1.5 Million Dollars Gift Launches Three-Year Capital Campaign - Glaucoma Research Foundation
"This is an extraordinary gift and sets an inspiring example that beating glaucoma must be everyone's top priority," said Brunner. "An epidemic of blindness from glaucoma may be coming if we don't act now to get ahead of this dreaded disease. Following the Barr's wonderful lead, increased giving from all of us will enable GRF to fund the innovative research that gives genuine hope we will prevail."
"I feel so strongly that GRF is on the right track," said F.T. Barr, a GRF board member from Houston, "I have increased my gift by 50% from our last capital campaign." The new capital campaign builds on the momentum of a three-year campaign completed last summer. The goal of $7.5 million was surpassed with total giving of $8.3 million.
That campaign had been originally motivated by the need to extend GRF's Catalyst For a Cure research consortium into a second three-year cycle after its start-up phase. The Barrs had anchored that campaign with a gift of $1 million, which in turn inspired other members of the Board to increase their own personal giving collectively by 200%.
GRF's first major gift program, The Catalyst Circle, was also born in that campaign, bringing in more than 100 donors at the $1,000 level and above.
"Gifts like the Barrs', and the others it will inspire, are essential if we are to fund the kind of innovative research needed to unlock the mysteries of glaucoma," explained Brunner. "During the due diligence phase of our planning, we were very concerned to learn that sight-stealing threat presented by glaucoma is simply not a priority of our national health institutions." In fact, Brunner said, GRF is among the few national leaders (outside of academia, industry and the government) providing grant funds to stimulate innovative glaucoma research.
GRF's capacity to make those grants relies almost totally on the generosity of individuals across the country. GRF receives no government funding.
Strategic Plan Sets Imperatives through 2011
Strategic Imperatives in the plan include:
- In research, reinforcing GRF's commitment to innovative research, emphasizing the need for the multi-year collaborations aimed at funding a cure, and the expansion of the number of grants awarded in the Shaffer Fund for Glaucoma Breakthroughs to engage new minds and ideas;
- In Patient Education , seeking partnerships with affiliate agencies to maximize patient resources and minimize duplication of efforts, and offering wide distribution of all these materials at minimal cost to eye care professionals and their patients everywhere;
- In finance and administration , a continuation of efficiencies that allow 85 cents of every dollar raised to go to research and patient education programs.
About The Glaucoma Research Foundation
Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness. Founded in 1978 in San Francisco, the Glaucoma Research Foundation works to prevent vision loss from glaucoma by investing in innovative research, education, and support with the ultimate goal of finding a cure.
Glaucoma Research Foundation
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