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Non-profit funding sight-saving research for children

Check our Past Winners page for all past winners! ✨🌟

18,700+ reviews · rated 4.9 Excellent on Trustpilot and Google

We’re Funding Sight-Saving Clinical Trials to Treat Childhood Blindness.

Our goal is to advance therapies for pediatric inherited retinal diseases. Our current target: we are fundraising for rare disease research and gene-agnostic therapies for childhood blindness.

ENTER A FUNDRAISERSee our impact
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Current Fundraisers

You can make an impact on saving childhood eyesight by entering our giveaway fundraisers.

How our fundraisers work

Built on trust and transparency

Learn how you can make an impact on sight-saving research and have a chance to win a life-changing prize.

  1. Donate to support sight-saving researchEntries are automatically captured and can be seen in your Donor Portal.
  2. Winner selection by third-party adminWe aren't involved in the winner selection process, to ensure fairness and compliance.
  3. Winner livestream announcementWe announce all winners live on social media. See our past winner calls!
  4. It's time for winner day!For vehicle prizes, we fly the winner to Arizona to get the keys, a free-and-clear title, and the prize cash.

What you can check for yourself

  • Registered 501(c)(3), EIN 92-2174042Exempt under Section 501(c)(3); look us up on the IRS and Candid.
  • 18,700+ verified reviews on Trustpilot and GoogleRated 4.9 Excellent. Read what past entrants and winners say.
  • Registered and bonded sweepstakesEligibility, all methods of entry, and start and end dates are published before every fundraiser.
  • Donor PortalCheck your entries for any fundraiser you've joined.
Fundraiser FAQs

Our impact

Sight-saving research funded

$6.1M

granted to sight-saving research as of November 2026, from giveaway fundraisers and direct donations. Every mile below was paid for by entries like yours.

  1. $1MFirst grant: AXV-101 gene therapy for BBS1

    To Axovia Therapeutics, to move a gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa caused by BBS1 toward a clinical trial.

    Oct 2024
  2. $2MManufacturing and safety studies

    Second Axovia grant: GLP toxicology, manufacturing, and the regulatory work needed before a trial could open.

    Dec 2024 · announced Feb 2025
  3. $1MClinical trial authorization

    Third Axovia grant, bringing AXV-101 funding to $4M; the UK trial application was cleared in Q3 2025.

    Sep 2025
  4. $1.1MTrial fully funded

    Closed the remaining funding gap; RAB's total funding for AXV-101 reaches $5.1M, from lab to first patient.

    Dec 2025 · announced Jan 2026
  5. $1MGene-agnostic research

    With Foundation Fighting Blindness: $775,000 to the RD Fund for gene-agnostic research, matched dollar-for-dollar by the Gund Foundation Challenge, and $225,000 to Dr. Thomas Mendel at Ohio State.

    Jun 2026
  6. OpenResearch Grants Program

    Researchers worldwide can now apply for RAB funding through the Grants Portal.

    Aug 2026
  7. Next grantThe next grant

    Decided by the fundraisers running now.

    Enter a fundraiser
Where the totals come from

Amounts and dates come from our grant records and update when a new grant is announced. Each grant links to its announcement where available.

Visit the Grants Portal

About us

We were told there was nothing we could do.

It isn't a race we run. It's a race against time. Kristina and Stephen Johnston founded A Race Against Blindness after their son Luke was diagnosed with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare genetic condition that is slowly taking his sight. What began as a race to fund one gene therapy for one gene has grown into funding research across inherited retinal diseases, a grants program for scientists, and an education hub for families.

  1. 2020Luke's diagnosis, and a decision

    No treatment existed for RP caused by BBS1. We decided to fund one.

  2. 2023A Race Against Blindness is founded

    Our family became the first donor, donating our first prize: the 2023 Adventure Van giveaway fundraiser that started it all.

  3. 2024First $1 million grant

    To Axovia Therapeutics for AXV-101, a gene therapy for RP caused by BBS1.

  4. 2026Initiation of the AXV-101 gene therapy clinical trial

    A total of $5.1M in grant support from RAB made this trial initiation possible.

  5. 2026Expanding our impact

    New $1M grant to gene-agnostic clinical research in partnership with Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Read our storyMeet the team

See our Feature on Good Morning America!

Luke’s story of seeing the world before losing more vision was featured on GMA, helping propel our mission to the national level.

