Organization Overview
The urgent mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness is to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases. Since its establishment in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has raised nearly $900 million to fund thousands of studies at hundreds of prominent institutions. Throughout its history, the Foundation has maintained an extraordinary commitment to directing, on average, 75 percent of its annual revenue budget to research and public health education programs. This has made the Foundation Fighting Blindness the world’s leading non-governmental source for inherited retinal disease research funding. Foundation-funded investigators are exploring a variety of areas including gene discovery, gene and RNA therapies, cell-based tools and therapies, drug development, animal models, and clinical studies. The Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board – leaders in retinal disease science and clinical care – provide oversight and guidance. The Foundation also established the RD (Retinal Degeneration) Fund, a venture philanthropy arm, to help accelerate life-changing outcomes for people with retinal degenerations through direct mission related investments in therapeutic companies.
