About the Foundation
Our History
The Foundation Fighting Blindness was established in 1971 by a passionate group of individuals determined to help find treatments and cures for blinding diseases affecting themselves or loved ones. At the time, very little was known about these devastating diseases that lead to blindness, and there were no clinical trials for potential treatments.
The Foundation’s goal was clear: To drive the research toward preventions, treatments, and cures for blinding diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease, Leber congenital amaurosis, and more. Together, these conditions affect more than 10 million Americans and millions more worldwide.
Our Passion and Focus
With over 50 years of experience and having raised over $915 million to date, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the driving force in the global development of treatments and cures for blinding diseases.
That funding has helped with the identification of more than 270 genes linked to retinal disease and the launch of over 45 clinical trials for potential treatments.
On an annual basis, the Foundation Fighting Blindness funds more than 93 research grants. The research projects are conducted by more than 96 research investigators at 71 institutions, eye hospitals, and universities in the United States. The Foundation funding extends internationally to laboratories in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland.
What We Do
The Foundation funds innovative and cutting-edge research in promising areas such as genetics, gene and stem-cell therapies, retinal cell transplantation, and pharmaceutical and nutritional therapies. The Foundation’s funding often provides the critical bridge between discovery research, proof of concept, and corporate investment in clinical trials and commercialization.
The Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is comprised of the world’s leading retinal experts who provide insight on research and clinical advancements, and review research grant applications.
Since the Foundation routinely receives far more requests for funding than we can fulfill, the SAB’s job is to curate the best and most promising science. The strength of the SAB is part of what distinguishes the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Each one of us loves what we do, and we are all dedicated to the mission.
The Foundation’s Clinical Consortium is a not-for-profit alliance of retinal disease specialists and geneticists committed to accelerating the development of efficacious treatments for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs). Possessing a deep understanding of IRDs and their genetic causes, the Foundation Fighting Blindness Clinical Consortium leverages its unsurpassed clinical, technical, and analytical expertise to advance rigorous clinical research, promote the creation of meaningful programs, and engender impactful collaboration in search of treatment breakthroughs for these diseases.
The RD Fund was created with a dual mission: The RD Fund aims to ensure patient-centric and global social impact by identifying and advancing groundbreaking therapeutics, and in the process generating significant financial returns to further the Foundation’s mission. For more information, please visit the RD Fund website.
The Foundation is an Accredited Charity by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. The Foundation is also pleased to be rated four stars (top rating) for Accountability and Transparency by the Charity Navigator Website. Our overall Charity Navigator rating is three stars.
On an average annual basis, the Foundation has invested approximately 80 percent of its budget in research and public health education programs. For more information about Foundation finances, go to Financial Reporting.
The Foundation has more than 45 volunteer-led chapters across the U.S. These dedicated volunteers raise funds, increase public awareness, and provide support to their communities.
The Foundation’s VisionWalk program holds fundraising walks in over 40 cities nationwide. Since its inception, over 200,000 walkers, donors, and corporate sponsors have raised more than $64 million through VisionWalk.
Our Impact: Funding the Best in Retinal Research
The Foundation has funded studies at hundreds of prominent institutions throughout the world, including:
- Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School
- Insitut de la Vision in Paris, France
- Moorfields Eye Hospital, University College London
- Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania
Leading retinal research scientists praise the advances enabled by the Foundation:
Morton F. Goldberg, MD
Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Univ. Hospital; served as Director of Wilmer for 15 years.
“The Foundation Fighting Blindness is an extraordinary organization. It has given hope to people who didn’t previously have hope, and it has supported the most important fundamental research in the retinal degenerations being carried out anywhere in the world today. Thanks to the Foundation, I have confidence that we will understand and be able to successfully treat many of these (retinal degenerative) diseases in the relatively near future... we are on the verge of human clinical trials, and that would not have happened without the support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness.”
Stephen P. Daiger, PhD
Human Genetics Center, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center
“This incredible flowering of knowledge…was nursed into existence by the Foundation Fighting Blindness… If you were to take the thousand most important papers published in the past 15 years in the field of inherited retinal diseases, you would find that over 900 have authors supported by this Foundation.”
Donald J. Zack, MD, PhD
Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical School
“The Foundation, existing as an independent private entity, is able to very quickly fund young investigators and fund new and exciting projects. The Foundation has really played a major role in getting a number of important projects off the ground, which would not have happened without its support. The Foundation Fighting Blindness has stimulated interaction and collaboration between different scientific groups and centers, and it has funded a variety of research meetings that have helped scientists learn about areas outside their own so they can do more productive and more powerful research.”
Join Us
Stay Informed
Stay up-to-date with the latest from the Foundation about research, clinical trials, and more through our newsletter, podcast, and social media.
Join the Mission
Contact local chapters to stay connected with what is happening in your community.
Support the Mission
Participate and donate to your local events. Find your local VisionWalk or create your own DIY fundraiser.
Be a Beacon
Share your story or become a corporate partner with the Foundation.