Winner's circle

Recent winners

View all past winners

Real winners

Latest fundraiser stories

Who won, how the day unfolded, and what every entry funded for children with inherited retinal diseases.

All fundraiser stories
Diane J. picking up the Toyota RAV4 Woodland and Corolla Hybrid in Arizona on Winner Day

Winner story, November 3, 2026

Who Won the 2nd Chance Two Toyotas Fundraiser? Diane J. from California

Diane J. from California won the 2nd Chance RAV4 Woodland + Corolla Hybrid fundraiser on Aug 7, 2026 after a 12-day final run with no cash option.

Read the story

Don't take our word for it. Take theirs.

Every review you see here is collected and verified by Trustpilot, not by us. We can't edit them, hide them, or pick the order.

We show every star rating, one through five, because that's what transparency means.

ExcellentTrustScore 4.9 out of 5Rated 4.9 / 5 · 18,708 reviewsTrustpilot
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I love the organization- I feel like my…

    I love the organization- I feel like my small amount isn’t much but it adds up with others and if I win something, great, really great, but I’ll donate as long as I am capable.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by David Latimer)

    David LatimerNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I just love what this organization…

    I just love what this organization stands for! It would also be nice to win. Sometime in the future, I do believe I will because I pretty much join every fundraiser

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Guest)

    GuestNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Such an important reason for research…

    Such an important reason for research and a cure. Honest, ethical and such a win win for all. Fantastic job and prayers for a cure soon.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by DJ)

    DJNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Volunteering time

    I think you guys are doing a great job! A nonprofit fundraiser which means you volunteer time of your own to make things happen and all for a good cause. P.S. win some great prizes!

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Vidal Granillo)

    Vidal GranilloNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    This is a great cause, and I like knowing where my donation is going

    I just think this is a great cause, and the people running it are awesome. I am happy to donate, and if I won one of the great prizes that would be awesome too

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Shelley Martin)

    Shelley MartinNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    While I enjoy the chance of winning

    While I enjoy the chance of winning, giving towards a good cause that helps children is the real prize.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by RandyB)

    RandyBNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Take a Chance

    My wife and I are were looking at purchasing a Sienna for our large family. I know that the chances that we win are slim to none but at the end of the day we can support a good cause.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Roger Ventura)

    Roger VenturaNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    It’s easy to try to help!

    It’s easy to try to help. These days, you just don’t know if non-profits are really a scam. I decided to donate again because I believe that these are awesome parents doing everyone to not only help their son, but to help others. The prizes are amazing and life-changing. I love that I can see past winners and that winners are randomly selected by an independent company. They also call the winners live. That is amazing!

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Allie)

    AllieNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I have had joy in knowing that i am…

    I have had joy in knowing that i am helping people that cannot help what they are going through . It breaks my heart . I had a scare with one of my eyes from a freak accident when i was in sixth grade...and I remember the struggle i went through from just fear.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by R.Black)

    R.BlackNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    This is a great organization that's…

    This is a great organization that's doing great things for both the cause and for people who donate and win. I love hearing and watching the impact they make on people's lives.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Keena)

    KeenaNovember 2026Verified

Reviews come from real donors and supporters who entered a fundraiser or had a direct interaction with our team, each one verified by Trustpilot.

Read all reviews on Trustpilot

Grant funding updates

The impact you made possible

Blindness Education Resources

Are you looking for education or resources for blindness?

As a family-run nonprofit and parents of a child facing blindness, we know how it felt when we got the diagnosis and didn't know where to begin. The resources were limited, and we felt alone. This education hub is here to help change that.

Open the Education Hub

Where would you like to start?

A mother and son in matching caps and RAB shirts smile side by side.

RAB educational series

Learn with Dr. Steve Johnston

Blindness Education Podcasts with Co-Founder Dr. Steve Johnston

Explore the full series on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

For information only. Discuss clinical trial information with your retina specialist.

Meet the Team

We founded the nonprofit when we found out our son has a rare genetic condition and is slowly going blind. But that really only scratches the surface in terms of our motivation. Since learning of Luke's diagnosis, we have become strongly connected to the rare-diseases community. While rare diseases are actually not unusual, with more than 7,000 diseases classified as rare, each one individually often affects only a small number of people. Thus many rare diseases don't receive enough attention and resources to help fund research for adequate treatments or even possible cures.

Stay in the race

New fundraisers, winners, and grant news, about twice a month. Questions? The Help Center is our front door.

Visit the Help Center

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