Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's goal is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research and research-related education. As the leading nonprofit, non-governmental funder of diabetes research worldwide, we are committed to uncovering and funding the best and most relevant initiatives to help achieve a cure for this devastating disease.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) was founded in 1970 by parents of children with Type 1 or juvenile diabetes. They understood that managing juvenile diabetes was not the answer. The only acceptable answer - cure it. And they also understood that only intensive research would yield a cure.

The essential fundraising work to fund this critical research is conducted at the chapter level. Founded in 1978, the Greater Bay Area Chapter of JDRF is one of the largest fundraising Chapters in the nation.

With over 10,000 Bay Area supporters, an executive board and five branch boards (East Bay, Monterey Bay, North Bay, San Francisco and Silicon Valley), the Greater Bay Area Chapter provides a significant amount of funding to support local research grants at Stanford University and the University of California at San Francisco.

JDRF has awarded more than $900 million to diabetes research, including more than $85 million in FY2004. JDRF funds more diabetes research than any other non-profit, non-governmental organization in the world. In FY2004, JDRF funded 500 centers, grants, and fellowships in 19 countries, some of them right here in the Bay Area. Please click here to search for state-specific grant information.

The research has three primary objectives: restoring normal blood sugar levels, avoiding and reversing diabetes-related complications, and preventing diabetes and its recurrence. Multidisciplinary research teams are exploring these key elements via islet transplantation tolerance, cell therapy, vascular inflammation and its complications, and the genetics of Type 1 diabetes.

You can help by supporting one of our signature events, or participate in one of our many volunteer opportunities. If you would like information about other ways you can help, please call us at 415-977-0360.