inform, educate and erase the stigma still attached to this disease. The D.I.V.A. Foundation’s signature fundraising event “DIVAS Simply Singing! Raising Health Awareness” is the longest consecutive running HIV/AIDS and Health Awareness benefit concerts in the U.S.

Over the 32-year history of The D.I.V.A. Foundation, Sheryl Lee Ralph has had a long-standing commitment to raise awareness, work to erase stigma, and empower and support individuals in owning their health. In 2005, Sheryl Lee Ralph and The D.I.V.A. Foundation received the first Red Ribbon Leadership Award at the United Nations on World AIDS Day for the unique use of the arts in fighting HIV/AIDS. The D.I.V.A. Foundation has raised over $3M dollars to conduct awareness programs and partner with and support organizations to provide critical services to all members of the LGBTQ+ community, women and children, and are inclusive of persons of color.