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Non-profit funding sight-saving research for children

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

19,100+ 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.
  • 19,100+ 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
The 2026 GMC Yukon Denali hitched to the Grand Design Serenova 160LG travel trailer

Winner story, November 11, 2026

Who Won the Yukon Denali + Serenova Fundraiser? Colin R. from Vermont

Colin R. from Vermont won the 2026 GMC Yukon Denali, Grand Design Serenova 160LG and $50,000 cash on Oct 4, 2026, and chose the $125,000 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 · 19,110 reviewsTrustpilot
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great cause

    This is a very worthwhile non-profit. I can't think of a cause that is more important for our children. I was very happy to donate and contribute to help for finding a cure.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by sheila conneen)

    sheila conneenNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great Cause

    It's awesome being able to contribute to help out and cool that one might also win one out of several prizes, or even 2 if your super lucky! Thank you

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Kevi)

    KeviNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I'm so happy to have made a donation

    I'm so happy to have made a donation. It's not much, but it makes a difference. I say "we" because we're a family of four: two children, one 18 years old who has a disability (Ataxia Telangiectasia), a disability that affects one in a thousand people due to a gene inherited from either the father or the mother. As far as we know, there's no cure for this disability at the moment; only God can perform a miracle. We make every day as happy as possible for my son, and he's a very happy child. My other son is 12 years old and has also been affected by my son's condition; he has attention deficit disorder. We're getting through it little by little. My wife is the one who's taking care of my son full time, and when I'm not working, I help out. We'll stay in touch, and we'll continue with the donation when we can, of course. Thank you so much, and blessings to all of you who bring happiness to so many.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Liberio Gabriel Silva)

    Liberio Gabriel SilvaNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great organization

    Great organization, sweepstakes entries are easy and with good communication. Knowing that the proceeds goes to a great organization makes entering a no brainer!

    Read on Trustpilot (review by GARY WITMER)

    GARY WITMERNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Always a pleasure to donate to a…

    Always a pleasure to donate to a wonderful cause. Winning a prize is a bonus! Donating is fast and easy. Donate today!

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Janine Nicolosi)

    Janine NicolosiNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great cause

    I researched before donating and entering the giveaway and the internet reviews speak highly of this non profit. It is legit and it is doing a lot of good for the cause.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Luz Adriana Ossa)

    Luz Adriana OssaNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Such an important endeavor!

    A race against Blindness is doing such important work. Having on-going raffles brings attention to people like myself who would have never learned about the company otherwise. Keep up the good work.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Suzi Strong)

    Suzi StrongNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    It's not about the prize.

    It's nice to think one might win a really great prize but truly the greatest prize is the supporting of experimental research for blindness.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Kathleen Price)

    Kathleen PriceNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I really admire the owners’ dedication…

    I really admire the owners’ dedication to helping their child. I hope things have a happy ending for their son and for all children affected by childhood blindness.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Branislav)

    BranislavNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Clear description of services supported…

    Clear description of services supported and the sweepstakes rules.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by PR)

    PRNovember 2026Verified

  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    This company is sharing the latest news…

    This company is sharing the latest news about their non profit, updates regarding their son. With the economy the way it is right now, I have to be selective about the donations I give. Keep on doing a great cause, and I hope you win one day.

    Read on Trustpilot (review by Lynda Baker-Hills)

    Lynda Baker-HillsNovember 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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